(Newswire.net — June 16, 2021) — Dog owners are responsible for their dog’s behavior. Any injury caused to someone by the dog will hold the owner liable to compensate the victim within the provisions of the law. Dog bite cases come within the purview of the personal injury laws, and any victim can claim compensation according to the law.
To know more about the legalities involved in case your dog bites someone or hurts it due to its aggressive behavior, you can learn from JD Injury Law, APC. As per law, the victim can sue the dog owner for compensation, but it requires proving comprehensively that the dog alone was responsible for the injury, and there is no reason to pass on any blame to the victim. Unless the victim can prove that the dog was at fault and caused the injury, there cannot be any ground for claiming compensation.
In defense of dog owners
On looking at the incident, it might seem unjust to hold the dog owner responsible blindly for dog bites because there are chances that some action of the victim is to blame for the incident. Should the victim not act in a specific manner, there are chances that the incident might not have happened.
Dog owners can create their defense against the victim’s allegations by taking the stand that the victim provoked the dog. They can even go to the extent of blaming the victim for trespassing or breaking the law when the injury happened. They might even accuse the victim of taking a voluntary risk and got hurt in the process. The last defense line is to establish that the victim was unreasonably careless and contributed to the injury.
Use the arguments judiciously
The arguments discussed above are real-life experiences of different people and might not always hold good for your case. Therefore, you must be judicious in using any argument only after consulting your lawyer to know the provisions of the law of that state. Some arguments are not acceptable in some states about which you must be aware not to make any false move when trying to defend yourself. Also, the nature of the lawsuit influences the choice of defense. The circumstances described by dog owners must be permissible under the law because many states do not entertain the argument of trespassing or provoking the dog. Sometimes, the onus is on the victim to prove that he or she was not at fault.
The nature of provocation
The strongest argument that works in favor of dog owners is that the victim provoked the dog that retaliated and bit the victim. Teasing or hitting the animal will make it react violently. The nature of provocation can often absolve dog owners from the accusation of injury. Stepping on the animal’s tail accidentally, intervening in a dog fight, petting strange animals when they are chained or eating, and spraying self-defending repellent on the dog are typical instances when dog owners can shed the liability for the injury.
Establishing that the victim took the risk despite being aware of the consequences is another way for dog owners to defend their case.