Portland injury attorney

Oregon Dog Bite Lawyer: One Bite Rule

Whenever someone gets bitten by a dog that has an owner, there is usually a process which needs to occur. Since the chances are good that an Oregon dog bite lawyer won’t be there with you if it occurs, you’ll need to understand a few laws yourself. In this article, we are going to teach you about dog bite laws and how they affect you.

What Happens if Someone Gets Bit?

In the majority of states, the owner of the dog is liable should the dog cause any injury on the other party. And also realize that the injured person don’t have to prove anything or that the dog did anything wrong. Hawaii is the only state in which the person injured would need to prove that the dog was acting careless and bit them.

However, in all instances when this occurs, an Oregon dog bite lawyer will be sought after. Once one is acquired, the person who has been bit will need to prove the following things:

  • They were attacked and injured by a dog. And realize that this doesn’t necessarily mean physical contact. If the person gets scared because of the dog and they become injured then the same criteria apply.
  • The person who is being sued. This is usually the person who owns the dog.
  • The victim was the one who provoked the bit.
  • The victim was acting normally (peaceably).

If all of the above criteria are met then the injured person can hire an Oregon dog bite lawyer and receive a settlement.

The “One Bite” Rule

Under this common law, the owner of a dog will always be liable for any injuries that it causes only if the owner had a reason to believe that the dog was likely to injure someone. For example, if your dog bites someone, then from that moment on you will be liable for any injures that it is a part of. That is why it is called a “one bite” rule because after the first incident, the owner will be liable for any future injuries.

A good Oregon dog bite lawyer would also tell you that this law still comes into play if there is a no dog-bite statute. For example, if the statute says that the injury cannot be a cause of the dog knocking them down then there would be no incident.  If the dog owner could prove that the injured person provoked the attack then he or she won’t be liable for the injury.

Conclusion

If you violate these laws then you will most likely need an Oregon dog bite lawyer to help you in court. Simply remember that there are stories when the dog itself wasn’t particularly dangerous but still caused an injury and still ended up in the owner being sued.

In this particular incident, a lady had slipped due to some dog droppings on a side walk and was able to sue the store owner who ended up paying her over four hundred thousand dollars. It just goes to show that you should follow dog bite rules into order to protect yourself.