One Bite can Cost a Bunch.........

Connecticut Dog Bite

The legal relationship between owners and their dogs as well as our liability for damages caused to others by our dogs is of critical importance to the dog owner.

The Connecticut dogs bite statute (Connecticut General Statutes section 22-357) and cases interpreted by our courts provides that the owner of any dog who does damage to a person or his/her property is liable for such damages. However, a dog owner may assert a defense if the owner can prove that at the time such damage was sustained, the injured party was trespassing on your property or was committing any other civil wrong. The statute provides further exception to the dog owner’s legal responsibility if the injured party was teasing, tormenting or abusing such dog.

The Connecticut courts have clarified that merely entering another person's property does not constitute trespass under this statute. "Trespass or tort" means more than mere entry; the statute bars recovery only where the victim is committing or intends to commit an injurious act. (133 C. 509: 140 C. 358.) If the victim was neither a trespasser, not committing a tort, nor provoking the dog then there is no defense.

Dog bites rank second among other common causes of emergency-room injuries (table derived from Weiss HB, Friedman DI, Coben JH. "Incidence of dog bite injuries treated in emergency departments," )
Cause of injury
Emergency room incidents annually
Baseball/softball
404,364
Dog bites
333,687
Playground accidents
268,810
All-terrain vehicles, mopeds, etc.
125,136
Volleyball
97,523
Inline skating
75,994
Horseback riding
71,162
Baby walkers
28,000
Skateboards
25,486