What If Someone’s Dog Knocked You Over: Can You Get Compensation?

You are entitled to pursue injury compensation if you are knocked down or trip over someone else’s dog. Here’s how to build a strong dog accident claim.

A government study on animal-related falls found that more than 76,000 people each year receive emergency room treatment for falls caused by dogs.¹

With nearly 90 million dogs in the United States, accidents are bound to happen.

If you or a family member were injured by getting knocked down or falling over someone else’s dog, you may qualify for injury compensation, even if you weren’t bitten.

Who’s Liable for Falls Caused by Dogs?

People of all ages are seriously injured every day from tripping over or being knocked down by dogs. Even friendly dogs can cause severe physical injuries by knocking over or tripping an unsuspecting person.

Remember that even when a friendly dog knocks you down, it’s still an attack. Failure of the dog owner to control their dog makes them liable, meaning legally responsible, for the injuries to the person who was knocked down.

The most common non-bite dog injuries are from falls.

Large dogs can cause falls by leaning against a person. All sizes of jumping dogs knock people over, and smaller dogs can easily trip a person by running between their legs or flopping down in the path of someone’s feet.

A bruised knee and torn pantyhose from tripping over a loose Yorkie at your cousin’s outdoor wedding won’t be much of a basis for an injury claim, especially if your treatment was limited to a couple of glasses of wine and a bag of frozen peas.

On the other hand, if Grandma tripped over the little dog and broke a hip, her injuries are serious and her damages substantial. Small children and the elderly are generally at higher risk of injury from non-aggressive dog attacks.

Who Pays for Your Injuries

Negligence makes a dog owner responsible, or liable, for the injured victim’s damages. Damages include medical expenses, out-of-pocket costs, replacement services, lost wages, property damage, and pain and suffering.

Dog owner negligence can include failing to:

  • Leash the dog
  • Control the dog while on its leash
  • Keep the dog in a fenced area
  • Contain the dog in the owner’s home or vehicle

In some states, a dog owner is liable for the actions of their dog even if the owner isn’t negligent.

When a dog owner is proved to be liable for damages, the owner is legally obligated to compensate the injured victim. In most cases, the owner will rely on their homeowner’s insurance liability coverage to pay for the damages.

Exceptions to Dog Owner Liability

Sometimes a dog owner won’t be legally liable for accidental injuries, even if the owner was negligent.

The dog’s owner is not liable for injuries when:

  • The victim was trespassing on private property
  • The victim was purposely harassing or provoking the dog
  • The dog was a police, airport security, or military dog
  • The victim was a veterinarian, trainer, or another type of dog professional

Complicating the issues of negligence and liability are the various state and district dog laws, most importantly the “one-bite” and ‘strict liability” rules.

4 Steps to Building a Strong Dog Accident Claim

Building a successful personal injury claim takes more than just telling your side of the story. You’ll need solid evidence to show your injuries, support your claim for damages, and to prove the dog owner’s negligence.

The severity and type of injuries determine the amount of compensation for a dog accident claim. Your costs directly affect the total settlement you can get from the insurance company.

If your injuries were limited to some soreness, muscle strains, or bumps and bruises, you can likely settle your injury claim without a lawyer for a fair amount. Severe injuries are a different story.

Serious injury claims should always be handled by a personal injury attorney. Injuries like a fractured hip, other broken bones, or traumatic brain injury are high-dollar claims.

Serious damages from a dog accident can include the cost of ambulance transportation, emergency room diagnosis and treatment, surgery, hospitalization, assistive devices, rehabilitative services, pain and suffering, and more.

1. Seek Prompt Medical Treatment

After getting injured in a dog accident, seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Medical records play an important role in an insurance claim. It’s important for your treatment records to connect your injuries directly to the dog attack. Tell your doctor when and where the dog knocked you down or caused your trip and fall. If you were frightened when the dog jumped at you, say so.

Refusing or delaying medical treatment after a dog accident can hurt your claim. The dog owner’s insurance company needs proof of the injuries you suffered, the treatment you received, and the costs related to that treatment.

2. Take Photographs and Video

Photographs and video footage of a fall can provide graphic evidence. The insurance company will be hard-pressed to deny their insured’s liability when presented with pictures showing a loose dog, a hole in the dog owner’s fence, or other evidence showing the owner behaved negligently.

Maybe there wasn’t enough time to whip out your phone when that big dog ran toward you, but you might still be able to locate pictures of the incident that caused your injuries.

Find out if any witnesses happened to take any pictures or video. Depending on where your injury took place, check to see if a nearby store, school, or another facility may have had surveillance cameras pointed toward the area where the accident happened. If you’re lucky, video footage may have captured the whole thing.

Remember to take pictures of your injuries, right after the accident (torn clothes and all) and throughout your recovery.

3. Get Witness Statements to Help Prove Fault

Written witness statements are invaluable, especially from independent Good Samaritans with no personal or financial interest in your claim. For example, they may have witnessed the owner of the dog walking it off-leash before the dog knocked you down.

There’s no need for notarized or sworn statements. Use any paper you can find. Ask witnesses to write down in detail exactly what they saw and heard, along with their names and contact information.

The more witnesses you have verifying the dog owner’s negligence, the stronger your claim.

4. Document Your Financial Losses

Your claim’s value depends largely on the amount of your losses. Calculate minor to moderate injury compensation by totaling your economic costs, then adding one or two times that amount to account for pain and suffering.

Evidence of your losses can include:

  • Treatment records
  • Medical bills
  • Receipts for out-of-pocket expenses
  • Verification of lost wages
  • Broken glasses or ruined clothing

Include copies of your bills and records with your demand for injury compensation to the insurance company. Always keep the originals for your files.

How Dog Liability Laws Can Affect Your Claim

Understanding the dog liability laws where you live or, more specifically, where the dog accident happened will give you a leg-up when filing your personal injury claim.

Find your state’s laws on this chart of Dog Injury Liability Statutes.

The insurance company’s goal is to avoid paying you a large settlement. They won’t hesitate to “interpret” state laws in their favor.

How “One-Bite” Dog Laws Complicate Non-Bite Claims

In states with a one-bite rule, if you’re injured by a dog with no prior record of causing injury, the dog’s owner is not automatically liable for your injuries. The term might be better understood as the “one free bite rule.”

Fortunately, dog bite court decisions and changes to town dog ordinances over the years have taken the strength out of the one-bite rules. In most one-bite states, dog attack victims can still recover compensation for their damages if they can show the dog owner was negligent.

Case Example: Overcoming the One-Bite Rule 

John lived in a one-bite rule state with King, his five-year-old German Shepherd. King was a well-trained dog and had never shown any signs of aggression.

One summer day, John invited some friends and neighbors for a barbeque in his fenced-in yard. King was loose in the yard, meandering around among the guests as they helped themselves to the buffet-style meal.

One of the guests, Alex had just loaded plates of food for himself and his daughter. Alex didn’t realize that the 80-pound King had decided to flop down in the shade near the buffet table.

As Alex turned to return to his family, he tripped over King. The dog yelped, causing Alex to twist as he fell, trying to avoid the dog. Alex suffered a broken collar bone and a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder.

John’s insurance company denied Alex’s claim, arguing that the one-bite rule relieved John of liability for King’s actions.

Alex hired a personal injury attorney who contacted the insurance company on his behalf. The attorney pointed out that John was legally negligent for allowing King to run loose among the guests during the barbecue.

Arguing that Alex would not have been seriously injured by King if not for John’s negligence, the attorney made it clear to the insurance company that failing to settle Alex’s injury claim would lead to a lawsuit.

John’s insurance company grudgingly paid Alex’s claim, admitting John was liable even if this was the first time his dog caused injury to anyone.

Strict Liability Rules Favor Victims

Dog owners in states with strict liability dog bite laws are absolutely liable for damages caused by their dog, even when the owner was not negligent.

Common exceptions apply. You’re not likely to be awarded damages if your leg was fractured trying to escape from those two Dobermans you encountered after breaking and entering into their home.

Winning compensation will be easier in states with strict liability rules, but don’t let your guard down with the insurance company. Be prepared for the adjuster to bring up comparative fault arguments.

Comparative fault laws take into account whether or not the injured person has any share of the blame for getting hurt. Depending on your share of fault, compensation can be reduced or denied in accordance with state laws.

The adjuster will tell you if they think you share any liability for the dog accident that caused your injuries. However, the insurance company doesn’t get to have the last word. Discuss your case with a personal injury lawyer before settling for less than you deserve.

Non-Aggressive Dog Injury Questions