Lexington Dog Bites Lawyer

40+ Years’ Combined Experience. Millions Recovered.

In Kentucky, owners of dogs are responsible for their actions. This means that if a dog bites you or someone else then the owner of the dog is most likely responsible for the injuries sustained by the bitten person. In addition, a recent Kentucky Supreme Court case has placed liability in some cases on a dog owner’s landlord.

Fault in Dog Bite Cases

Although Kentucky dog bite law applies the standard of strict liability, there are situations where fault may be relevant. The court may reduce a plaintiff's recovery if the dog bite victim exposes oneself to foreseeable injury because of a failure to exercise reasonable care. The legal basis for reducing recovery in a dog bite case under such circumstances is referred to as comparative negligence. A common example of a situation that may result in a reduction in one's recovery might involve teasing a dog. However, a young child is not capable of engaging in comparative negligence so a young child who allegedly teases a dog may not have his or her recovery reduced.

Leash Laws in Dog Bite Cases

While strict liability is the most common basis for imposing liability for a dog bite case in Kentucky, dog owners also may be liable based on failure to keep their dogs properly controlled on a leash or enclosed under local leash laws. Failure to comply with a leash law may also the basis for imposing strict liability under the doctrine of negligence per se. Negligence per se is a legal doctrine that basically imposes strict liability when violation of a public safety law causes injury to those the law is designed to protect. Because leash laws are designed to protect the public from dog bites, a local leash law may be an additional basis for imposing strict liability when a dog is running at large.