New York dog bite laws cover several key areas that could affect a personal injury case. In this article, we'll look at the deadlines for filing a dog bite injury lawsuit in a New York civil court, New York's dog bite statute, and the state's use of both strict liability and negligence-based dog bite laws.
We'll finish with a look at the defenses a dog owner might raise when facing a dog bite claim or civil lawsuit.
The deadline to bring a civil case to court in New York is called the statute of limitations. For personal injury cases, including those arising from dog bites, the statute of limitations requires a case to be filed in court within three years of the date of injury. If you do not file your case within the three-year time limit, the court may bar you from filing it at all. So it's important to pay attention to and abide by the statute of limitations as it applies to your dog bite claim.
See New York Personal Injury Laws & Statutory Rules for relevant time limits, negligence laws, and related legal rules.
Section 121 of the New York Code covers dog bites and other dog-related injuries. Specifically, this statute states that the owner or custodian of a "dangerous dog" is liable for the medical costs of any injuries the dog causes to a person, to livestock, or to a companion animal like a disability service dog.
A "dangerous dog" is one that:
Exceptions to the "dangerous dog" designation include law enforcement dogs who are carrying out their duties.
New York uses a combination of strict liability and negligence for dog bites and other dog-caused injuries. For medical bills resulting from a dog bite injury, the dog's owner or custodian is "strictly liable," even if he or she used reasonable care to restrain or control the dog.
For all other costs related to a dog bite injury, New York follows the concept of negligence, meaning the dog's owner or custodian is only liable if he or she failed to use reasonable care to control the dog or to protect or warn others about the dog's dangerous habits. The negligence rule is sometimes known as the "one bite" rule, because an owner who knows a dog has bitten or acted aggressively before must use reasonable care to warn others about the danger.
In order to collect damages beyond medical bills, negligence would need to be proven.
New York's dog bite laws provide several possible defenses that the owner of a dog might raise when faced with a dog bite claim. For instance, a law enforcement unit is not liable for a law enforcement dog that bites or injures someone while carrying out its official duties. A dog may also avoid being labeled a "dangerous dog" under New York law if any of the following are true: