Practice Area Spotlight: Animal Attack

One of the more interesting and currently relevant areas of the law related to the personal injury realm, is that of animal attack. I say relevant because of the absolute plethora of news stories involving the incredibly unfortunate animal attacks, whether by zoo animals or local aggressive dogs. (Just recently someone stole a spider monkey from the SF Zoo. At the same zoo, intruders had somehow fallen into the Lion enclosure and been attacked, and the Lion House was then closed for a long time in order to make remedial safety measures.)

Dangerous dogs are probably the most common type of animal attack that a person might encounter. There is a saying in tort (personal injury) law that dogs get a “first bite free.” This refers to the fact that owners are subject to higher standards of liability (strict liability) once their animal is considered dangerous, such as after they have already bitten someone. However, this first bite free theory isn’t necessarily true, because an owner may still be held liable on a theory of negligence. The strict liability level of responsibility applies when an owner has a commonly dangerous type of animal, such as a tiger or a boa constrictor, regardless of the individual animal’s personality.

The broader practice area of Animal Law encompasses multiple different areas, such as animal adoptions, animal cruelty, or livestock harassment.

Click to learn more about Animal Attack law, or other related areas of Animal Law, or to find an experienced Animal Law attorney in your area.