A dog does not have to bite someone to cause a serious injury. A person may be knocked down, chased into traffic, pushed from a bicycle, or injured while trying to escape an aggressive animal. In New Jersey, compensation may still be available even when the dog’s teeth never made contact.
However, non-bite cases are generally handled differently from claims brought under New Jersey’s dog-bite statute.
New Jersey’s dog-bite law imposes strict liability on a dog owner when the animal bites someone in a public place or while the person is lawfully on private property. In a qualifying bite case, the victim generally does not need to prove that the dog had previously shown aggression.
When no bite occurred, the strict-liability statute may not control the claim. The injured person may instead need to proceed under common-law negligence principles.
A dog owner may be liable when the owner knew or should have known that the animal presented a dangerous risk and failed to take reasonable precautions.
Evidence may show that the dog had previously:
The owner’s conduct also matters. A claim may be supported by evidence that the dog was allowed to roam without a leash, kept behind a defective fence, left with an inadequate handler, or brought into a situation where aggressive behavior was foreseeable.
Non-bite dog attacks can cause significant physical harm. A person fleeing from a dog may fall on pavement, collide with a vehicle, or suffer an injury while attempting to protect a child.
Potential injuries include:
The key issue is whether the dog owner’s failure to control the animal was a substantial factor in causing the injury.
Because strict liability may not apply, evidence of the dog’s behavior and the owner’s knowledge can be especially important.
Useful evidence may include witness statements, photographs, security video, animal-control reports, prior complaints, veterinary records, text messages, neighborhood communications, and proof of earlier incidents.
The victim should also document the accident scene, obtain the owner’s contact and insurance information, report the incident, and seek prompt medical care. Medical records should clearly describe how the dog attack caused the injury.
Depending on the circumstances, liability may extend beyond the dog’s legal owner. A landlord, property owner, dog walker, caretaker, business, or another person who controlled the animal may also be investigated.
For example, a landlord may face a separate negligence claim when the landlord knew that a tenant kept a dangerous dog in a common area and had the authority to address the risk. Liability depends on control, prior knowledge, and the specific facts of the incident.
A successful claim may provide compensation for medical expenses, future treatment, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, permanent disability, scarring, and psychological treatment.
The defense may argue that the dog was not aggressive, that the victim overreacted, or that another condition caused the fall. Photographs, witness accounts, video footage, and prior incident records can help address these arguments.
A non-bite dog injury claim can be more difficult to prove than a statutory dog-bite case because negligence and prior knowledge may need to be established.
A New Jersey dog attack lawyer can investigate the animal’s history, obtain insurance information, identify all responsible parties, preserve evidence, and determine which legal theory applies. Prompt investigation is important because video footage may be erased and witnesses may become difficult to locate.
