Clark, Perdue & List's Blog

In Ohio, dog bite victims have rights! With only one exception, Ohio law imposes "strict liability" upon the owners or keepers of dogs that cause harm. Strict liability is a legal term that means the victim does not have to prove that the dog owner was negligent. The statute can be found at Ohio Revised Code Section 955.28. It provides that an owner, or keeper of a dog will be liable for any injury, death or loss to a person or property caused by such dog, unless the victim was either committing or attempting to commit a trespass or other crime, or was teasing, tormenting or abusing such dog on the property of its owner.

When two or more persons own or harbor a dog, all are jointly liable for the damages it causes. Thus, Ohio courts long ago confirmed that one who harbors, but does not actually own the dog, may nevertheless be held jointly liable along with the owner. Sawrey v. Grant, 31 Ohio App. 14 (1928); Rosenblatt v. Bosse, 50 Ohio App. 449 (1934).

While "punitive damages" are not available under the statute, they may be recovered under a common law negligence claim. To recover punitive damages, one must show that the owner of a dog knew of its vicious nature, but kept it anyway, notwithstanding such knowledge. In the majority of cases where punitive damages have been awarded, the evidence indicated that even though the owner had been aware that the dog had previously bitten others, no steps had been taken to restrain the animal. This is sometimes referred to as the "one bite" rule. As a practical matter, it is difficult to recover punitive damages if the dog has never bitten anyone before. But after one bite, the owner is presumed to have knowledge of the dog's vicious nature.

Dog bites are typically covered under the dog owner's homeowners insurance policy. So, dog bite victims generally have good claims in Ohio. Strict liability makes proving the claim fairly simple, and compensation can generally be recovered from the dog owner's homeowners insurance.