Today I’d like to discuss dog bites in Florida. In Florida, if someone owns a dog and that dog bites another individual, the owner is strictly liable for any damages that the dog causes. So basically, there is no excuse. If you own a dog and that dog bites somebody, then you will be responsible for the most part. Typically your homeowner’s insurance will cover you in that situation, but a lot of homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover dog bites, or sometimes there is a lower limit of liability for dog bites. So be careful, take a look at your policy, and make sure you are fully covered if you own a dog. Even if you own a friendly dog anything that dog does could potentially cause damages to somebody else. A dog could be friendly, jump up on somebody, knock them over, and they get hurt, or they could potentially bite them by accident. So always check your policy and make sure you are covered in case your dog injures somebody else. In Florida, it is possible that if a dog lives on a property that is rented then the landlord could potentially be responsible for the dog as well if they knew that that dog was dangerous or had bit other people in the past. So it’s important if you do get bitten by a dog to consult with an attorney and make sure all avenues of resources are pursued because there are different places you can look to be compensated for your injuries.
