Normally a landlord isn’t on the hook for a dog bite. The legislature insulated and protected them a few years back. However, I’m working on a dog bite case where the landlord is going to be on the hook for damages. This blog post discusses a situation where the landlord has a problem.
My clients live next door to Renter X. Renter X has a Rottweiler (I know the Rottie supporters are an interesting bunch so I’ll leave my comments for another day!). The Rottweiler got out and hurt my client and her children via an attack and bites. Normally we look to see if Renter X has renter insurance and go that route. In this case Renter X let their policy lapse. In any other case that is probably the end of the story. This case is different. About a month before the attack a tornado took down the fence that normally encloses the Rottweiler. The landlord came out and took at look at the damage thus putting him on notice of it. Fixing right away was the smart move. This did not happen. The landlord had also received a pet deposit so he knew about the dog.
The Landlord Has A Duty To Fix
What the landlord should have done is fixed the fence right away. In legal terms we call this the duty. If you know there can be a problem and fail to fix it that is called breach. In this scenario the landlord had a duty to fix it and breached by not doing that. It led to causation aka the dog getting out and damages aka the dog hurting my clients. Because of this I will be pursuing the landlord and arguing that IF he had fixed the fence the attack would have been prevented. If the landlord had fixed the fence he would not hold any liability.
Landlord Knew For Over A Month
FYI, it was a month between the fence going down and the dog bite. That is another important factor. Here is a link to my dog bite page: https://louisville-injury-lawyer.com/service/animal-bites/. It is also important to get checked after a dog bite. Here is more information on rabies: https://louisvilleky.gov/government/health-wellness/rabies-control. I’m always available via email for free consultations at bdettman@dettmanlawgroup.com. I also have the largest pain and suffering dog bite verdict in Kentucky so maybe I know what I’m talking about 🙂
