Over the years, dogs have indeed earned the title of “man’s best friend.” Yet it is easy to allow the comfort and companionship that they provide to overshadow the fact that they are still animals (and thus subject to animalistic tendencies). That is typically why surprise is often the response of an owner in Torrington after you are bitten. You might think that a dog bite can be easy enough to overcome, yet as many of those that we here at The Law Offices of Conti, Levy, Salerno & Antonio, LLC have worked with can attest to, such an injury can leave facing costly treatment and recuperation.
In such a case, you might naturally think that the owner of the dog that bit you would have to cover your injury expenses. Yet that may not always be the case. Per information shared by the Cornell Law School, a legal principle exists known as “the one-bite rule.” This essentially allows dog owners to be absolved of liability if their animals have not displayed aggressive tendencies in the past. The logic behind this is that the owner would have no reason to think to warn you that the dog might bite if the animal had never done so before.
The application of the one-bite rule would depend on where the incident occurred. Connecticut does not subscribe to this philosophy, meaning that you can hold a dog owner liable for a bite no matter if the animal had bitten someone before. Neighboring states (such as Vermont), however, do recognize the one-bite rule.
You can learn more about assigning liability in the wake of an animal attack by continuing to browse through our site.
