What You Need to Know About New Jersey Dog Bites

If a dog bites you or a family member, you might wonder about compensation for your medical expenses, time off from work, and other expenses and losses. Dog bites can lead to serious injuries, and like most states, New Jersey has specific laws in place to address personal injury cases that arise from a bite injury.
Understanding the General Dog Bite Law
New Jersey is a strict liability state for dog bites. This means that dog owners are liable for injuries caused by their pets, even if the dog has never attacked before and the owner had no reason to suspect the dog would be aggressive.
Strict liability dog bite laws also mean that an owner cannot claim they are not responsible for the bite because the owner tried to restrain or secure the dog or tried to warn the victim.
In order for a New Jersey dog owner to be liable for the bite and injuries, the victim must have lawfully been in a private or public space.
Classifying Dangerous Dogs
New Jersey has a specific civil procedure in place to handle particularly dangerous dogs. An animal control officer usually puts this process into motion. If animal control reports that they believe a particular dog to be a significant threat due to the dog attacking a person or another animal, animal control will notify the dog's owner and the court to proceed with a hearing.
If the court decides that the dog is dangerous, it can order the owner to do several things, which may include getting a special license for the animal, keeping the dog in a locked enclosure, or displaying signs on the property where the animal lives to warn others of the potential danger.
In severe cases where a dog is deemed particularly vicious due to its inflicting severe injuries on a person or being involved in organized dogfighting, the court may order that the dog must be put down.
Defenses Against Dog Bites
Even though New Jersey imposes strict liability on dog owners for bites, there are some legal defenses the owners can raise in court. If the bite victim was trespassing, the owner may not be liable for the victim's injuries.
Another common defense to dog bite claims is shared blame. A dog owner might try to argue that the bite victim was completely or partially responsible for the bite due to provoking the dog into an attack. If the court finds that the victim was more at fault than the dog owner was, the victim won't be able to recover any damages under New Jersey's comparative negligence rule.
If the victim was partially at fault, but the court finds them to be less than 50 percent at fault, the victim will be able to recover compensation in proportion to their fault percentage.
Steps to Take After a Bite
If you're bitten by a dog, it's important to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Report any dog bite to the police or animal control promptly to start an investigation. When you report your bite quickly and properly, you'll have more documentation to support your case if you end up filing a lawsuit to get compensation for your injuries.
Get the owner's name, address, and phone number, as well as the contact information for any potential witnesses.
It's important to contact an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as you can after the dog bite. An attorney can help you sort through the evidence in your case and advise you on what records and documentation you should keep to give you the best chance of winning your case if you decide to take it to court.
The legal team at Radano Orecchia, LLC represents personal injury clients with a liability claim in the Vineland and Northfield, New Jersey areas. Our experienced attorneys work on contingency, which means you won't pay unless we win your case. If you or a loved one has suffered a serious dog bite injury, contact us today to set up a free consultation to discuss your case.




