Member of the Newport County
Chamber of Commerce
Rhode Island and Massachusetts are statutory strict liability states for attacks by dogs. This means that anytime that the dog bites someone when the dog is outside of its enclosure the dog’s owner is liable for any injuries caused by the dog. There are also circumstances when the dog's owner is liable for injuries caused by the dog when the dog is inside of its enclosure.
The following is the Rhode Island State Dog Bite Statute
§ 4-13-16 Action for damages to animals – Double damages on second recovery – Destruction of offending dog.
– If any dog kills, wounds, worries, or assists in killing, wounding or worrying, any sheep, lamb, cattle, horse, hog, swine, fowl, or other domestic animal belonging to or in the possession of any person, or assaults, bites, or otherwise injures any person while traveling the highway or out of the enclosure of the owner or keeper of that dog, the owner or keeper of the dog shall be liable to the person aggrieved, for all damage sustained, to be recovered in a civil action, with costs of suit. If afterwards any such damage is done by that dog, the owner or keeper of the dog shall pay to the party aggrieved double the damage, to be recovered in the manner set forth and an order shall be made by the court before whom that second recovery is made, for killing the dog. The order shall be executed by the officer charged with the execution of the order, and it shall not be necessary, in order to sustain this action, to prove that the owner or keeper of the dog knew that the dog was accustomed to causing this damage.
There are some exceptions where the victim was:
However, In Massachusetts a minor under the age of 7 is presumed to have done none of the above, if bitten
The following is the Massachusetts State Statute
General Laws of Massachusetts, Chapter 140: Section 155. Liability for damage caused by dog; minors; presumption and burden of proof.
Section 155. If any dog shall do any damage to either the body or property of any person, the owner or keeper, or if the owner or keeper be a minor, the parent or guardian of such minor, shall be liable for such damage, unless such damage shall have been occasioned to the body or property of a person who, at the time such damage was sustained, was committing a trespass or other tort, or was teasing, tormenting or abusing such dog. If a minor, on whose behalf an action under this section is brought, is under seven years of age at the time the damage was done, it shall be presumed that such minor was not committing a trespass or other tort, or teasing, tormenting or abusing such dog, and the burden of proof thereof shall be upon the defendant in such action.
In addition to damages for injuring a human, damages can also be recovered if the dog bites cattle, sheep, pigs etc.
The gets further complicated by the involvement of other parties such as the landlord who knew that aggressive animals were being kept by his tenants or the pet sitter who was in charge of the dog at the time of the incident.
Should you be the victim of an attack by a dog or a dog bit then do not hesitate in engaging the very experienced, Personal Injury Lawyer, Ann Sheeley to handle your damage recovery claim.