Missouri Dog Bite Injury Attorneys - Victim Information Center

Victims of a dog attack often have several viable causes of action against the owner or harbourer of the animal. These causes of action will vary from state to state, and in Missouri, the laws are very particular.  Chapter 273 of the Missouri Revised Statutes discusses the laws and regulations for domesticated dogs and cats.  

Before researching each particular cause of action, it is critical that the injury victim take immediate action including the following:

• Immediately wash the wound with warm soapy water and rinse thoroughly
• Seek medical attention if necessary from your local emergency room
• Notify your local police department and demand that a report be made
• Notify the Missouri Department of Health and local municipal health department
• Request current rabies vaccination records from the owner of the animal
• If the owner fails to provide updated vaccination records, demand that the dog be confined and observed for ten (10) days
• Take several photographs of the wound
• Obtain contact information from any witnesses to the attack
• Contact St. Louis Dog Bite Injury Lawyer Stephen Schultz immediately do discuss your facts

Causes of Action

Dog bite victims in the State of Missouri have various forms of civil recovery for their injuries.  This recovery includes common law liability against an owner for keeping an animal with dangerous propensities, strict liability for the dog bite itself, and negligence against both the owner and harborer of the dangerous animal.  Negligence per se may also be a viable cause of action against the owner of the animal based upon the owner's violation of local leash laws or other ordinances banning certain types of dogs known to have vicious predispositions.  

Missouri dog bite victims must also keep in mind that in certain situations, a premises owner may be held liable for injuries caused by a dangerous dog.  Depending upon the actual or constructive knowledge of the premises owner, Missouri courts may find liability against both the dog owner and premises owner (if they are two different persons).

Elements Necessary to Make a Case

An owner of property is negligent when the animal presents a dangerous condition upon the owner's premises and the owner knew or should have known of the danger.  The following elements are required to impose liability:

• The defendant owned, kept, or harbored a domestic animal;
• The animal had the propensity to injure people or damage property;
• The owner, keeper, or harborer of the animal knew or should have known of this dangerous propensity by using ordinary care;
• The dog bite actually caused injury to a person or damaged property (a.k.a. "causation")

Under Missouri strict liability dog bite law, it is no defense that the owner, keeper, or harborer exercised reasonable care in restraining or otherwise confining the dangerous animal.  In simple words, courts are of the opinion that "if you keep a dangerous animal in Missouri and it causes personal injury to another person, you will be liable for the victim's damages."

Who is Liable?

An action for personal injury in Missouri caused by a dog bite can be brought against:

• The owner of the dog, and/or
• The keeper of the dog, and/or
• One who harbors the dog, regardless of whether that person is the actual owner

It is important to know that in Missouri if an owner of a dangerous dog transfers control to an agent (i.e. friend), the transfer does not protect the owner from liability if the dog bites another person and causes personal injury.  However, the owner must have known, or should have known, that at the time of the transfer of control that the dog had a propensity to cause injury.  Actual or constructive knowledge is required.

What are "Dangerous Propensities"?

The essential element in a Missouri dog bite injury claim is that the animal had a propensity to cause injury to people or property.  "Vicious propensities" and "dangerous propensities" are often used to describe this characteristic.  This can be defined as the tendency or probability of the dog to attack and/or bite people, whether out of anger, viciousness, or playfulness. 

Actual or constructive knowledge of the vicious or dangerous propensity to cause personal injury is a necessary prerequisite to recovery against the owner by the victim.  Basically, prior knowledge of vicious or dangerous propensities displayed by the animal on one or numerous occasions is sufficient to prove liability.  The bottom line is that in Missouri the owner has an absolute duty to restrain the animal and keep it from causing personal injury to others.

Violation of a Missouri Statute or City Ordinance

Missouri has statutes and city ordinances that address the restraining of animals.  Commonly referred to as 'leash laws', these statutes and ordinances spell out the duty of owners to keep their dogs restrained at all times.  The goal of these laws is to prevent any dogs, including those with dangerous propensity, of causing serious injury to persons and damage to property.  When the owner, keeper, or harborer violates one of these statutes or ordinances and the unrestrained dog bites another person, those in violation are noted as 'negligent per se'. 

The following elements are required to qualify an owner, keeper, or harborer as negligent per se:

• There is a violation of a Missouri statute or city ordinance
• The personal injury victim must be within the class of persons intended to be protected by the ordinance or statute
• The injury must be of the type that the statute or ordinance was designed to prevent
• The dog bite or animal attack must have actually caused the personal injury

Have you been victimized by a dangerous animal? Contact St. Louis Dog Bite Injury Lawyer Stephen Schultz today and get the experienced attorneys at Schultz Legal Group on your side!  Our lawyers are available anytime at (314) 448-0934, toll-free (866) 840-3636, or by email to discuss your dog bite injury claim. Don't be victimized twice.