Whenever you hear news of a dog biting case in Jeffersonville, it is almost always accompanied by an assertion from the animal's owner that he or she had never acted aggresively before. While that may indeed be true, claims of a dog's normally loving nature do little to help those he or she bit to handle their injury expenses. Often, clients who come to see us here at the Doane Law Office, LLC after having suffered a dog bite worry that their attempts to hold the owners responsible will fall on deaf ears. Should you have the same fear, it is likley due to the notion of the "one bite rule." 

You might hear the term "one bite rule" and equate it to the "three strikes rule" that many states apply to criminal offenders. In reality, it does not necessarily mean that any dog is allowed to bite one person before his or her owner can be held liable. Rather, it may simply excuse an owner from liability if he or she had no reason to believe that the dog might be dangerous. Yet the trouble with the one bite rule is that not all state's follow that logic. In fact, Indiana adheres to a strict liability standard when dealing with dog bite cases.

Section 15-20-1-3 of the Code of Indiana states that if you are attacked by a dog without provocation and while being in an area where you are legally entitled to be (in other words, not trespassing on the dog owner's property), the owner can be held liable for any injuries you sustain. This holds true even if this marks the first time the animal has displayed aggressive tendencies.

More information on dealing with dog attacks can be found here on our site.