American dog bite law consists of civil and criminal law, found in state statutes, county and city ordinances, and court decisions. The laws vary widely among jurisdictions.

The key issue in a dog bite case is the extent to which the jurisdiction follows the old English "one bite rule." This ancient law shields a dog owner or harborer from liability, civilly and criminally, until he has a certain degree of knowledge that his dog is dangerous or vicious. When he has this knowledge, however, the one-bite rule rule makes the owner strictly liable for bite injuries.

In civil law which deals with compensation to injured people, roughly two-thirds of the states have statutes which either eliminate or modify the one-bite rule, making dog owners liable for all dog bites provided that the victim neither trespassed nor provoked the dog. In some states, the dog bite statute makes liability automatic, while in others, there are conditions or limitations.

Injuries caused by negligent handling or confinement of a dog, or by violating a leash law, also make a dog owner liable in almost all states.

To learn more about the civil laws, start at Legal Rights of Dog Bite Victims in the USA and from there click on the link to your state. For criminal laws, go to Dangerous and Vicious Dogs. For model laws that create a fair balance between the rights of the community and dog owners, see Model Dog Bite Laws.

To help decide what to do after a dog bite, read Does an Adult Need a Lawyer for a Dog Bite Claim? or Should Parents Get a Lawyer for Their Injured Child?

One bite rule:
The first time that a canine attacks a human being, the paramount legal issue is the extent to which the state having jurisdiction adheres to the English common law pertaining to injuries inflicted by domestic animals.

The common law shielded the owner of a domestic animal from civil liability to the first victim of each of his animals. This absolving principle came to be known variously as the "one bite rule," the "first bite rule," or the "first bite free" rule.

However, it has been repeatedly stated in the court decisions that the name "one-bite rule" is a misnomer, in that the rule applies to any injury whether or not it was caused by a bite, and that proof of the dangerous propensity of the animal does not require the existence of a prior bite even in a biting case.

The rationale of the one bite rule was that domestic animals by definition were not injurious, and therefore liability could be predicated only on the defendant's knowledge that a particular animal had a propensity to behave in manner that was injurious to humans. Again, the rule applied to any type of injury, whether or not a bite.

The rule provided not only a shield for the animal's owner but also a sword for its victim, because it justified compensating any victim -- after the first one -- who was injured by the same dangerous propensity. The owner, keeper or harborer of the dog thus was held strictly liable when his domestic animal injured a subsequent person the same way it hurt a prior one.

English common law strict liability for canine inflicted injuries therefore was founded on the defendant's scienter (i.e., knowledge) of his dog's dangerousness. For that reason, this is often referred to as the "scienter cause of action," or as "common law strict liability." Since the gist of the tort, "is the keeping of a thing known to be dangerous, one who keeps or harbors an animal owned by another may be liable, if he has such knowledge. A bailee with scienter is of course liable." Prosser or Torts, chapter 10, section 57, page 441. The scienter cause of action can be directed against not only the dog's owner, but also its harborer or keeper:

    "A person, although not the owner of a vicious dog, may make himself liable to others by knowingly keeping or harboring the dog upon his premises, after knowledge of his vicious propensities, and this is true even when such keeping is without the consent and against the wishes of the animal's owner. ... The owner of an animal is the person to whom it belongs. Whether or not a person is a keeper depends upon the peculiar facts and circumstances of each individual case. A man may own an animal and yet not be its keeper. The word 'keeper' is equivalent to 'the person who harbors.' Harboring means protecting. So one who treats a dog as living at his house, and undertakes to control his actions is the owner or keeper within the meaning of the law; but the casual presence of an animal on his premises, if not so treated, does not constitute him such owner or keeper." (3 C.J.S. 1266, § 165.)

The one-bite rule underlies civil and criminal actions in modern America. When a person is bitten by a dog, 18 American states (listed in Legal Rights of Dog Bite Victims in the USA) use the one-bite rule to determine legal liability. The other 32 and the District of Columbia have abrogated or modified the one-bite rule by so-called "dog bite statutes." (The list of those states also is in Legal Rights of Dog Bite Victims in the USA.)

The dog bite statutes vary greatly. They might or might not apply to keepers and harborers as well as owners, and to injuries by means other than biting. They might provide for full compensation, or payment of just medical bills, or payment of medical bills and other economic losses (like loss of income), or double compensation under some circumstances. Some do not apply during the day, or if the dog owner posted a "bad dog sign," or if the victim had provoked the dog weeks before. Even though they are worded as strict liability laws, moreover, the court decisions permit a variety of defenses that vary from state to state. If the state law strict liability does not apply to a particular defendant, or does not provide sufficient compensation, the victim can still assert the scienter cause of action, because it is always available in every state.

In addition to civil laws, criminal laws which apply to the owners, keepers and harborers of dogs are generally based upon the one-bite principle, in that criminal liability usually does not result from dog attacks unless the dog previously engaged in similar behavior.

Video of Attorney Kenneth Phillips testifying against the one-bite rule can be seen at the website of the Tennessee State Legislature. The video will start in Windows Media Player. Several witnesses testify, and some of the footage is graphic and upsetting. Phillips' segment begins at minute 38, his presentation about the one-bite rule lasts 5 minutes, and his entire testimony runs approximately 12 minutes.

The history of the "one bite rule" :
"Rules imposing liability for harm caused by domestic animals find their origin in authority no less ancient than the Pentateuch." Wilson v. Simmons, 103 S.W.3d 211 (Mo.App. W.D. 2003).

The one free bite rule was the law of England on July 4, 1776. Therefore it became the law of the US states at that time. Because it was part of the "common law" (meaning the judge-made law of England), it was not put into the state codes. The various pronouncements of the law had to be located in the law books of England going back to the 1600s.

The best expression of the rule is found in Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 509:

      "(1)  A possessor of a domestic animal that he knows or has reason to know has dangerous propensities abnormal to its class, is subject to liability for harm done by the animal to another, although he has exercised the utmost care to prevent it from doing the harm.

      "(2)  This liability is limited to harm that results from the abnormally dangerous propensity of which the possessor knows or has reason to know."

As stated in the prior section, most American states have either eliminated or modified the one bite rule. The list of "one bite states" is in Legal Rights of Dog Bite Victims in the USA. That web page also has a list of the states that have adopted state law strict liability. The United Kingdom, by the way, still relies upon the "one-bite" rule (see the Animals Act 1971, section 2, subsection 2).

If you are in a state that has the one bite rule, you need to research it first by reading Legal Rights of Dog Bite Victims in the USA, and then (if that section of Dog Bite Law is insufficient or silent about your state) in the case books of your state. Because legal research requires training, non-lawyers who have a claim or must defend a claim are strongly advised to see an attorney rather than attempt to research this issue.

Criticism of the one-bite rule:
The one-bite rule was announced by British judges in the 1600s, and it has no place in modern America.

Every dog bite has consequences. Every victim suffers, not just the ones who were bitten by a dog that bit a person before. Every medical bill must be paid, every ambulance company sends out its invoice, every pharmacy has a cash register.

The "one-bite rule" was announced centuries ago, in pastoral England, when dogs, hogs, mules and sheep wandered aimlessly through towns, as a normal part of life. In those long-gone days, judges announced that the owner of a domestic animal would not be held liable until it bit someone first. There was no need for people to be vigilant about their animals because the law did not require people to take any level of responsibility until after a tragedy occurred.

This was centuries before the development of the pit bull and the passage of the first animal cruelty laws. It was a time when it was not illegal for your dog to wander to another person's property, and not illegal for that person to beat your dog or even kill it if need be. It was a time when there was no homeowners or renters insurance. It was a time when the USA and its principles of human rights did not even exist.

The one-bite rule tells the people that it is okay for their dog to bite someone, once. That they are not responsible for it. That there is no consequence when it happens. That they can look the other way. Shrug it off. Forget about it.
In the USA this year, there have been 19 canine homicides. Only 4 have been in the states that reject the one-bite rule, while 10 are in the 18 states that continue to enforce it, and 5 have been in the states having mixed dog bite statutes that substantially follow it (i.e., Georgia, Tennessee and New York). Because the one-bite rule says that nobody is civilly responsible the first time that a dog mauls a person, there would appear to be a causal relationship between the one-bite rule and canine homicides.

The “one bite” rule has been roundly criticised by scholars and appellate judges, who have called for its repeal. "A dog should have no greater right to a first bite than one has to a first murder. And as between the dog owner and a blameless victim, the owner is almost certainly in the better position to judge the dog's proclivity to bite. Yet, under the ‘first bite’ paradigm, one may be subjected, without recourse, to an animal's first attack, and that animal's owner has little incentive to guard against this potentially deadly event." Ruffin, J, concurring specially in Clark, et al., v. Joiner, 242 Ga. App. 421 (2000).

In modern America, our ideas about personal responsibility are far different. We believe that every one of us must be responsible for the harm that we might cause, and that might be caused by our things, our employees and our children, under our "watch."

We have developed far more equitable rules for determining fault and spreading risk. We also have created breeds of dog specifically for the purpose of killing, and animal cruelty laws that deter the rule-abiding citizen from defending himself and his family. The number of people being seriously injured and killed by dogs is rising steadily. (See Statistics.)

Because the one-bite rule is clearly out of touch with American ideals, it has been rejected by the vast majority of American states and the District of Columbia. They have passed legislation that either wholly or partially supplants the "one bite rule," imposing strict liability on dog owners for dog bites, including the first bite. There is no "free bite" in those jurisdictions. (See Legal Rights of a Dog Bite Victim, which lists the states that have rejected the rule, contains links to the dog bite statutes throughout the USA.)

The one bite rule needs to be repealed everywhere. It needs to be replaced with a statute that makes every dog owner, keeper or harborer legally liable for any and all injuries caused by his or her dog, other than injuries that result from provocation or are inflicted upon a trespasser. If dog owners know that there will be consequences for every bite, then they will be less inclined to permit their dogs to roam, and there will be fewer injuries.

It is now essential for every state to demand from its dog owners not the level of responsibility appropriate for the citizens of an English town 400 years ago, but of modern America. When "defendants realize that they may be held liable, there is of course a strong incentive to prevent the occurrence of the harm. Not infrequently one reason for imposing liability is the deliberate purpose of providing that incentive." Prosser and Keeton on The Law of Torts, 4 at 25-26 (5th ed. 1984).

source: http://www.dogbitelaw.com/