• Home
• Law Talk
• Dog Bites – The Painful Reality

Dog Bites – The Painful Reality

It seems that seldom a day goes by without news of another tragic and devastating attack by a dog on a person, with Pit bulls being overwhelmingly accused as the perps for now. The attacks have sparked emotional and heated argument (and consequences) with the one camp calling for the banning (even destruction) of the breed, and the other in opposition and vocally in support of the animal. In this article I seek to delve neither into that complex debate nor the criminal law aspects involved, but rather the civil law consequences for owners of dogs that can potentially attack.

Firstly, and importantly, we are dealing with the old legal principle of strict liability. In other words, a victim, in suing an owner of the dog for the damages suffered by the attack, does not have to prove fault (negligence for example) on the part of the owner. Similarly, the owner cannot defend the action on the basis that it wasn’t his fault. So, the whole “someone else left my gate open and the dog ran out” defence is not going to fly. If you are the owner, you are potentially liable.

Secondly if the dog acted in a manner deemed contrary to its nature, the owner is potentially liable. A dog that bites, for example, irrespective of the breed, will be deemed to have acted in a manner contrary to what is expected of a nice well-mannered pet or domesticated animal.

The victim will, of course, still need to prove other elements necessary to sustain a claim in delict. Causation for example (the attack resulted in the damage suffered) and quantum (calculation of the damages sustained).

Fortunately for owners, there are legitimate defences available.

If the victim had neither a lawful purpose in being on the premises where the attack took place nor a legal right to be there (invitation or permission given, either express or tacit, would establish such legal right) a valid defence can be raised. So, when Brutus attacks a burglar in the process of removing your TV set at 3AM, his chances of successfully suing you for the bite are slim to none!

If you can show that the attack was the result of the victim provoking the animal, or that the victim knew the risk of sustaining injury from your animal and voluntarily (through his conduct or otherwise) accepted that risk, a valid defence can be raised.
In essence though, I would say that in most cases like this, because the burden of proof is relatively easy to discharge, and the defences generally quite tenuous, the scales are tipped in favour of the victim.

Accordingly, for all dog owners out there, I would urge you to ensure that your dogs are properly secured within your premises, or on leashes when walking, and pose no threat to people lawfully going about their daily lives. 

Otherwise, when it comes to the choice of pets, go with the hamster option.