In California, dog owners must take ‘reasonable steps’ to eliminate the possibility of an attack if the animal has previously bitten somebody. Has the dog you own bitten somebody on two different occasions or your attack dog severely hurt somebody by biting once? If yes, the court might just instruct you to take measures to stop future bites that include taking the dog away from the spot, or destroying it. The civil procedures cannot be on the basis of a dog’s past of biting a trespasser or bites by active military/police dogs.

There is a separate procedure to control dangerous dogs in California. Law enforcement or animal control personnel can submit a request for a court hearing if they consider a dog to be a threat. Should the court find that dog to be possibly vicious or dangerous; the animal’s owner must satisfy some conditions that include keeping it restrained securely indoors or in their fenced yard. The court may penalize anyone who breaches the conditions.

Under the law, a potentially dangerous dog is one that has:

• Made individuals protect themselves from violent behavior when beyond the owner’s land on at least two separate occasions in the previous 36 months;
• Bitten somebody who has not provoked it, in turn leaving him or her non-severely injured; or,
• Injured or killed an animal bred at home two times in the past 36 months.

The law deems it vicious in the event:

• It violently hurt or killed somebody with no provocation for the action; or,
• The court already found it to be possibly dangerous, and the owner failed to satisfy the conditions or their dog redid the dangerous action.

A dog’s owner may encounter criminal charges if his or her dog injures another individual. This law applies when one knew their dog was likely to behave mischievously, yet failed to keep it restrained, and it killed or hurt someone when moving about freely. It may be punished as a felony or misdemeanor when the victim suffered just injuries and as the former crime if he or she died.

Talking To An Attorney

If someone else’s dangerous dog injured you by biting, you have to think about consulting with a dog lawyer. An experienced attorney working at Davidovich Law group will also be able to explain in what way California law applies to the situation. Then, you can decide whether or not to take the matter to court with that dog bite injury lawyer as your representative.