I get calls about dog bites more often than most people would guess. Someone is out walking in Ocean Beach, or a kid is playing in a friend's backyard in Clairemont, and a dog that seemed fine a second ago lunges. The bite happens fast. What comes after is slower and more confusing: stitches, a tetanus shot, maybe surgery, and then the awkward part where the dog's owner is a neighbor, a relative, or a friend of a friend.

I'm Joe Crudo. I handle personal injury cases here in San Diego, and dog bite claims are a real part of that work. California treats these cases differently from a lot of other injuries, and the difference usually works in favor of the person who got hurt. Let me walk you through how the law actually functions, without the legalese.

California Is a Strict Liability State

Here's the single most important thing to understand. In many states, a dog gets "one free bite." The idea is that an owner isn't responsible unless they already knew the dog was dangerous. California threw that rule out a long time ago.

Under California Civil Code section 3342, a dog owner is generally liable when their dog bites someone, whether or not the owner knew the dog had ever been aggressive before. This is called strict liability. It means I usually don't have to prove the owner was careless or that the dog had a history. If you were lawfully somewhere and the dog bit you, the owner is on the hook in most situations.

That's a big deal. In a normal injury case, like a car crash, we have to show the other person was negligent. With a bite, the fact of the bite often does a lot of that work for us. The owner can't just say, "But he's never done that before." Under the statute, that defense doesn't save them.

There are limits, though, and I want to be straight with you about them. The strict liability rule covers bites specifically. If a dog knocks you over and you break your wrist but the dog never actually bit you, that's a different analysis. It usually falls under ordinary negligence rather than the bite statute. Both can be valid claims, they just get proven differently. If you're dealing with that kind of situation, our personal injury page explains how negligence claims work more broadly.

Where You Were Standing Matters

The statute protects you if you were bitten in a public place or "lawfully in a private place." That last part covers more than people expect. If you were invited over, delivering a package, reading a meter, or just standing on a public sidewalk when the dog got loose, you were lawfully there.

Where this gets complicated is trespassing. If someone hops a fence into a yard they had no right to enter and the dog bites them, the strict liability rule may not apply the same way. The facts really matter here, and honestly, "trespassing" is not always as obvious as it sounds. A gate left open, a shared walkway, a poorly marked property line: these details can change the outcome.

Comparative Fault and How It Cuts Both Ways

California is a pure comparative fault state. What that means for a dog bite case is straightforward. If you did something that contributed to what happened, your recovery can be reduced by your share of the fault, but it isn't wiped out entirely.

Say you were teasing the dog, or you ignored clear warning signs and reached over a fence to pet it. An insurance adjuster will absolutely argue that you were partly to blame. Even if a jury decided you were partly at fault, you could still recover something, just a smaller amount depending on the facts. I bring this up not to discourage you but because the other side will raise it, and I'd rather you hear it from me first. Comparative fault comes up in a lot of injury claims, and you can read more about how partial fault plays out on our personal injury page and in our FAQ.

The Deadline You Cannot Miss

In California, the general deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit, including a dog bite claim, is two years from the date of the injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Miss that window and the court can throw your case out no matter how strong it was.

Two years sounds like plenty of time. It goes faster than you think once you're dealing with medical treatment and daily life. And there's a wrinkle that catches people off guard: if a public entity is involved, say the dog belonged to a government agency or the incident happened in a way that implicates a city or county, the deadline to put them on notice can be much shorter, sometimes just a matter of months. Those claims have their own rules and short fuses. If there's any chance a public entity is in the picture, don't sit on it. Call and let me look at the timeline.

What These Cases Are Actually Worth

I won't put a number on your case, and you should be skeptical of any lawyer who does before they've seen your medical records. What I can tell you is the categories of damages California allows. In a dog bite case, those often include:

  • Medical bills, both what you've already paid and future care you'll likely need
  • Lost wages if the injury kept you off work, and lost earning capacity in serious cases
  • Pain and suffering, which is real and compensable even though it doesn't come with a receipt
  • Scarring and disfigurement, which matters a great deal in bite cases, especially bites to the face and hands
  • Costs of future treatment like reconstructive or plastic surgery

Bites are different from a lot of other injuries because of scarring. A bite to the forearm or the cheek can leave a permanent mark, and that has value under California law that goes beyond the ER bill. Children are bitten in the face more often than adults simply because of their height, and those cases deserve serious, careful attention.

Who Actually Pays

Here's a question I get constantly: "I don't want to sue my neighbor." I understand that completely. In most cases, you're not really coming after your neighbor's savings account. You're making a claim against their homeowners or renters insurance. That's what the policy is for.

Most homeowners and renters policies cover dog bite liability, sometimes up to significant limits. So the practical reality is that the check usually comes from an insurance company, not from your neighbor's pocket. That changes the emotional math for a lot of people.

It also means you're going to be dealing with an adjuster, and that's where having someone in your corner helps. Adjusters are pleasant on the phone and they are very good at their jobs, which is paying out as little as possible. They may ask for a recorded statement early, before you even know how bad your injuries are. They may float a quick settlement that looks nice until the infection sets in or you learn you need a second surgery. I take on the insurance companies so you don't have to fight them while you're healing. That's the heart of what I do across all my personal injury work.

What to Do After a Dog Bite

If you take nothing else from this, take these steps.

First, get medical care right away. Bites carry infection risk, and a clean, documented medical record is the backbone of any claim.

Second, identify the dog and the owner. Get names, an address, and any insurance information if you can. If the dog is a stray or you can't identify the owner, report it so animal control has a record.

Third, report the bite. In San Diego County, dog bites are supposed to be reported to the county's animal services. That report creates an official record and can matter for both your case and public safety.

Fourth, take photos. Photograph the wound, the location, and the dog if it's safe to do so. Injuries heal, and juries and adjusters respond to what they can see.

Fifth, be careful what you say to insurance. You don't have to give a recorded statement to the other side's insurer, and you shouldn't accept a fast settlement before you know the full extent of your injuries.

Where I Fit In

Some dog bite cases are simple enough that you might handle them yourself. If the bite was minor and the owner's insurance treats you fairly, that's a good outcome. But when there's scarring, a child involved, a disputed set of facts, or an insurer that's lowballing you, that's when a call makes sense. A free consultation costs you nothing and at least tells you where you stand.

I keep my practice personal. When you call my office, you talk to me, not a rotating cast of case managers. I work alongside my father, Frank Crudo, who has practiced law in San Diego since 1975, so there's a lot of local experience behind the door. You can learn more about how we work on the about page.

This article is general information about California law, not legal advice, and it doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Every case turns on its own facts, and the law can change. If you want advice about your specific situation, talk to a lawyer.

If a dog bit you or your child anywhere in San Diego County, call me at (858) 622-7280 for a free and confidential consultation, or reach out through our contact page. There's no fee unless we recover for you. Let's figure out your options together.