7-year-old R. was playing with a friend outside his house in John’s Creek, Georgia. A neighbor’s dog escaped from its house and attacked R. and his friend. The dog bit R. on his face several times, leaving deep lacerations that required plastic surgery to repair and unfortunately left permanent scars. Michael Ruppersburg secured a $275,000 settlement for R. and his family, which was nearly 14 times R’s medical bills.
Georgia Dog Bite Law
Georgia’s dog bite law is O.C.G.A. § 51-2-7, which states:
A person who owns or keeps a vicious or dangerous animal of any kind and who, by careless management or by allowing the animal to go at liberty, causes injury to another person who does not provoke the injury by his own act may be liable in damages to the person so injured. In proving vicious propensity, it shall be sufficient to show that the animal was required to be at heel or on a leash by an ordinance of a city, county, or consolidated government, and the said animal was at the time of the occurrence not at heel or on a leash.
In the case of Askew v. Rogers, 326 Ga. App. 24 (2014), the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that to hold a dog owner responsible for biting someone under this law, the injured person must show:
- The dog owner careless managed the dog or allowed the dog to go at liberty; and
- The dog was vicious or that the dog was violating a local leash law; and
- The dog injured someone.
The second requirement has two different ways of holding a dog owner responsible. The first is to prove that the dog showed “vicious propensities,” meaning that the dog had bitten, attacked or acted aggressively towards people or animals before. The second is to prove that the city or county had a leash law requiring the dog to be restrained.
Proving the Dog Owner Responsible For The Attack
Michael’s investigation proved that the dog showed both “vicious propensities” and violated a leash law.
Michael found several neighbors who were willing to testify that the dog had acted aggressively towards them before, barking, lunging and trying to bite them.
The attack happened in Gwinnett County, which has a leash law. Gwinnett County Ordinance § 10-71(a) states that “[i]t shall be unlawful for any owner or possessor of any dog to fail to keep the dog under restraint or control as provided for in this section.”
Given this and that the dog was able to escape its house and attack R, the dog owner was responsible for the attack.
The Settlement
The homeowner had a $300,000 insurance policy. Shortly after filing a lawsuit, Michael secured a $275,000 settlement for R and his family. The remaining insurance policy went to the other child, who was fortunately far less injured. The funds will help the R’s family pay for scar revision surgery, which will help lessen the appearance of the scars, and provide for R’s education when he’s older. We’re pleased to have helped R. and his family and wish them well in their recovery.