Vidalia Dog Attack Injury Attorney

Dog attacks generate some of the most commonly-suffered physical injuries, and these attacks can also be highly traumatic experiences causing emotional injuries beyond the physical ones. Most dog attack cases are resolved with an insurance settlement, but our firm can pursue your remedies in court if the other side will not participate in good-faith negotiation to help you get full compensation for the injuries you have suffered.

Code Ann. sec. 51-2-7 provides: 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.

Georgia uses a reformed version of the "one-bite rule." According to this rule, if a dog owner knew or should have known that her dog had harmful characteristics, the owner is strictly accountable for any damages. In other words, regardless of carelessness, the owner will be responsible for the victims' damages if the dog had a history of viciousness (for example, had previously bit someone).

When does a dog become dangerous for liability purposes? A dog's level of danger cannot be inferred only by how much it barks or growls. O.C.G.A. 4-8-21(a)(1) specifies that a dog is harmful if it:

• “Inflicts a severe injury on a human being without provocation on public or private property…or
• Aggressively bites, attacks, or endangers the safety of humans without provocation after the dog has been classified as a potentially dangerous dog and after the owner has been notified of such classification.”