Pasadena Dog Bite Lawyer
Pasadena Dog Bite Lawyer
On This Page
- Pasadena and Los Angeles County Dog Bite Statistics
- California Dog Bite Law: Strict Liability Under Civil Code 3342
- Pasadena Leash Law and Dog Ordinances
- Pasadena Animal Control and Rabies Follow-Up
- What To Do After a Pasadena Dog Bite
- Pasadena Hospitals and Urgent Care for Dog Bites
- How To Report a Dog Bite in Pasadena
- Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Pasadena Dog Bite
- Filing a Dog Bite Claim in Los Angeles County
- Compensation for Pasadena Dog Bite Victims
- Comparative Negligence in California Dog Bite Cases
- Statute of Limitations for Pasadena Dog Bite Cases
- Homeowner and Renter Insurance for Pasadena Dog Bites
- Why Choose Dog Bite Laws for Your Pasadena Case
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Strict Liability: Civil Code 3342 makes a Pasadena dog owner liable for a bite in public or anywhere you were lawfully present, with no proof that the dog was ever aggressive before.
- Six Foot Leash: Pasadena Municipal Code 6.12.010 requires a dog on a public street or in another public place to be held on a leash no longer than six feet by a competent person, and a violation can bring a $500 fine.
- Pasadena Humane: Pasadena contracts its animal control to Pasadena Humane, which takes bite reports at (626) 792-7151, extension 998.
- Level II Trauma: Huntington Hospital is the only Level II trauma center in the San Gabriel Valley and has a pediatric-approved emergency department open 24 hours.
- Two Year Deadline: Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 gives an adult two years from the bite to file suit, and a claim against a city or county dog must be filed with the agency within six months.
- Pure Comparative Fault: California cuts a victim's award by their share of fault but never bars recovery outright, even for a victim found mostly at fault.
- Paid Not Billed: Under the Howell decision, medical damages are measured by what was actually paid or still owed, not the amount printed on the hospital bill.
- Insurance Pays: Most Pasadena dog bite claims are paid by the owner's homeowner or renter policy, and California leads the nation in those claims.
If a dog bit you or your child in Pasadena, California law already answers the first question most victims ask: yes, the owner is responsible. Under California’s strict liability dog bite statute, Civil Code 3342, a dog owner is liable for a bite that happens in a public place or anywhere you were lawfully present, whether or not the dog had ever shown aggression before and whether or not the owner was careless.
This page explains Pasadena’s leash and licensing ordinances, how Pasadena Humane handles a bite report and the rabies observation, which hospitals have the trauma and pediatric resources a serious bite needs, who beyond the owner can be held responsible, the two-year deadline, and how the owner’s homeowner or renter insurance actually pays these claims.
Dog Bite Laws handles dog attack cases and nothing else. Consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover money for you.
Pasadena and Los Angeles County Dog Bite Statistics
Neither the City of Pasadena nor Pasadena Humane publishes a yearly count of dog bites inside the city, and Los Angeles County’s bite data is not broken out by city, so there is no clean “bites per year in Pasadena” number to give you. What does exist is the reporting system. Los Angeles County’s Veterinary Public Health program treats mammal bites to people as reportable, and it directs Pasadena residents to report bites to Pasadena Humane.
The statewide picture is not in doubt. California led the nation in dog attacks on letter carriers with 673 in the U.S. Postal Service’s 2025 rankings, and the City of Los Angeles next door led every American city with 70. The Insurance Information Institute reported 2,104 dog-related injury claims in California in 2023, the most of any state, with an average payout of $68,125. Nationally, CDC injury data shows that dog bites send hundreds of thousands of people to emergency departments every year.
Children are the highest-risk group. Because of their height they are far more likely to be bitten on the face, scalp, and neck, which is why facial scarring is so often the largest part of a child’s claim.
California Dog Bite Law: Strict Liability Under Civil Code 3342
California does not give a dog one free bite. Civil Code 3342 makes the owner of any dog liable for the damages suffered by anyone bitten while in a public place or lawfully in a private place, including the owner’s own home and yard, regardless of the dog’s past behavior or what the owner knew about it. For a Pasadena victim, the claim comes down to four points: the defendant owned the dog, the dog bit you, you were somewhere you had a right to be, and the bite caused injury.
You are covered on any sidewalk, street, park, trail, or business open to the public. On the owner’s own property, you are covered if you were there by invitation, express or implied, which includes dinner guests, a child at a playdate, a neighbor at the front door, and a hired repair person, and anyone doing a job the law sends them to do; the statute names postal workers, and the same protection reaches utility readers and delivery drivers.
Two groups fall outside strict liability. A trespasser cannot use the statute, though a trespasser can still bring an ordinary negligence claim. And a police dog that bites a suspect during listed police work is exempt if the agency has a written K-9 policy, but never when the person bitten was a bystander.
The statute covers bites only. Under the Drake decision, a dog that knocks you down or pulls you off a bicycle without biting is handled under ordinary negligence, and a leash law violation, covered next, usually supplies the proof.
Pasadena Leash Law and Dog Ordinances
California has no statewide leash law, so the rule that applies to a Pasadena bite is the city’s own. Pasadena Municipal Code 6.12.010 prohibits letting a dog be on any public street, alley, or other public place, or on an unenclosed lot, unless it is securely confined by a strong cord, chain, or leash no longer than six feet, securely and continuously held by a competent person. A violation carries a fine of up to $500 and up to six months in jail. In city parks, dogs must stay leashed and on the trails, except in designated off-leash areas, including Alice’s Dog Park at Vina Vieja Park and Playhouse Village Dog Park.
Every dog over four months old must be licensed under section 6.16.010, and the rabies control chapter, 6.36, requires a current vaccination certificate before a license is issued. Licensing runs through Pasadena Humane, which is one reason a bite report is so useful: it ties the dog to a named, licensed owner and a vaccination record.
For dogs that bite, Pasadena has its own ordinance, Chapter 6.18 of the Municipal Code, alongside the state’s Food and Agricultural Code 31601 framework. A city Hearing Officer decides whether a dog is a public nuisance, potentially dangerous, or vicious, and can order conditions on the owner or removal of the dog from the city. State law bars any city from declaring a dog dangerous because of its breed.
Why does the leash rule matter to you? When an owner or dog walker breaks a safety ordinance and that violation causes the kind of harm the ordinance was written to prevent, California law presumes negligence. That presumption drives knock-down claims and claims against a friend, roommate, or paid walker who was handling the dog.
Pasadena Animal Control and Rabies Follow-Up
Pasadena’s animal control is run by a nonprofit under contract. Bite reports, loose-dog calls, and dangerous-dog complaints inside the city go to Pasadena Humane, whose animal control dispatch answers at (626) 792-7151, extension 998. Pasadena Humane provides the same service to Glendale and several other foothill communities.
When a report comes in, the officer identifies the dog and the owner, checks the license and rabies vaccination, and places the dog under the 10 day rabies observation that state regulation requires. During the observation, the dog is confined in a place and manner the local health officer approves. If the dog is healthy at day 10, rabies is ruled out. If the dog cannot be found, your doctor will likely recommend the post-exposure vaccine series, and that cost becomes part of your claim.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Veterinary Public Health program, (213) 288-7060, runs an online bite reporting portal, but its bite reporting page tells Pasadena residents to report bites to Pasadena Humane.
The paper trail is the point. The Pasadena Humane file will show who owned the dog, whether it was licensed, whether anyone complained about it before, and whether a dangerous-dog hearing was ever held. Read more about what happens after a dog bite is reported.
What To Do After a Pasadena Dog Bite
The first day sets up everything that follows. Take these steps in this order.
- Get away from the dog and call 911 if anyone is seriously hurt or the dog is still loose and aggressive. For a contained dog and a non-emergency, the Pasadena Police non-emergency line is (626) 744-4241.
- Identify the dog and the owner before anyone leaves. Get the owner’s name, phone number, and where the dog lives, and ask to see the rabies tag.
- Get medical care the same day, even for a small puncture. A minor-looking wound can become a serious infection within a day or two, and any bite to the face, hand, or a child belongs in an emergency room.
- Report the bite to Pasadena Humane at (626) 792-7151, extension 998. This starts the rabies observation and creates the official record of the owner and any prior complaints.
- Photograph everything. The wounds, torn clothing, the location, the gate or fence the dog came through, and the dog itself if it is safe.
- Collect witness names and phone numbers. Neighbors and delivery drivers who have seen the dog loose before will confirm what happened.
- Keep everything. Torn clothing unwashed, every discharge sheet and bill, and a short daily note about pain, missed work, and any fear of dogs your child is showing.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the owner’s insurance company before you talk to a lawyer. Adjusters are trained to turn an innocent description into a provocation argument that cuts your recovery.
Pasadena Hospitals and Urgent Care for Dog Bites
A serious dog bite, meaning deep tissue damage, a wound to the face or hand, heavy bleeding, or any significant injury to a child, belongs at a hospital emergency department rather than a walk-in clinic.
- Huntington Hospital. The only Level II trauma center in the San Gabriel Valley and the region’s largest emergency department, open 24 hours and approved for pediatrics, with staff trained in pediatric emergency care. Main line (626) 397-5000. For most Pasadena bites, adult or child, this is the first stop.
- Los Angeles General Medical Center. The county’s Level I adult trauma center and the transfer destination for the most severe adult injuries. Main line (323) 409-1000. Emergency department open 24 hours.
- Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The only Level I pediatric trauma center in Los Angeles County verified by the American College of Surgeons, and the destination for a child with a severe facial, scalp, or hand bite. Main line (323) 660-2450. Emergency department open 24 hours.
For a smaller bite that has stopped bleeding but still needs cleaning, closure, and antibiotics, Huntington Health partners with Exer Urgent Care, which has two Pasadena locations, East Pasadena at (626) 270-2400 and West Pasadena at (626) 385-1455, staffed by the same emergency physicians who work at Huntington Hospital, with walk-ins accepted.
If the wound is on the face, especially on a child, keep every record from that visit, because your lawyer will use the medical records to document the scar revision you may need later.
How To Report a Dog Bite in Pasadena
Because the state has declared all of California a rabies area, state regulations (Title 17, section 2606) require that the local health officer be notified whenever a dog bites a person. In Pasadena that duty is met by contacting one of these agencies.
- Pasadena Humane, animal control dispatch. (626) 792-7151, extension 998. The place to report any bite or dangerous dog inside the city.
- Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Veterinary Public Health. (213) 288-7060, with an online bite reporting portal.
- Pasadena Police Department, non-emergency. (626) 744-4241. For an owner who refuses to identify the dog, leaves the scene, or a loose aggressive dog.
- Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, 24-hour general information. (323) 267-4800. For bites in unincorporated county pockets or county parks near the city.
- 911. For any active attack, a dog that is still loose and aggressive, or an injury that needs an ambulance.
Ask for the report number and a copy. If the agency will not release the file to you, your lawyer can obtain it, and it is the fastest way to learn whether the same dog was reported before.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Pasadena Dog Bite
Pasadena mixes single-family neighborhoods, a large rental market, and a heavy flow of visitors, so a careful investigation often finds more than one responsible party and more than one insurance policy.
- The owner. Strictly liable for a bite. Spouses, roommates, and adult children who share the dog may each be an owner with a separate policy. Learn more about what determines ownership of a dog.
- A keeper, dog walker, or pet sitter. Not covered by the strict liability statute, but liable for negligence, and a leash violation makes negligence presumed.
- A residential landlord. Under the Uccello rule, a landlord who actually knew a tenant’s dog was dangerous and had the power to remove it owes a duty to people the dog injures.
- A commercial landlord or business. Must inspect at lease renewal and remove a dangerous dog the owner knew or should have known about.
- A government agency. Responsible when a K-9 bites a bystander or a dog attacks on public property, but a government claim must be filed within six months.
Each responsible party usually brings its own insurance, and identifying every policy early is often the difference between a partial recovery and a full one.
Filing a Dog Bite Claim in Los Angeles County
A Pasadena dog bite lawsuit is filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. Your lawyer prepares the case, tracks every deadline, and deals with the court so you can focus on healing.
Most Pasadena claims never reach a courtroom. The owner’s homeowner or renter insurer pays the great majority of dog bite claims, and most settle before a lawsuit is filed. Filing still has a purpose when an adjuster stalls or lowballs: a filed case puts the claim on a calendar the insurer cannot ignore.
Small claims court lets an individual sue for up to $12,500 without a lawyer. That limit rarely fits a bite that needed an emergency room visit, stitches, or any follow-up care, so talk to a lawyer before choosing that route.
Compensation for Pasadena Dog Bite Victims
A Pasadena dog bite claim can recover every category of loss the bite caused, and California places no cap on pain and suffering in a dog bite case. The categories are:
- Past and future medical expenses. Emergency care, antibiotics, the rabies series if the dog could not be found, plastic surgery, and later scar revision.
- Lost wages and earning capacity. Time off work and any long-term reduction in what you can earn.
- Pain and suffering. The physical pain of the injury and the treatment.
- Scarring and disfigurement. Compensated separately, and often the largest element in a child’s facial bite case.
- Emotional distress and PTSD. Anxiety, nightmares, and fear of dogs are common in children, and counseling costs are recoverable. Read about emotional trauma after a dog attack.
- Out-of-pocket costs. Torn clothing, prescriptions, mileage to appointments, and help at home.
One California rule surprises many victims. Under the Howell decision, past medical damages are measured by what was actually paid or still owed, not by the hospital’s original bill. If your health plan negotiated a $24,000 Huntington Hospital bill down to $7,500, the medical damages are $7,500. That makes the handling of medical liens critical, because Medi-Cal, Medicare, and private plans expect repayment from your recovery.
Punitive damages are available only when the owner acted with malice or conscious disregard for safety, such as letting a dog roam after it had already bitten someone. See what drives value on our California average dog bite settlement page, or get a rough range from the dog bite settlement calculator.
Comparative Negligence in California Dog Bite Cases
California uses pure comparative fault. If a jury decides you share some blame for the bite, your award is reduced by your percentage of fault, but it is never wiped out, no matter how high that percentage is.
Here is how it plays out in a Pasadena case. Suppose a jury finds your total damages are $180,000 for a forearm bite outside a cafe in Old Pasadena and decides you were 20 percent at fault for reaching down to pet a leashed dog without asking. You recover $144,000. If the jury put your share at 60 percent, you would still recover $72,000. Only a finding that you were 100 percent responsible produces nothing.
Provocation is the defense you will hear most often. Civil Code 3342 has no provocation exception, so teasing, cornering, or startling a dog is argued as your comparative fault, not as a complete bar. The only complete defenses are narrow: a person who intentionally courted the bite, or a professional such as a veterinarian or kennel worker who accepted the dog into their care for pay. Learn more about whether a child can provoke a dog.
This is why the recorded statement matters. An adjuster who gets you to say you probably should not have reached over the fence has just written the insurer’s provocation argument.
Statute of Limitations for Pasadena Dog Bite Cases
An adult bitten in Pasadena has two years from the date of the bite to file a lawsuit under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. Opening an insurance claim does not stop that clock, and once it runs the claim is over regardless of merit. Our overview of the dog bite statute of limitations explains the rules in more detail.
For a child, the clock does not start until the 18th birthday, so the deadline is in practice the 20th birthday. That does not make waiting wise: the dog may be rehomed, the owner may move, Pasadena Humane’s records are easier to obtain while fresh, and witnesses forget.
The deadline is dramatically shorter when a government entity is involved. If the dog belonged to the city, the county, the Pasadena Unified School District, or any other public agency, or if a police K-9 bit a bystander, a written government claim must be filed with that agency within six months of the bite, and that rule is not extended for children. After the agency rejects the claim, a lawsuit must follow within six months.
Homeowner and Renter Insurance for Pasadena Dog Bites
Most Pasadena dog bite claims are paid by the dog owner’s homeowner, condo, or renter policy, not from the owner’s own pocket. When the dog belongs to a friend or neighbor, making a claim is not asking that person to write a check; it is asking the insurer they already pay for exactly this situation.
Typical personal liability limits run from $100,000 to $300,000, and a policy may also include medical payments coverage, which can pay reasonable medical expenses for someone accidentally hurt on the owner’s property. Umbrella policies add $1 million or more, which matters in cases involving surgery or a child’s face.
California leads the nation in dog bite insurance claims. The Insurance Information Institute reported 2,104 California claims in 2023, the most in the country, with an average payout of $68,125.
Two coverage traps come up in Pasadena cases. Some insurers will not cover certain breeds, and once a dog has bitten someone an insurer may charge a higher premium, nonrenew the policy, or exclude the dog from coverage, so some policies carry an animal liability exclusion buried in the endorsements. And if the owner never disclosed the dog when applying, the insurer may try to void coverage. Both problems can sometimes be solved by finding a second policy, a co-owner, or a landlord with actual knowledge of the dog, which is why the full policy has to be reviewed.
Why Choose Dog Bite Laws for Your Pasadena Case
Dog Bite Laws handles dog attack cases and nothing else. That focus shows up in the details: knowing that a Pasadena bite report lives at Pasadena Humane, how to get the prior complaint history on the dog, how the Howell rule changes the value of your hospital bills, and how to find the second insurance policy many firms never look for.
When you hire us, we deal with the owner’s insurance company, gather the animal control and medical records, negotiate the medical liens that come out of your recovery, and file and handle the court case if the insurer will not pay what the claim is worth. You pay nothing up front and no fee unless we recover money for you.
If a dog bit you or your child in Pasadena, call Dog Bite Laws or send us a message for a free consultation. We will tell you honestly what your case involves and what we can do about it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The City of Pasadena contracts its animal control to Pasadena Humane, and the county's own bite reporting page routes Pasadena bites there. Its animal control dispatch is (626) 792-7151, extension 998. An officer identifies the dog and owner, checks the license and rabies record, and starts the 10 day observation. If you cannot reach Pasadena Humane about a loose, aggressive dog, call the Pasadena Police non-emergency line at (626) 744-4241, or 911 in an emergency.
It does. Pasadena requires dogs to stay leashed and on the trail in every city park, and the six foot leash rule in Municipal Code 6.12.010 applies on public streets and in other public places. The exceptions are designated off-leash areas, including Alice's Dog Park at Vina Vieja Park and Playhouse Village Dog Park. For the bite itself, strict liability already applies. The leash violation adds a presumption of negligence that helps if the person handling the dog was not the owner, or if you were injured falling or scrambling away rather than by the bite alone.
Go to Huntington first. Its emergency department is approved for pediatrics and is the closest 24 hour trauma-level care in the San Gabriel Valley, and delay is the enemy with a bleeding facial wound. If the injury needs a higher level of pediatric care, Huntington can stabilize your child and transfer to Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the county's Level I pediatric trauma center, and the transfer itself becomes part of the claim.
Yes. Civil Code 3342 applies to any dog bite that happens in California, and a Pasadena sidewalk on parade day is a public place. The owner's home state does not change the law that governs the bite. The practical question is insurance, so find out whether the owner has a homeowner or renter policy. Get the owner's name, phone, and home address before the crowd moves, and report the bite to Pasadena Humane the same day.
When the dog cannot be found and observed for 10 days, your doctor will almost certainly recommend the post-exposure rabies series, and you should not skip it. The cost is a real medical expense, and if the owner is later identified through Pasadena Humane's investigation, neighbor reports, or a microchip scan, it is recoverable from that owner's insurer along with everything else. Report the bite immediately and give animal control every detail you remember about the dog, because a match often turns up within days.
No. Home observation is the normal choice for a licensed, vaccinated dog with a known owner, and it says nothing about the seriousness of your injury or the strength of your claim. The quarantine exists only to rule out rabies. Your claim is measured by your medical treatment, scarring, lost work, and the effect on your life, and it exists whether the dog was impounded, observed at home, or later declared potentially dangerous at a hearing.
Medi-Cal has a legal right to be repaid from a personal injury recovery for the care it paid for, as do Medicare and most private health plans. That repayment, called a lien, comes out of the settlement before you are paid, and under California's Howell rule your medical damages are measured by what Medi-Cal actually paid, not the hospital's full bill. Negotiating those liens down is a normal part of what your lawyer does and often changes your net recovery by thousands of dollars.
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