Mississippi Dog Bite Laws

Mississippi has not enacted a dog bite statute. However, the Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that the one-bite rule generally applies to dog bite cases. The court specified that, in order to recover damages from the owner, a dog bite victim must prove that the dog had a “vicious or dangerous disposition,” and that the owner knew or should have known about this disposition. The owner might be shown to have such knowledge if their dog had previously shown aggressive behaviors, such as growling, snarling, or snapping at others. Additionally, victims can pursue a claim based on the theories of negligence and negligence per se. Under a negligence theory, a dog bite victim would have to prove that the dog owner owed a duty to the victim (that is, a duty to exercise reasonable care in keeping the dog under control), the owner breached this duty, and the victim’s injuries were proximately caused by this breach of duty. Under a negligence per se theory of liability, the victim must show that the owner violated a statute or local ordinance that resulted in the dog bite. In this context, this may involve the owner’s violation of a local ordinance to keep dogs leashed in public.