Tennessee Dog Bite Lawyer

Tennessee dog bite statute, Tenn. Code § 44-8-413, imposes a duty upon all dog owners to keep their dog “under reasonable control at all times, and to keep that dog from running at large.” If the owner breaches this duty, then they will be held strictly liable for injuries caused by their dog when the victim was either in a public place or was lawfully on private property at the time. The statute specifically states that this strict liability rule can be imposed upon owners regardless of whether or not they knew their dog had dangerous propensities.

There are certain exceptions under which owners will not be held strictly liable, including situations where (1) the dog was securely confined in an enclosure, such as a crate; (2) the dog was protecting its owner or another party from injury; (3) the victim provoked or harassed the dog; (4) the victim was trespassing on the owner’s non residential property; (5) the dog was protecting its owner; (6) the attack occurred on residential property owned, leased, or occupied by the owner; or (7) it was a military dog or police dog and it was at work. Under the “nonresidential exception,” however, if the dog injures a person while they are on residential, farm, or other non commercial property belonging to the owner, or where the dog is located on that property Under Tennessee’s “residential exception,” the “one-bite” rule applies rather than strict liability. If their dog caused injury to a person (1) who was on residential, farm or other non-commercial property belonging to the owner; or (2) while the dog was on such property with the landowner’s permission, then the victim must prove that the owner knew or should have known of the dog’s dangerous propensities