Texas Dog Bite Lawyer

Texas does not have a civil statute that specifically outlines a dog owner’s liability in dog bite cases. However, Texas’s courts have issued rulings explaining that courts will apply either the “one-bite” rule or a general negligence standard in order to determine an owner’s liability – the theory of liability depends on the circumstances surrounding the incident. The first theory of liability that Texas applies is the one-bite rule. Under the one-bite rule, Texas courts have stated a dog owner can be held liable for injuries that result when their dog attacks and injures a person if the owner knew or should have known their dog could be dangerous to others. Here, the victim simply must prove that the owner knew the dog to be dangerous. Once a dog owner has such knowledge, they can be held liable for any bites or other injuries that the dog inflicts on a person, even if they were otherwise responsible and took reasonable precautions to protect others from the dog.

If the owner had no reason to believe their dog could be dangerous towards others, then Texas allows victims to recover damages by proving a negligence case. In order to establish a successful negligence claim, the victim must prove that they were injured by the owner’s dog, and that the attack occurred bc of the owner’s irresponsibility.