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A serious dog attack in Massachusetts can mean emergency surgery, permanent scarring, lost wages, and lasting trauma. Massachusetts is a strict-liability state: under M.G.L. c. 140, § 155, a dog’s owner or keeper is liable for the damage the dog causes without the victim having to prove negligence or that the owner knew the dog was dangerous.
That protection is strong, but insurers still fight hard to raise defenses or minimize payouts. At Dog Bite Laws, we hold negligent owners and their insurers accountable so Massachusetts victims recover the full compensation the law allows — medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Economic damages are the direct, measurable financial losses caused by the attack. These include emergency room bills, hospitalization costs, surgery fees (including reconstructive or plastic surgery for scarring), follow-up medical appointments, prescribed medications, wound care, and physical therapy or rehabilitation. If injuries require ongoing treatment, future medical expenses are also recoverable.
Lost wages cover income you missed during recovery. If the injuries affect your ability to work long-term, for example, nerve damage to your hands, or PTSD that prevents you returning to your previous role, loss of future earning capacity can also be claimed. These figures are typically supported by employer records, tax returns, and expert testimony.
Non-economic damages cover the human cost of the attack. Pain and suffering accounts for the physical discomfort experienced during and after the injury. Emotional distress covers anxiety, depression, nightmares, and the lasting fear of dogs that many victims develop, particularly children. PTSD is common after dog attacks and has real, documentable medical value in a claim.
Permanent scarring or disfigurement carries significant weight, especially when it is visible on the face, neck, or hands. Loss of enjoyment covers activities the victim can no longer participate in due to physical or psychological limitations. Loss of consortium may be claimed by a spouse or family member when the attack meaningfully disrupts the victim’s relationships and family life.
If the victim is a minor, parents or legal guardians can file on their behalf for both economic and non-economic damages. Claims involving children often reach higher values due to the long-term duration of disfigurement and the psychological impact that can follow a child into adulthood.
With dog bite cases, punitive damages do not apply. They are reserved for situations where the dog owner’s conduct was especially reckless or malicious. For example, knowingly keeping a dog with a documented history of attacks without any precautions, or allowing an aggressive dog to roam free in a populated area after prior warnings. When punitive damages are available, they can significantly increase total recovery above compensatory amounts.
Several factors shape the final settlement value. The severity of the injury such as a deep facial wound requiring multiple surgeries, can settle for far more than a bite that heals cleanly. The visibility of scarring, the victim’s age, available insurance coverage, quality of medical documentation, and strength of the liability argument all play a role.
Our team has recovered over $1M in individual dog bite settlements. See real case results including a $505,000 settlement for a facial bite and a $295,000 recovery for a three-year-old victim. For a quick estimate of your own case value, use our dog bite settlement calculator.
The steps you take in the first 24 to 48 hours after a dog bite directly affect your ability to recover full compensation. Evidence disappears fast and early mistakes can be used against you.
Contact a Massachusetts dog bite lawyer before accepting any settlement offer. Early offers typically undervalue long-term medical costs and non-economic damages. Once you accept, you generally cannot reopen the claim.
Massachusetts gives dog bite victims three years from the date of the attack to file a personal injury lawsuit (M.G.L. c. 260, § 2A). For children injured by a dog, the deadline is generally extended, but you should never assume extra time applies to your case.
Three years can pass quickly while you focus on recovery. Medical records must be gathered, insurance coverage identified, responsible parties confirmed, and witnesses located before memories fade and evidence disappears. Contacting an attorney early protects both your health and your claim.
Dog bite settlements are paid through the dog owner’s homeowners or renters insurance policy. Standard homeowners policies typically include personal liability coverage between $100,000 and $300,000, and that coverage applies to dog bite incidents even when the attack happens away from the insured property. If the bite occurred at a rental property, the landlord’s policy may also apply.
Insurance companies will work to minimize what they pay. They may claim the bite was provoked, challenge the severity of injuries, or dispute liability. Having a dog bite lawyer handle all communication with the insurer protects your claim from being undervalued before you fully understand the scope of your damages.
Massachusetts’s dog bite statute, M.G.L. c. 140, § 155, imposes strict liability on a dog’s owner or keeper for any damage the dog does to a person’s body or property. The victim does not have to prove the owner was negligent or knew the dog had dangerous tendencies — the fact that the dog caused the harm is enough.
The statute is broad. It covers both personal injuries and property damage, and it is not limited to bites — injuries caused when a dog knocks someone down or lunges are covered too. If the owner or keeper is a minor, the statute makes the parent or guardian liable, so victims are rarely left without a responsible party to pursue.
Section 155 reaches not just the legal owner but any keeper — a person who has control and custody of the dog — so a victim can recover even when the owner was not present at the time of the attack. This expands the pool of responsible parties and available insurance coverage.
The statute also protects young children. If the injured child is under seven years old, the law presumes the child was not trespassing, committing a tort, or teasing the dog, and the burden shifts to the owner to prove otherwise. That presumption makes it especially difficult for insurers to blame very young victims.
For a full breakdown of the laws, liability rules, and reporting requirements, see our dedicated Massachusetts dog bite laws guide.
Because § 155 already imposes strict liability, most Massachusetts victims do not need an alternative theory — but one can still add value. A traditional negligence claim requires proving that the owner owed a duty to control the dog, breached that duty, and that the breach proximately caused the injuries.
A violation of a local leash law or animal-control ordinance can also support a claim of negligence per se, where the owner’s breaking of a safety law is treated as evidence of negligence itself. We investigate every available theory to maximize your recovery.
Massachusetts law expressly reaches both the owner and the keeper of the dog, so responsibility often extends beyond the person who legally owns the animal. A keeper or harborer who had custody of the dog, a landlord who knew a dangerous dog lived on the property and did nothing, or the parent or guardian of a minor owner may all share liability.
Identifying every responsible party matters because it can open additional insurance coverage — often the difference between a policy that fully covers your injuries and one that falls short.
Provocation is the defense insurers raise most often, claiming the victim triggered the attack by teasing, tormenting, or abusing the dog. In Massachusetts, ordinary reactions — flinching, walking past, or protecting a child — are not provocation, and we push back hard on inflated versions of events.
The other statutory defenses are trespassing and committing another tort at the time of the attack. Massachusetts does not apply ordinary comparative fault to reduce a § 155 recovery; instead, liability turns on whether one of these specific statutory exceptions applies. Defeating an insurer’s attempt to force your case into one of those narrow boxes is exactly where experienced representation pays off.
Dog attacks are a serious and rising cost nationwide: U.S. insurers paid about $1.86 billion across 28,450 dog-related injury claims, an average of roughly $65,450 per claim, and more than 5,200 postal workers were attacked by dogs in 2025. In Boston alone, the Boston Public Health Commission receives more than 300 dog-bite reports every year — evidence that even a strict-liability state sees a steady stream of serious attacks (Boston Public Health Commission).
Because Massachusetts’s strict-liability statute makes owners and keepers responsible without proof of prior viciousness, homeowners’ and renters’ insurance policies frequently end up covering these claims — a key source of recovery for victims.
Massachusetts also maintains a formal dangerous dog process. Under M.G.L. c. 140, § 157, a hearing authority can declare a dog dangerous and order muzzling, secure confinement, or other conditions, and a prior dangerous-dog finding can be powerful evidence in your civil claim.
Dog Bite Laws is led by Michael Agruss, Managing Partner and personal injury attorney with a track record of results in dog bite cases. He is supported by Michael Bertucci, Taylor Kosla Unterberg, and Zara Saiyed, a team that handles dog bite cases across Massachusetts and multiple other states.
The firm has recovered millions of dollars for dog bite victims. These results reflect the firm’s approach: identify every liable party, document every dollar of damages, and push for a full settlement before resorting to trial.
The team is available 24/7 and takes every case on a contingency basis. There are no upfront legal fees and no costs unless we win.
Read more client testimonials or contact us directly for a free, confidential case review.
Massachusetts’s statute of limitations for personal injury is three years from the date of the bite under M.G.L. c. 260, § 2A. Claims involving children may have more time, but missing the deadline generally ends your right to recover. See our full Massachusetts dog bite laws guide for detail on how deadlines are calculated.
No. Massachusetts is a strict-liability state. Under M.G.L. c. 140, § 155, the owner or keeper is liable for the damage the dog causes without you having to prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous or that the dog had ever bitten anyone before. Evidence of prior aggression can still strengthen your case, but it is not required to establish liability.
Massachusetts’s dog bite statute does not use ordinary comparative fault to shave down your recovery. Instead, an owner avoids liability only by proving one of the specific statutory exceptions — that you were trespassing, committing another tort, or teasing, tormenting, or abusing the dog. If none of those applies, the owner or keeper is liable for the full damage. For a child under seven, the law even presumes the exceptions do not apply.
Yes. M.G.L. c. 140, § 155 holds both the owner and the ‘keeper’ of a dog liable. A keeper is anyone with control and custody of the dog, so a dog sitter, family member, or friend who was watching the dog when it attacked can be held responsible — which can also open additional insurance coverage for your claim.
Nothing up front. We handle Massachusetts dog bite cases on contingency — you pay no fee unless we recover money for you. Your case review is free, and you can reach us by call, text, email, or chat 24/7.
Wondering what a case is worth? See the average dog bite settlement in Massachusetts — real firm case data, plus how Massachusetts’s dog-bite law shapes the value of your claim.
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