Houston Dog Bite Lawyer
Houston Dog Bite Lawyer
On This Page
- Houston and Harris County Dog Bite Statistics
- Texas Dog Bite Law: The One Bite Rule and Negligence
- Houston Leash Law and Dog Ordinances
- Houston Animal Control and Rabies Follow-Up
- What To Do After a Houston Dog Bite
- Houston Hospitals and Urgent Care for Dog Bites
- How To Report a Dog Bite in Houston
- Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Houston Dog Bite
- Filing a Dog Bite Claim in Harris County
- Compensation for Houston Dog Bite Victims
- Proportionate Responsibility in Texas Dog Bite Cases
- Statute of Limitations for Houston Dog Bite Cases
- Homeowner and Renter Insurance for Houston Dog Bites
- Why Choose Dog Bite Laws for Your Houston Case
- Frequently Asked Questions
- No Texas Statute: Texas has no dog bite statute, so a Houston claim runs on what the owner knew about the dog or on ordinary negligence.
- A First Bite: A dog with no bite history can still cost its owner, because the negligence route asks how the dog was handled, not what it did before.
- 1,059 Bites Investigated: BARC reported 1,059 bites investigated in Houston for calendar year 2025 in its Performance At-A-Glance report.
- Report Through 311: BARC takes Houston bite reports through 311, and it publishes no separate online bite form.
- 240 Hour Observation: Houston's code sets rabies observation at 240 hours from the time of the bite, with home confinement allowed only by approval and only for a currently vaccinated dog.
- 51 Percent Bar: A Texas claimant found more than 50 percent responsible recovers nothing, which is why the facts around the bite need to be recorded immediately.
- Two Year Deadline: You have two years from the bite to file suit, and as little as 90 days to give the City of Houston written notice if a city dog was involved.
- Level I Trauma: Ben Taub and Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center are both state designated Level I trauma centers in Houston.
A dog bite in Houston leaves you with a wound, a bill, and one hard question: does the owner owe you anything? Texas dog bite law has no strict liability statute, so the answer is not automatic. Liability runs through what the owner knew about that dog and how the owner handled it the day it bit you.
This page covers the bite numbers BARC publishes, the city’s running at large ordinance, the rabies observation, Houston’s trauma centers, how to report through 311, who besides the owner can be responsible, and how long you have to act.
Dog Bite Laws handles dog attack cases and nothing else. The consultation is free, and you pay no fee unless we recover money for you.
Houston and Harris County Dog Bite Statistics
Houston is one of the Texas cities that publishes a real bite number. BARC, the city’s animal shelter and animal enforcement agency, posts a Performance At-A-Glance report. For calendar year 2025, January 1 through December 31, it reported 1,059 bites investigated, 2,237 citations issued, 51,385 calls for service and 22,445 animals taken in.
Read that 1,059 carefully. It counts bites BARC investigated inside the city limits, not every bite that happened here, and a bite nobody calls in never enters the count. Report yours and it becomes a numbered city file naming the dog, the owner and the vaccination status.
Texas keeps no statewide bite count, so the nearest statewide measure is an insurance one. The Insurance Information Institute counted 1,313 Texas dog related injury claims in 2025, averaging $70,885 against a national average of $65,450. Those figures include other dog related injuries such as fractures, and they count claims, not attacks.
Texas Dog Bite Law: The One Bite Rule and Negligence
Texas has no dog bite statute and no statewide leash law. Nothing makes an owner automatically responsible the moment a dog bites. A Houston case runs on one of two common law routes, and usually on both.
The first is the one bite rule, from the Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Marshall v. Ranne. If the owner knew, or had reason to know, that the dog had dangerous tendencies not normal for a dog, the owner answers for what the dog did. A prior bite is the obvious proof, but prior lunging, neighbor complaints, an earlier BARC call to that address, or the way the dog was kept can also supply it.
The second route is ordinary negligence, which needs no bite history at all. That is why a first bite is often still a winnable Houston case. The questions are about the owner. Was the dog loose, who left the gate open, had it gotten out before, and what did the owner do once the dog was on you. Texas requires an owner to try to stop an attack already underway.
Keep one thing straight. Health and Safety Code chapter 822 is criminal and administrative only. It decides what happens to the dog and to the owner, not what you are paid. A declaration is evidence in your case. The civil claim is separate.
Houston Leash Law and Dog Ordinances
Because Texas has no statewide leash law, the rule that mattered where you were bitten is Houston’s own. Section 6-4(a) of the Code of Ordinances declares running at large a nuisance and makes it unlawful for an owner to permit any animal to run at large. Section 6-3 puts the duty on the owner and applies it without regard to whether the owner meant for it to happen.
The definitions in section 6-1(b) decide most arguments. An animal is running at large when it is on public or private property without a person having direct physical control, which means a tether or other bodily restraint held by someone capable of controlling the animal. A dog staked or tied so it can still reach a public sidewalk counts as running at large. The written defense for a dog is that it was inside an off leash site established under section 32-11. Houston also requires a dog to be microchipped and registered with BARC before four months of age.
A violation is powerful evidence, not an automatic win. Breaking a local at large rule can supply the standard of care, but you still have to show the violation caused the bite and that the harm was foreseeable. That is why the BARC file, earlier complaints at the address, and photographs of the fence and gate carry so much weight.
Houston Animal Control and Rabies Follow-Up
Houston is its own local rabies control authority. Under city code section 6-17(a) the department director is the designated local health authority for the state Rabies Control Act, and BARC runs the follow up.
Section 6-17(b)(1) lets the director or an animal enforcement officer demand that the owner surrender the dog to BARC or another approved quarantine facility for observation of no more than 10 days. Section 6-17(b)(2)(b) sets shelter observation at 240 hours from the date and time of the bite, at the owner’s expense.
Home confinement is possible but not the default. Section 6-17(b)(4) allows 240 hours on the owner’s premises only with the director’s approval and only if the dog was currently vaccinated, with the code listing confinement in a building or secure enclosure, restraint on property with no access to public sidewalks, streets and common areas, and the owner’s direct physical control. Section 6-17(b)(5) adds an exam by a veterinarian or certified animal enforcement officer at the start and the end, and if that exam happens anywhere other than the BARC shelter, the owner has to give BARC the veterinarian’s written report within 24 hours of each exam.
The 240 hours run from the moment of the bite, not from the day the dog is picked up. If the dog is alive and clinically normal at the end, the state’s position is that it could not have exposed you to rabies in that bite. Do not wait on that answer. Your doctor and the health department decide about rabies treatment much sooner.
For a bite in unincorporated Harris County, the follow up belongs to Harris County Public Health. Its main switchboard is (713) 439-6000, and the county’s guidance is to ask for the epidemiologist on call, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
What To Do After a Houston Dog Bite
The first hours decide how much of your case survives.
- Call 911 if the dog is loose or someone is badly hurt.
- Wash the wound with soap and running water, then get medical care. Puncture wounds close over bacteria.
- Get the owner’s name, address and phone number, and ask for the dog’s rabies vaccination certificate. If the owner refuses, fix the address where the dog lives.
- Call 311 the same day. The observation clock runs from the bite, not from your call.
- Photograph everything before it heals or gets cleaned up: the wound, torn clothing, the gate, the broken latch.
- Write down what the owner did while the dog was on you, and get witness names and numbers before people leave.
- Keep every bill and explanation of benefits. Texas ties medical recovery to what was actually paid or owed, not the first bill.
- Give no recorded statement to the owner’s insurer, and sign nothing, until you talk to a lawyer.
For a child, a bite to the face, scalp or hand belongs in an emergency department, and scar treatment is often a year or more away, so nothing should be settled early.
Houston Hospitals and Urgent Care for Dog Bites
Houston has several state designated trauma centers, which matters if the bite is deep, is on the face or a hand, or involves a child.
- Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital. State designated Level I (Comprehensive) trauma center, home of the Ginni and Richard Mithoff Trauma Center. Main line 713-873-2000.
- Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. State designated Level I (Comprehensive) trauma center. Main line (713) 704-4000.
- Texas Children’s Hospital. Carried on the state trauma list at Level I (Comprehensive) with a contingent designation status, and Houston’s children’s hospital. Main line 832-824-1000.
- Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital. State designated Level III (Advanced) trauma center. Main line 713-566-5000.
Around the city, HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake, Kingwood and Northwest and the UTMB Clear Lake Campus are state designated Level II (Major) trauma centers.
Urgent care can clean a shallow bite, start antibiotics and check your tetanus status. Use an emergency department if the wound is deep or will not stop bleeding, if it is on the face, a hand or a joint, if the dog is unknown or unvaccinated, or if redness or fever start later. A dog bite infection can turn a minor looking wound into a second round of treatment. Tell staff it was a dog bite so the chart records it that way.
How To Report a Dog Bite in Houston
Texas law asks a person who knows of an animal bite that could reasonably transmit rabies to report it to the local rabies control authority. In Houston that authority is the city, and the route is 311.
- 311. BARC’s instruction is that every animal bite must be reported, and that you call 311 to do it. There is no separate online bite form.
- (713) 837-0311. The number BARC publishes for requesting animal enforcement services to an address.
- (832) 395-9084. The number BARC lists as customer service.
- Houston Police Department non-emergency, (713) 884-3131.
- Harris County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency, (713) 221-6000.
- 911. For an attack in progress or an injury that needs an ambulance.
Have this ready, because it is what BARC asks for: who was bitten and their contact information, the date and time, a clear description of the animal, the address where the bite happened, and the owner’s contact information if you have it.
Houston runs two determinations of its own alongside the state process, and both start with a sworn statement rather than a phone call. A dangerous dog determination begins with a sworn, written complaint on BARC’s affidavit form, and if the director makes it, the owner gets 30 calendar days to comply and 15 calendar days to appeal. Houston also has its own aggressive dog category, defined in section 6-151. It reaches a dog that bit an invited person on the owner’s property without provocation and caused serious bodily injury, attacked and injured a domestic animal, made someone reasonably fear attack from inside an inadequate enclosure, or interfered with a person’s movement in a public right of way. BARC requires an original signed and notarized affidavit for that one and says emailed statements are not enough.
Ask for a case number. What happens after a dog bite is reported covers the rest, and BARC publishes its bite instructions on houstontx.gov.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Houston Dog Bite
A Texas claim starts with the owner or possessor of the dog, and Texas courts read possessor broadly. In one case a judgment ran against the couple who owned the dog and the house and also against their adult son, who was only staying there.
- The owner. Often more than one adult in the household. See what determines ownership of a dog.
- Anyone with custody or control. A relative, roommate, sitter, walker, boarding kennel or trainer can be a possessor.
- A business that keeps a dog. A Texas court held a company responsible for a chained guard dog, reasoning that the way it kept the dog charged it with knowing the dog was dangerous. No prior bite needed.
- A landlord or apartment owner. In a common area the landlord controlled, a breezeway, parking lot, laundry room or courtyard, the standard is actual or imputed knowledge of that particular dog, which prior complaints to the office can establish. Inside a rental unit, with the landlord out of possession, Texas requires actual knowledge of that particular dog’s dangerous propensities and of its presence on the leased property.
- A government entity. A city or county dog brings short notice deadlines and statutory caps.
One myth to clear up. Texas Family Code chapter 41 covers property damage a child causes, not personal injury, so it gives a bite victim nothing. The route to a parent is that the parent housed and controlled the dog, or owns the home the policy is written on.
Filing a Dog Bite Claim in Harris County
Harris County has district courts, civil courts at law and justice of the peace courts, and which one a case belongs in depends on what it is worth. A justice court handles claims up to $20,000. A county court at law goes to $325,000 for a case filed on or after December 4, 2025. A serious case, with surgery, permanent scarring or a child victim, belongs in district court, which has no ceiling. Most Houston claims settle with an insurer instead.
Your lawyer handles the paperwork and the deadlines. What is yours to do is shorter and matters more.
- Get treated, go back for every follow up, and tell each provider it was a dog bite.
- Keep the bills and explanation of benefits statements, plus a log of missed work.
- Report to BARC so a city file exists, and name your witnesses in a written statement.
- Photograph the wound week by week. Nobody can take those early photographs later.
- Decline a recorded statement to the owner’s insurer, and sign no release.
- Call early, while the dog, the file and the witnesses can still be found.
Medical evidence in a dog bite claim explains which records carry the most weight.
Compensation for Houston Dog Bite Victims
Economic damages are the out of pocket losses: emergency care, surgery and later scar revision, dental and eye repair, rabies treatment, physical therapy, counseling, lost pay, reduced earning capacity, childcare and help at home. Texas limits recovery of medical expenses to what was actually paid or owed rather than the amount first billed, which is why the explanation of benefits matters as much as the bill.
Non-economic damages are named separately in Texas law and a jury answers them separately: physical pain and mental anguish, disfigurement, physical impairment, inconvenience and loss of enjoyment of life. Texas caps these in medical malpractice cases but not in a dog bite case, and disfigurement stands on its own line.
Exemplary damages punish the owner and are unusual. They take clear and convincing proof of gross negligence, such as an owner who knew the dog had been declared dangerous and let it out anyway.
Nobody can price your case from a web page. Dog bite compensation explains what moves the number, and the dog bite settlement calculator gives a rough frame rather than a prediction.
Proportionate Responsibility in Texas Dog Bite Cases
Texas does not simply reduce your recovery by your share of the blame. It has a cliff. Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 33, a claimant found more than 50 percent responsible recovers nothing at all. At exactly 50 percent you still recover half.
Below that line the arithmetic is ordinary. If a jury values the case at $200,000 and puts 20 percent on you, you recover $160,000. At 50 percent you recover $100,000. At 51 percent, zero.
That is why the seconds before the bite get argued so hard. Texas has no statute making provocation a defense to a civil claim, and the word unprovoked in the dangerous dog law belongs to the animal control side. What provocation does is give the defense a percentage to argue for, using facts like teasing, reaching over a fence, or walking into a yard uninvited.
A Texas jury cannot be asked about your conduct without real evidence, which is one more reason to fix the facts and the witness names on day one.
Statute of Limitations for Houston Dog Bite Cases
You have two years from the date of the bite to file a Texas dog bite lawsuit. A demand letter, an open insurance claim, or a BARC report does not stop that clock. Miss it and the case ends no matter how badly you were hurt.
A child’s clock is different. Texas does not count the time a person is under 18, so a child bitten at six has until two years after turning 18. That is legally true and practically risky, because witnesses move, dogs get rehomed, records are purged and policies lapse. A parent’s own claim, for bills the parent paid, is not held open the same way.
If a government agency was involved, the deadline is much shorter. The City of Houston’s charter requires written, verified notice of an injury claim within 90 days, and other Texas governments run on a six month notice rule. If a city, county or police dog was involved, call within days. The dog bite statute of limitations goes through how the clock works.
Homeowner and Renter Insurance for Houston Dog Bites
In almost every Houston case the money comes from the dog owner’s homeowner or renter insurance, not from the owner’s bank account. The Insurance Information Institute describes the standard structure: homeowners and renters policies typically cover dog bite liability and legal expenses up to the policy limits, commonly $100,000 to $300,000, with the owner personally responsible above the limit.
Texas requires liability insurance from one owner only: the owner of a legally dangerous dog, who must carry at least $100,000 of coverage or show financial responsibility in that amount. Houston adds its own version, with a city dangerous dog license and tag, a microchip, a leash no longer than six feet with a muzzle outside a secure enclosure, sterilization, and $100,000 in coverage with proof showing the insurer knows the dog was declared dangerous.
Ask the owner for their insurance company and policy number, which is a normal request and not a lawsuit. If you were bitten in an apartment common area, there is often a separate commercial policy. A denial based on the dog’s breed does not end your case, it changes it, and never sign a release before you know whether you will need scar revision.
Why Choose Dog Bite Laws for Your Houston Case
Dog Bite Laws is a dog attack practice, and that shows in how a Houston case gets built: the BARC file and earlier complaints at that address, the rabies observation record, the 311 report, the photographs from the first week, and the records showing what the scar will need.
Texas cases turn on facts that go stale fast, so we start with the records that are hardest to get later and deal with the insurer while you heal.
We also handle cases in Dallas, San Antonio and Austin. You can read about Michael Agruss, and you can contact us whenever you are ready. The consultation is free, and there is no fee unless we recover money for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dangerous dog is the state category under Health and Safety Code chapter 822, which BARC applies through its own determination process. Aggressive dog is Houston's own extra category. It reaches a dog that bit an invited person on the owner's property without provocation and caused serious bodily injury, attacked and injured a domestic animal, frightened someone from inside an inadequate enclosure, or blocked a person in a public right of way. Either label creates a city file with sworn statements in it, and that file is useful evidence in your civil claim.
It can be. Houston's code lets the director approve 240 hours of observation on the owner's premises, but only if the dog had a current rabies vaccination when it bit. The dog must be kept in a building or secure enclosure, or restrained with no access to public sidewalks, streets or common areas, or under the owner's direct physical control. A veterinarian or certified animal enforcement officer has to examine the dog at the start and the end, and if that exam is done anywhere other than the BARC shelter, the owner has to give BARC the written report within 24 hours of each exam.
BARC lists what it wants on the call: who was bitten and their contact information, the date and time, a clear description of the animal, the address where the bite happened, and the owner's contact information if you have it. There is no separate online bite form, so the call is the report. Ask for a case number before you hang up. You can also reach animal enforcement at (713) 837-0311 or BARC customer service at (832) 395-9084.
No. BARC is the City of Houston's agency and the city is its own local rabies control authority. A bite in unincorporated Harris County goes to Harris County Public Health, whose main switchboard is (713) 439-6000, where you should ask for the epidemiologist on call, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Your claim against the dog's owner works the same either way, but a different agency holds the records.
Be careful. A cash offer almost always comes before anyone knows what the wound will cost, and a dog bite bill grows once infection, scar revision or missed work shows up. Taking money is not automatically a problem, but signing anything in exchange for it usually is, because a release ends the claim for good. Ask for the owner's insurance information at the same time. Their homeowner or renter policy, not their wallet, is normally where a real recovery comes from.
Usually the claim goes to her homeowner or renter insurance, which is the coverage she pays for precisely so something like this can be handled without wrecking her finances. Her insurer investigates and pays within the policy limits. A lawsuit happens only if the insurer refuses a fair resolution, and even then the policy is what responds. Ask her for the company name and policy number. That is a question about insurance, not an accusation.
It can help you. Someone present for the property owner's benefit, including a delivery driver, is generally owed ordinary care rather than the weaker duty owed to a social guest. Report the bite to BARC through 311 and to your employer the same day, because a workers compensation claim and a claim against the dog's owner can run side by side. Keep the delivery record, since it fixes the address and the exact time.
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