Our office has handled multiple cases where our clients have been injured as a result of a dog bite. The wounds from a dog bite can be extreme and leave serious disfigurement. Dog bite cases in Texas may be pursued if the dog owner knew or should have known the animal had prior vicious episodes or if the owner of the animal was negligent in handling the animal. Many dog bite incidents are not as a result of a vicious pet but in the manner the pet was handled by the owner. The failure to properly restrain on enclose a pet may be negligence and lead to liability against the owner of the pet. The owner’s placing of the pet in an environment that may cause the dog to bite may lead to liability against the owner.

We have handled dog bite cases where the dog had prior vicious incidents, where the owner failed to properly restrain the pet, where the owner failed to comply with leash laws and where the owner put the dog in an environment where the dog’s dangerous behavior was predictable.

Dogs are not the only animal capable of inflicting serious injury. If an owner of any animal puts the animal in an environment that is likely to cause a bad result, there may be liability established against the owner of the animal. Our office handled a case where our client suffered very severe injury as a result of a runaway horse in a parade environment. There was in all likelihood nothing wrong with the horse, other than the environment it was dealing with. The horse was frightened by the environment, had not been properly orientated to the environment and was not properly handled. This led to a near fatal incident to a bystander.

Any serious injury caused by an animal merits investigation to determine the underlying cause. Homeowner’s insurance may be available in many cases to pay damages in claims arising out of injuries caused by dogs or other animals.