Denver Dog Bite Law: Here’s What You Need to Know

If you are bitten or attacked by a dog, you can sue the dog’s owner. Often homeowner’s or renter’s insurance will compensate you for your injuries and damages.

Dog Bite Injuries are Common

According to the Insurance Information Institute, United States courts aw approximately 17,000 dog bite claims in 2020, and homeowners’ insurers paid roughly $854 million to settle these claims. The average amount per claim, which was $44,760 in 2019, rose by 12.3% to $50,425 in 2020.

Since 2003, the average cost per claim has increased 162% due to increased medical costs and larger settlements, judgments, and jury awards awarded to dog bite victims.

Thus, injuries from dog bites are far more common than one might initially suspect. Approximately 4.5 million people suffer dog bites each year. Denver County alone saw 1,717 dog bite incidents from 2017 to 2019.

Colorado has a specific dog bite statute that holds a dog owner responsible for serious bodily injury their dog inflicts by biting someone lawfully present on public or private property. This is true even if the dog has never displayed violence or bit a person before.

Under the state’s dog bite statute, Colorado dog owners have strict liability for injuries caused by their dogs. This means that a plaintiff does not need to prove viscousness if attacked.

There are exceptions, and the law doesn’t mean that everyone bitten by a dog qualifies for compensation.

For example, the law applies to dog owners, not keepers or handlers. This means dog walks have no liability if a dog they’re walking bites you.

Additionally, the law only applies to cases where you suffer serious bodily injury. To qualify as a “serious bodily injury”, the injury must involve any one or more of the following:

Substantial risk of death
Substantial risk of serious permanent disfigurement
Impairment of the function of any body part or organ
Substantial risk of protracted loss
Break, facture, or burns of the second or third degree

Choose an experienced dog bite injury law firm if you are injured by a dog bite attack.

As reported in Reader’s Digest.

Bloch Ongert has extensive experience litigating dog bite cases. In fact, our injury attorneys successfully argued a significant, law-changing dog bite case before the Colorado Supreme Court. As reported in Readers Digest, Bloch Ongert also won the first-ever interlocutory appeal to the Colorado Court of Appeals, resulting in a $1 million settlement to our client who two large livestock protection dogs horrifically attacked.

If you or someone you know has been bitten or attacked by a dog, do not hesitate to call Joe Bloch and Trent Ongert at 303-331-1700 (Denver metro area) or 970-926-1700 (Vail Valley and Frisco). We will help you obtain monetary recovery for your injury.