Oregon State Law and Bend City Ordinances on Dog Bites
At the Oregon State Level:
At the Oregon state level, when a dog bites another person, the dog owner can be held liable for the injury. The dog owner has a duty to properly restrain their dog and leave the dog with an appropriate caretaker when needed. If the dog owner is negligent in their duty, several factors will be considered when determining liability:
• Where the actions of the dog “dangerous” to the public?
• Has there been a pattern of “dangerous” dog actions in the past?
• Did the owner have knowledge of these patterns?
• Was the injury inflicted by the same sort of behavior as the past?
As a defense, the dog owner could state that their dog was provoked into biting the person.
At the Bend City Ordinance Level:
In Bend City a judge can order that a dog is “dangerous” if a dog has bitten someone. The dog owner can be held medically and civilly liable for the dog bite (ORS 5.20.035). A dangerous dog is defined as (ORS 609.035):
• The dog instilled fear in a person through its actions that certain physical injury would happen without provocation or
• The dog bit the person and caused serious physical harm or death without provocation or
• The dog is trained for animal fighting
The Bend City Board looks at seven factors when making their decision about what to do about the dog bite (ORS 609.093):
• What were the circumstances of the dog bite and severity of it?
• Does the dog owner have a history of keeping a dangerous dog?
• What do the actions of the owner have on the dog?
• Was the dog owner able to prevent the dog bite?
• Should the dog be relocated to a secure facility?
• How would the dog be affected if transferred?
• What is the behavior of the dog before and after the bite?
Our Oregon dog bite attorneys will carefully investigate your dog attack case so that we can help you obtain compensation for your injuries including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, disability and disfigurement, loss of services and companionship of a spouse and other appropriate damages. We have over seven decades of combined experience and will apply that experience with the goal of obtaining the best possible outcome in your case.
Read more at Dwyer Williams Cherkoss about Dog Bites
If you are injured from a dog bite, we urge you to call us today at 541-617-0555.