A dog bite can cause deep puncture wounds, nerve damage, scarring, and lasting fear, and children are bitten most often and most seriously. California is a strict liability state for dog bites, which means an owner can be responsible even if the dog had never bitten anyone before. If you or your child was bitten in Oakland, Fremont, the Tri-Valley, or anywhere across the East Bay, you have rights worth protecting.
Mirador Law handles dog bite claims throughout Alameda County. Led by former San Francisco public defenders Megan Burns and Emily Dahm, the firm brings more than 40 years of combined experience and close to a hundred jury trials, including two of California’s Top 50 plaintiff verdicts for 2024.
California’s strict liability rule
Under Civil Code section 3342, a dog owner is generally liable for a bite that happens in a public place or while the bitten person is lawfully on private property, whether or not the owner knew the dog was dangerous. The old idea that every dog gets one free bite does not apply to these claims. Compensation usually comes through the owner’s homeowner or renter insurance, which is why having the claim handled properly matters.
What a claim can cover
A bite claim can pursue emergency and reconstructive medical care, the cost of treating scarring and nerve damage, counseling for the emotional effect, lost income for a parent caring for an injured child, and the lasting impact of disfigurement. California’s pure comparative negligence rule means that partial fault, for example provoking the dog, can reduce a recovery but does not automatically bar it.
Deadlines
The general deadline to file is two years from the date of the bite under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. When the victim is a child, the deadline is generally paused until the child turns 18, but evidence is best gathered early.
A look at how these cases unfold
The following hypothetical examples illustrate how these cases can unfold. They are not based on any specific client and are provided for educational purposes only. A child is bitten by a neighbor’s dog that got loose in a shared courtyard. The neighbor feels terrible and says the dog was always gentle. Under strict liability, the dog’s gentle history does not decide the claim, and the child’s care and recovery are addressed through the homeowner policy.
Dog bite lawyers by location: Pleasanton | Oakland | Fremont & Newark