As an Atlanta injury lawyer practicing in north Georgia, I get a number of calls a year from potential clients who suffer serious injuries caused by unleashed dogs chasing them. Typically, the client is running from the dog and trips and falls and sometimes is knocked down by the dog. I got another such call today from a Gwinnett County woman whose son severely broke his arm when he fell running from a dog he believed was going to bite him. She asked if she had a claim for his injuries.
In Georgia, a claim for damages for injuries caused by a chasing dog can be successful even if the dog does not bite. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the owner of a dog can be liable for injuries caused by the dog if the owner acted negligently. Georgia Statue ยง 51-2-7 provides:
A person who owns or keeps a vicious or dangerous animal of any kind and who, by careless management or by allowing the animal to go at liberty, causes injury to another person who does not provoke the injury by his own act may be liable in damages to the person so injured. In proving vicious propensity, it shall be sufficient to show that the animal was required to be at heel or on a leash by an ordinance of a city, county, or consolidated government, and the said animal was at the time of the occurrence not at heel or on a leash.
Nothing in the Statute requires the dog to bite for the owner to be liable for the injuries. Rather, in the context of the chasing dog, it is enough that the dog "causes injury" while off the owner's property and in violation of the local leash law or ordinance. In the case of the woman that called me today, if the dog chasing her son was off the owner's property and not on a leash, there is a good chance a successful claim can be made. According to the mother, this is exactly what happened, and she said her son in no way provoked the animal to attack him.
This is very similar to another recent case our firm successfully handled for a man who was chased by a dog while riding his bicycle on neighborhood streets in Atlanta. In the case, the dog was also off the owner's property and not on a leash. The dog caused our client to swerve off the roadway and into a ditch causing serious injuries including a severely broken collar bone that required surgical repair. The case was settled for a significant amount of money that covered all the medical bills and a substantial award for pain and suffering.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a chasing dog, please feel free to contact me to discuss whether you have a potential claim against the owner of the dog. The lawyers in our office have handled many of these cases and have the resources to properly investigate and prosecute your claim.
