At Schwed, Adams & McGinley, we provide knowledgeable legal support for victims of dog bites and animal attacks across Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi—helping you understand liability and pursue fair compensation.
Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi The Law Regarding Dog Bites and Other Animal Attacks
Like many states, Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi each have their own unique laws, which set forth a dog owner’s responsibility for controlling his, or her animal and which govern a dog bite or animal attack case. Nevertheless, the laws among these four jurisdictions share certain similarities. Under Florida’s dog bite statute, the owner of a dog that bites someone who is in a public place, or lawfully in a private place, is liable for damages suffered by persons bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of such viciousness.
Like Florida, Tennessee also has a dog bite statute that is virtually identical to Florida’s. Under Tennessee’s dog bite law, a victim can hold a dog’s owner strictly liable for injuries caused by his or her dog if the dog caused the person’s injury or damage to the person’s property, and the injured person was in a public place or lawfully in a private place. Neither Mississippi nor Arkansas has a dog bite statute. Nevertheless, both states have similar laws to each other governing dog bite claims.
A dog bite victim who is injured in either Arkansas or Mississippi must prove either that the dog owner had, or should have had, knowledge that the owner’s dog was likely to bite someone or else the dog owner was negligent. An owner not confining a breed like a pit bull or a Doberman pinscher in the yard or walking the dog without a leash when the dog has snarled, lunged at or growled at visitors before even if the dog has never actually bitten someone shows negligence.
