Legal Question in Personal Injury in Louisiana

I have a pitbull and I walk him i my back yard every day he is not aggressive towards humans, but is to larger dogs. i have a neighbor with an arm injury. He has seen my dog a few times and and even pet him. 2 weeks ago I was talking to him and he said he just had arm surgery. at the time he had no arm brace on. then last friday he was outside with an arm brace on near his truck. for some reson like he had never seen my dog he jumped in the back of his truck at the sight of my dog. crossing into his yard. the dog showed no sign of aggression, he was just going to investigate what was going on with my nieghbor. as soon as he jump in the truck i yeld for the dog to return and he emmidiatly returned to my yard. he never touched or threatened the man in anyway. I consider the man reinjured himself, because he says he reinjured his arm and had to go to the emergency room that night. he called the police to file a report of the incident, not a suit just a report, so i assume he will soon sue for medical bills. I am wondering if he could sue, based on him getting scared for no reason even though my dog was on his property for a second.

Thank you

John Hulin


Asked on 1/29/10, 4:16 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Adam Lambert The Law Office of Adam S. Lambert

That is an iffy situation. Louisiana does not have a "first bite free" rule, so you are 100% responsible for any injury caused by your dog, even if your dog has never displayed any aggressive tendencies before. However, your dog did not actually bite the man, so there is a question as to whether your dog caused the man's injury. It would be a question for a Judge.

There are some things you should know, though. First, your dog must always be on a leash when he is not behind your fence, so that will weigh very heavilly against you. Second, your homeowner's insurance will likely not cover the injury. Most homeowner's insurance policies exempt pit bulls from their policies and they will not pay for any injury caused by one. In fact, once your insurer discovers that you have a pit bull, they will likely cancel your policy entirely.

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Answered on 2/03/10, 5:26 am


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