Dog-Bite Defense When a Visitor Entered Without Permission

Attorney Answer

Whether she was lawfully in your home is the whole case — but do not assume that letting herself in without asking puts her outside the statute, because Florida's definition of lawful presence includes an implied invitation, and a second dog statute has no lawfulness limit at all.

Start with the bite statute. Section 767.04 makes a dog owner liable for damages "suffered by persons bitten" when the person is "on or in a public place, or lawfully on or in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog," and it makes that liability strict — "regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owners' knowledge of such viciousness." The word carrying your defense is "lawfully."

The same section defines it: "A person is lawfully upon private property of such owner within the meaning of this act when the person is on such property in the performance of any duty imposed upon him or her by the laws of this state or by the laws or postal regulations of the United States, or when the person is on such property upon invitation, expressed or implied, of the owner." An invitation does not have to be spoken, and it does not have to be given that day. A relative who has come and gone freely before, who has a key, who has been told to let herself in, or who has been welcomed without asking on other occasions, may well be found to have had an implied invitation. If nothing like that is true — if she was told not to come, if entry required getting past a lock, if you had never given her the run of the house — the defense is real and it is worth developing carefully.

There is a second statute your relative's lawyer will point to. Section 767.01 says: "A dog owner is liable for any damage done by the owner's dog to a person or to any animal included in the definitions of 'domestic animal' and 'livestock' as provided by s. 585.01." That provision is broader than bites, and on its face it does not carry § 767.04's "lawfully" qualifier. How the two sections operate together when the injured person entered without permission is not something a page can settle for you; it is a question for a Florida lawyer with the facts.

Two more points that often decide these cases. Section 767.04 also carries a sign defense: an owner who had displayed a prominent, easily readable sign including the words "Bad Dog" is not liable, except as to a person under the age of 6 and except where the damages were proximately caused by the owner's own negligent act or omission. And the same section reduces liability proportionally for "any negligence on the part of the person bitten that is a proximate cause of the biting incident" — entering a house alone, without warning, knowing a dog is inside, is exactly the kind of conduct that argument is built on.

What you can do

1. Photograph how the house was entered — the door, the lock, the latch, any gate — and any posted signs, showing where they sit relative to the entry.

2. Preserve anything showing what she was and was not invited to do: texts, messages, call logs, or a key that was or was not given.

3. Notify your homeowner's or renter's insurer promptly. Most such policies cover dog-bite liability and provide a defense, and late notice can jeopardize both.

4. Collect the dog's vaccination and veterinary records and any animal-control paperwork.

5. If a claim or lawsuit arrives, take it to a Florida attorney before responding to anyone about it. Whether the lawful-presence defense fits your facts is a legal judgment, and it is the judgment the case turns on.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Your message does not say when the bite happened, and the date changes the deadline. For a negligence claim accruing before March 24, 2023, the limitations period was the former four-year period under § 95.11; for claims accruing on or after that date, § 95.11(5)(a) sets two years. Which one applies here, and how any of it interacts with a family claim you may hope is never filed, is something a Florida attorney should confirm against your actual dates.