Florida Dog Owner Liability and Defenses After a Bite Claim

Attorney Answer

Under Florida law you are liable for the bites, and it does not matter that your dog had never done this before. That is the hard part, and it is worth knowing plainly. The parts that are still open are how much, who actually pays, and whether anything should be agreed to now. Do not settle this yourself.

Florida's bite statute is § 767.04. It provides that "[t]he owner of any dog that bites any person while such 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, is liable for damages suffered by persons bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owners' knowledge of such viciousness." Neighbors walking on a street or sidewalk are in a public place. The statute removes the defense most owners reach for first — that the dog had never bitten anyone.

It does not make you liable without limit. The next sentence provides that "any negligence on the part of the person bitten that is a proximate cause of the biting incident reduces the liability of the owner of the dog by the percentage that the bitten person's negligence contributed to the biting incident." The section also contains a "Bad Dog" sign defense, which relieves an owner who displayed a readable sign in a prominent place — 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. Section 767.01(1) sits alongside it and is broader still: an owner "is liable for any damage done by the owner's dog to a person." Section 767.04 adds that its remedy "is in addition to and cumulative with any other remedy provided by statute or common law."

Two practical points. First, this is very often an insurance matter rather than a personal one. Homeowners and renters policies commonly respond to dog-bite claims, and most policies require prompt notice — delay is one of the few ways an owner turns a covered claim into an uncovered one. Second, a settlement number offered at your door is a negotiation, not a valuation. A release signed today can also close out injuries that are not finished healing, including infection and scarring, and it may need to account for children in the household. This page will not tell you what any claim is worth, and neither should anyone standing in your doorway.

If a shared-fault argument arises, the era matters. For an incident before March 24, 2023, § 768.81(2) provided that contributory fault "diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as economic and noneconomic damages for an injury attributable to the claimant's contributory fault, but does not bar recovery." The Legislature changed that rule in 2023 for later incidents, and which version governs a particular incident is a question for a lawyer.

What you can do

1. Notify your homeowners or renters insurance company now, in writing, and keep a copy. Give them the facts and let them handle the claim from there.

2. Send everything you receive from the neighbors — letters, texts, a demand, anything from a lawyer — straight to that insurer and to your own attorney.

3. Do not agree to a number, sign a release, or pay anyone directly. Doing that without your insurer's involvement can jeopardize your coverage.

4. Write down what you already know while it is fresh: where the dog was, how it got out, where the neighbors were, and what you did afterward.

5. Photograph your yard, gate, fence, latch, and leash setup as they are today, and fix anything that let the dog out.

6. Expect contact from animal control. Cooperate with them, and tell your insurer or attorney that they have been in touch.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — your policy limits, what the neighbors' injuries actually are, and what has been said so far — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. The people bitten have a deadline to sue, and it turns on the date of the incident: for claims arising before March 24, 2023, the former four-year period under the earlier text of § 95.11 applied, and § 95.11(5)(a) now sets two years for later claims. Your own deadlines are different and shorter — your policy sets a prompt-notice requirement, and missing it is its own problem. A Florida attorney should review both against your dates. This page does not calculate any date.