Beware of Dog Sign

Answer:

Another common question that comes up for people who are the victims of a dog bite or dog attack is what difference does it make, if any, if the dog owner has in big poster letters beware of dog and has a big menacing looking face there. That question came up recently in a call to our office from a potential client. Here’s what our attorney said. In Arizona, if the claim is made within one year, it really doesn’t matter that much whether there are signs or flashing lights or whatever. If that dog is outside of the property, the owner is going to be responsible no matter what. If they’re inside the property, then it gets more complicated.

For instance, as the attorney explained, if you’re at the house visiting and their dog attacks, in Arizona, the dog owner is still responsible. They’re not going to be able to say, hey, I said beware of dog. That isn’t going to help them, as the attorney explained. Then there are other situations where, let’s say, the dog is in the backyard and you have a 13-year-old kid go back there. Your dog is on a leash, or hopefully not chained. Then the 13-year-old kid just decides, hey, I’m going to get a rise out of this dog and starts throwing rocks at it and provoking the dog. That can be a situation where then if the dog takes a bite out of this kid’s leg, the dog owner isn’t necessarily automatically responsible. However, provoking the dog is probably one of the few ways that a dog owner might be able to have less responsibility, but generally in Arizona, as the attorney explained the other day, is that a dog owner is responsible for basically any damage or injury that a dog causes if the claim is brought within the first year. If you have been attacked by a dog, bit by a dog, or a loved one, call us. The call is free. The information is free. We really do want to help our clients that have been injured, attacked, and bitten by dogs, especially if that is you.