California is a strict liability state for dog bites. Under Civil Code § 3342, the owner of a dog is liable for the damages a bite causes when the person bitten was in a public place or lawfully in a private one—including on the owner’s own property—and that liability applies regardless of the dog’s former viciousness or whether the owner knew about it. The “one free bite” rule does not exist here. Free consultation; contingency fee.
That makes these cases unusual: liability is often settled before the first phone call, and the real work sits elsewhere—establishing the full extent of the injury, finding the insurance that covers it, and identifying everyone responsible. Bite wounds also behave differently from other injuries. They carry a serious infection risk, they frequently need revision surgery long after they appear healed, and the scarring is permanent in a way that a photograph taken at the emergency room does not capture.
What the Statute Covers
Section 3342 is narrower than it first appears, and the limits are where these cases are actually contested:
- It applies to bites. Injuries from a dog that knocks someone down, jumps, or chases them into traffic are handled under ordinary negligence instead.
- The person bitten must have been in a public place or lawfully on private property. Trespassers are outside the statute.
- Government police and military dogs are excepted when the dog was working under a written agency policy.
- Veterinary staff, groomers, and kennel workers who take custody of a dog generally assume the risk of being bitten in the course of that work.
- Provoking the dog does not end a claim, but it reduces recovery under California’s comparative fault rule—which is explained in the comparative negligence guide.
Cases I Handle
- Bites causing scarring or disfigurement, particularly facial injuries to children
- Attacks by loose or unrestrained dogs on Oakland streets, parks, and trails
- Bites on rental property where a landlord knew a dangerous dog was kept there
- Non-bite attack injuries—knockdowns and falls—brought in negligence
Who Pays
In most cases, the dog owner’s homeowner’s or renter’s liability policy—which is why a claim against a neighbor, a friend, or a relative is rarely the personal confrontation people fear it will be. Where the dog was kept on rented property, a landlord can also be liable, but only on a narrower showing: that the landlord had actual knowledge of the dog’s dangerousness and the ability to remove it or require its removal. Identifying every available policy early matters, because a severe bite on a child can exhaust a single small policy quickly.
The Deadlines
Two years from the bite for most claims (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1). For a child, the two years does not begin until the eighteenth birthday. If a public entity is involved—a police dog, or an animal control agency that failed to act on a dog it had already been warned about—a written government claim is generally due within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2), and the details are in the public-entity claims guide.
The practical clock runs faster than either one. A bite should be reported to Oakland Animal Services or the animal control agency for the city where it happened—that report, and the quarantine record that follows it, is often the only official documentation that the attack occurred and that the dog was identified. It is also the record that establishes a prior complaint if the same dog bites someone else later.
Frequently Asked Questions
The dog had never bitten anyone before. Does that matter?
Not for a bite claim. California Civil Code section 3342 makes a dog's owner liable for a bite regardless of the dog's former viciousness or the owner's knowledge of it. The "one free bite" rule that applies in some states does not apply here — you do not have to prove the owner was careless or that the dog had a history. You have to prove you were bitten, that you were in a public place or lawfully where you were, and what the bite cost you.
The dog belongs to a friend or a family member. Do I have to sue them personally?
Usually the claim is paid by their homeowner's or renter's liability coverage, not out of their pocket — that is what the coverage exists for, and dog bites are one of the more common claims made under it. The owner is the named defendant if suit is filed, which is worth understanding up front, but in practice the negotiation is with an insurer. Some policies exclude particular breeds or exclude animals entirely, so the coverage question is one of the first things worth checking.
My child was bitten in the face. What is different about those cases?
Two things. The damages are different: facial wounds on a child raise scarring and disfigurement, the likelihood of revision surgery once growth is complete, and psychological injury that is real and compensable. The procedure is different too — the deadline is extended for a minor, and any settlement of a child's claim has to be approved by the court rather than simply signed. Photographing the wounds through every stage of healing matters more in these cases than in almost any other kind.
I was knocked down by a dog, not bitten. Is that still a case?
It can be, but it proceeds differently. Section 3342 is written specifically around bites; a dog that knocks someone down, or that chases a cyclist into traffic, falls outside the strict liability statute. Those claims go forward on ordinary negligence — an owner who failed to control or restrain the animal — or on the owner's knowledge of the dog's dangerous tendencies. The injuries in these cases, particularly for older people, are often worse than the bite cases.