Dog Attacks in North Carolina

North Carolina dog attack law favor the dog owner so obtaining a lawyer for dog attacks in North Carolina is good.  Lawyers for dog bites in Chapel Hill are tough to fight alone.  In pretty much every state, certain laws govern dog attacks and the liability that an attacking dog may cause its owner. Compared to most any other state, North Carolina dog attack laws favor the dog owner and create ways for dog owners to dodge liability. NCGS 67-12 governs the North Carolina dog attack, dog bite, or dog mauling laws. This law states that:

No person shall allow his dog over six months old to run at large in the nighttime unaccompanied by the owner or by some member of the owner's family, or some other person by the owner's permission. Any person intentionally, knowingly, and willfully violating this section shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor, and shall also be liable in damages to any person injured or suffering loss to his property or chattels.

As one can clearly see, there are a number of requirements for the dog bite statute to hold someone liable for damages of a canine attack. The first requirement is that the dog be at least 6 months old. If the dog is only a 5-month-old puppy, a victim may not be able to file a meritorious claim under this statute because the puppy is too young. Many 5-month-old dogs may in fact be very large and capable of a good amount of damage such as Rottweilers and Pitt Bulls.

The second requirement for the dog owner to incur liability is that the dog be running loose at nighttime. Thus, if John Doe's 75 pound pit-bull runs around biting children during the day, John Doe would not be held liable under the North Carolina Statute unless the pit-bull has already been declared a "dangerous animal".

The last requirement is that the dog is unaccompanied by its owner, family members of the owner, or some other person by the owner's permission. Take note that there is no requirement of a leash or tether or any sort of animal control device. Thus, a person who owns a 115 lb. King German Shepherd can allow his 5 year old boy to walk the dog at night. If the dog runs out and bites someone, the victim cannot file suit under NCGS 67-12 because the family member of the owner accompanied the dog.
Clearly, this statute is very narrow and does not encompass very much. If however, if a person does violate this statute, the owner can be held liable under the negligence per se theory.

Alternatively, one can file suit under the negligence theory for dog attacks and dog bites. All the person would have to show would be that the dog owner had a duty to his or her neighbors and to the general public.  Next, the plaintiff would have to prove that the dog owner breached his duty and that the breach of the duty proximately and actually caused the damages and harm incurred by the plaintiff. In North Carolina, it is much more common for dog bite and dog mauling cases to be filed under negligence theories rather than the dog bite statute itself.

There is a special category of dogs that trigger strict liability for all of their owners. These dogs are labeled as "dangerous dogs." Under North Carolina Law, "dangerous dogs" are dogs that have previously killed or inflicted severe injury on a person without provocation, any dog who is trained or harbored specifically for dog fighting, or any dog that has been determined by a county or municipal authority to be "potentially dangerous." Potentially dangerous dogs are dogs that have inflicted a serious bite on a person requiring hospitalization or cosmetic surgery, killed or inflicted severe injury upon a domestic animal when not on owner's property, or approached a person when not on the owner's property in a vicious manner in an attitude of attack.

Thus, if one owns a "dangerous dog," he or she is subject to strict liability for the damages that the dog may cause. When one is strictly liable, the dog caused all the plaintiff has to prove is that the damages, and the owner will have to pay damages.