Am I Responsible For A Dog Bite If It's Not My Dog?

Determining who is responsible for a dog bite mayquestions can help determine who is liable for the
be difficult, but the laws about it in South Carolinadamages of the dog bite, according to South
are pretty straightforward. Essentially, if you ownCarolina dog bite laws.
a dog or are taking care of another person's dog,Was the person who was bitten by the dog
you are responsible for properly restraining theinvited to come onto your property, such as a
dog and making sure that it does not inflict harmrepairman or a friend? If not, then the person is
on others. However, you are not consideredconsidered to have been trespassing on your
responsible for the dog's actions if a personproperty, which means that you are not
provoked the dog before the dog attacked them.responsible for the injuries that they sustained
If you have been injured in any way, such aswhile they were trespassing. As a result, you
bitten or scratched, by an unprovoked dog, youwould have had to legally permit the person to be
should go to see a doctor as soon as possible. Iton your property for you to be liable for their
is also recommended that you consult andog bite injuries.
attorney who has dealt with dog bites before soWas the person who was bitten a worker of the
that they can help to protect your legal rights.state or federal government, such as a meter
When determining who is responsible for the dogreader or mailman? If so, they would not be
and paying for the injuries sustained from the dogconsidered to be a trespasser. You should always
bite attack, it is important to ask:make sure that your dog is tied up or restrained
Who seemed to be the person who was inwhenever an electrician, postal worker, or other
charge of taking care of the dog when the bitegovernment worker comes onto your property.
happened? You may not think that you areDid the person instigate the attack in any way? If
responsible for paying for the damages caused bythe victim terrorized the dog in any way that
a dog if that dog was not your own and youwould instigate an attack, then you are not
were just taking care of it for someone else.responsible for what happened. The person's
However, it is considered to be your job as areckless and ignorant behavior is what caused
secondary caretaker of the dog to make sureyour dog's behavior to change, so the incident is
that you maintain restraint on the dog andnot your fault.
supervise it at all times to ensure that it does notEven if you have asked all of these questions, it is
harm other people.still sometimes hard to determine who is
Where did the dog bite occur? Whose propertyresponsible for the injuries. For this reason, it is
were you on when it took place? Was it on yourbest to consult with an attorney who can help to
property that the bite happened? Do you own orsort out of the legal factors associated with a
rent that property? All of the answers to thesedog bite attack.