Arizona Dog Bite Laws: ARS 11-1025

This post provides an overview of Arizona’s dog bite laws covering dog bites and other dog-related injuries.Call Stone Rose Law at (480) 498-8998 to speak with a Phoenix dog bite attorney, or use our contact form to schedule a free consultation.

Dog Bite Owner Statutory Liability in Arizona

Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) 11-1025 is Arizona’s state dog bite law.

Under subsection (A) of this law, dog owners in Arizona are responsible for their animals under a legal theory of “strict liability.” This means that if a dog bites you, you do not have to prove that the owner was negligent to establish a legal claim for compensation.

Some notable aspects of Arizona’s dog bite law include:

• Owner dog bite liability applies no matter where the bite happens. This can be at any public or private area, including the owner’s property.
• It is unnecessary to establish that the dog has a history of biting people or is a vicious animal.
• The breed of the dog makes no difference in determining strict liability.
• Dogs used by police and law enforcement do NOT trigger strict liability if they bite during the course of apprehension or investigation of a crime, executing a warrant, or defending itself, a peace officer, or another person.

Note that this law applies only to dog bite injuries. A different Arizona law (ARS 11-1020) makes owners liable for dog-related injuries and property damage caused by reason other than a dog bite.

Other Relevant Arizona Dog Owner Liability Laws

In addition to strict liability laws for dog bites, dog owners have other statutory responsibilities under Arizona statutes, including:

• A law requiring dogs to be licensed (ARS 11-1008).
• A prohibition against allowing dogs to roam at large and to keep dogs on a leash (ARS 11-1012).
• A law requiring an unvaccinated dog that has bitten someone to be quarantined at a county pound or a veterinary hospital for at least 10 days (ARS 11-1014).
• ARS 11-1014(E) requires any person having direct knowledge of a dog bite to report it to local or county law enforcement (this will usually be to Animal Control). This duty applies to a doctor if you seek medical attention for a dog bite injury.
• A law requiring owners of aggressive dogs to take reasonable precautions to prevent them from escaping (ARS 11-1014.01).

Violations of any of these laws make the keeping of a dog in Arizona unlawful (ARS 11-1017).

County and Local Dog Laws and Ordinances

In addition to state law, local governments can also adopt their own ordinances regarding dog owner responsibilities and liability.

These local laws take precedence over equivalent Arizona state laws as long as the local law is equal to or more stringent in its provisions than its state law counterpart (ARS 11-1018).

Phoenix, for example, has laws that:

• Require dog licenses and do not permit dogs to roam at large.
• Determine what a vicious dog is.
• Establish responsibility to report dog bites.

Maricopa County also has laws that apply to pets, including:

• Prohibition against allowing dogs to roam at large and leash laws.
• Tag requirements for vaccinations.
• Spaying and neutering requirements for dogs to use off-leash areas of parks.
• Prohibitions against harassment of others in parks by pets.
• Requirement to clean up pet feces in parks.

It is possible, in dog bite cases, for an owner to also be in violation of some of these additional state, county, and local laws.

Elements of a Dog Bite Personal Injury Claim

Arizona’s dog bite statute does not lay out how to make a claim against a dog owner for a dog bite attack. Instead, to make a legal claim, you should follow the requirements to establish a personal injury lawsuit claim.

Under the Arizona statute of limitations for personal injuries, if proceeding under a theory of negligence, as opposed to or in conjunction with a strict liability claim, you have two years from when the dog bite occurred to file a legal claim for recovery. For claims proceeding via strict liability, the statute of limitations is only 1-year from the date of the bite.

The elements you must establish to recover compensation for a dog bite injury are:

1. You must show that the dog owner was the owner of the dog that bit you.
2. You must show that the dog owner owed you a legal duty of care to prevent their dog from injuring you and that the dog owner breached that duty of care. However if proceeding under a theory of strict liability it is not necessary to show that the owner owed a duty to you and breached that duty.
3. You must show that you suffered harm from the dog bite attack.

Personal Injury Damages for Dog Bites

Dog bites are often minor, but they can result in serious injuries. If you are successful in proving a strict liability case for a dog bite injury, you can recover monetary damages for three kinds of harm:

• Direct or economic damages. These include medical bills, lost wages if the injuries caused you to miss work, and property damage costs.
• Indirect or non-economic damages. These are also known as pain and suffering damages and include amounts for emotional distress, disfigurement and scarring, and loss of enjoyment of quality of life.
• Punitive damages. In some cases, like when the behavior of the dog owner is intentional to cause you harm (for example, the owner turned the dog loose specifically so it would attack you), you can collect punitive damages in addition to direct and indirect damages.

Do Dog Owners Have Any Legal Defenses in Dog Bite Cases?

Depending on the circumstances, even though a dog bite claim ordinarily results in strict liability, a dog owner might raise either or both of two defenses to a dog bite injury claim.

The Victim Provoked the Dog into Attacking

ARS 11-1027 provides owners a way to avoid liability for a dog bite injury if the owner can prove that the victim provoked the dog. The standard of proof is whether a reasonable person would expect that the victim’s conduct or the circumstances would have been likely to provoke the dog into biting.

The Victim Was a Trespasser When the Bite Happened

Under Arizona premises liability law, private property owners generally owe no duty of care to people on their property without permission.

Although the dog bite victim may still be able to recover against a dog owner as being strictly liable in a trespasser situation, in this case, the owner may be able to reduce the amount of any judgment award based on the principle of comparative negligence.

Unlike the ARS 11-1027-based provocation defense, comparative negligence does not preclude the dog owner from strict liability. Comparative negligence means that if the victim of a personal injury was partly at fault for causing the harm done, the court could reduce the amount of compensation by the percentage of the victim’s fault.

For example, if a dog bites a trespasser, and the property owner shows that the victim was 50% at fault for the dog bite injury because he was on the property without permission, then the person bitten could only recover half of any judgment sum the jury might award.

Can a Dog Owner Be Criminally Liable for a Dog Bite Attack in Arizona?

Dog bite cases are civil court cases.

As mentioned above, law enforcement can bring criminal charges against a dog owner under the same facts that led to a dog attack. So, it is possible that the dog owner can face two trials:

• one in civil court for a personal injury dog bite case and
• a separate misdemeanor-level criminal prosecution for violating other laws, like leash laws, licensing and vaccination requirements, or failing to take proper precautions with an aggressive dog.

Contact a Phoenix Dog Bite Lawyer

If a dog has bitten you or a family member, call Stone Rose Law at (480) 498-8998 or use our contact form to schedule a free case evaluation with a qualified dog bite attorney.