Florida Dog Bite Lawyer

It happens in seconds and it does not look dramatic at first. A gate that did not latch. A leash that slipped. A dog you have walked past a hundred times, loose in the front yard of a Tampa street you know by heart. Then there is blood on the sidewalk, a torn sleeve, and a neighbor apologizing while you try to decide whether you need an ambulance or an apology is enough.

I am Louis P. Meyer, Esq., a Senior Attorney at Kanner & Pintaluga, P.A. in Tampa. My practice focuses on personal injury cases across Florida, including dog bite claims. This page explains how Florida dog bite law actually works, because it is one of the few areas of injury law where the rules are simpler than people expect and where the insurance side surprises almost everyone.

What this practice covers

A dog bite case in Florida starts with a statute many states do not have. Under Fla. Stat. § 767.04, the owner of a dog is liable for damages when the dog bites a person who is in a public place or lawfully on private property, including the owner’s own property. Lawfully covers more people than owners expect: invited guests, delivery drivers, postal carriers, meter readers, and anyone else with a legal reason to be there.

I handle dog bite and dog attack claims across Florida: bites to children, attacks on walkers and joggers, delivery and service workers bitten on routes, and knockdown injuries where a dog causes a fall without breaking the skin. The work includes identifying the owner and the insurance, documenting the wound and its treatment, and building the record of scarring and lasting effects that these cases are really about.

Strict liability, and what it does not mean

Most injury cases require proof that someone was careless. A dog bite case under § 767.04 is different. The statute makes the owner liable for a bite regardless of whether the dog had ever bitten anyone before and regardless of whether the owner knew the dog could be dangerous. There is no free first bite in Florida. A dog with a spotless history puts its owner in the same legal position as a dog with a record, and an owner who says the dog never did this before has explained nothing the law cares about.

Strict does not mean automatic. The same statute reduces or defeats claims in real situations. If the person bitten was negligent in a way that helped cause the bite, that person’s own negligence reduces the recovery in proportion. A trespasser bitten on posted property stands in a weaker position than a guest. And an owner who posts an easily readable bad dog sign can gain a defense under the statute, with important exceptions, including bites to young children. These are fact fights, and they are won with the report, the records, and the witnesses, not with arguments about the dog’s character.

How I approach this work

The first move is the paper trail. A bite should be reported to the county animal services division, because the report creates an official record, triggers the rabies verification process, and often documents prior complaints the owner never mentioned. Photograph the wounds early and during healing, keep the clothing, and save every bill. The claim itself usually runs against the dog owner’s homeowners or renters insurance, which surprises people who expect a lawsuit against a neighbor. Coverage varies, some policies exclude dogs or specific breeds, and some owners rent with no insurance at all, so mapping the coverage is an early job, not a later one. Children and facial scarring change the valuation completely, because a scar on a six year old is a sixty year injury. I will give you the honest picture on all of it.

Questions people ask after a Florida dog bite

The dog never bit anyone before. Do I still have a claim?

Yes, in most cases. Under Fla. Stat. § 767.04, an owner is liable when the dog bites someone lawfully present, and the statute applies regardless of the dog’s prior behavior or the owner’s knowledge of it. The dog’s history still matters as evidence and for animal control, but the absence of a history is not a defense to liability.

Whose insurance pays for a dog bite?

Usually the dog owner’s homeowners or renters insurance, because those policies carry personal liability coverage that follows the owner. Some policies exclude animals or particular breeds, and owners sometimes let coverage lapse. When no homeowners or renters policy responds, the owner’s personal assets become the question, and that changes how a case gets evaluated from the start.

Should I report the bite, and to whom?

Report it to the animal services or animal control division in the county where the bite happened, and do it promptly. The report documents the event while memories are fresh, starts the process of confirming the dog’s rabies vaccination status, and creates a record if the dog has bitten before. It also protects the next person the dog meets.

I reached toward the dog before it bit me. Does that hurt my claim?

It can reduce it rather than destroy it. Florida applies comparative fault, and the dog bite statute itself provides that the negligence of the person bitten reduces the owner’s liability in proportion. Teasing or provoking a dog is the fact pattern owners raise most. What actually happened, and who saw it, decides how much weight that argument carries.

What if the dog knocked me down but never bit me?

The strict liability statute is written about bites. A knockdown, a fall, or injuries from fleeing a charging dog usually proceed as a regular negligence claim against the owner, where the owner’s carelessness in controlling the dog is the issue. Those claims are still real, and fractures from falls are often more serious than puncture wounds.

How long do I have to file a dog bite lawsuit in Florida?

For most negligence based injury claims, Florida law gives two years from the date of the injury to file suit. Documentation deadlines arrive much sooner: animal control reports, photographs of healing wounds, and witness memories all fade in weeks. Treatment records built early also protect you from the argument that the bite was minor.

The bottom line

A dog bite case turns on three things: a statute that holds owners responsible without a first free bite, a report that creates the official record, and photographs that show what the scar actually became. Owners and their insurers count on the bite healing quietly and the paperwork never existing. Build the record early and the case mostly builds itself.

Louis P. Meyer, Esq.
Senior Attorney, Kanner & Pintaluga, P.A.
100 S. Ashley Drive, Suite 610, Tampa, FL 33602
Phone: 561-206-2949
Email: lmeyer@kpattorney.com

About the Author

Louis P. Meyer, Esq. is a Senior Attorney at Kanner & Pintaluga, P.A., where his practice focuses on personal injury cases and first party property damage claims across Florida, including dog bite and animal attack claims. He was selected to Florida Rising Stars in 2024, 2025, and 2026. He is bilingual in English and Spanish, writes the LouisTheLawyer publication on Substack, and hosts the podcast Off The Record by Louis Meyer. He holds an LL.M. from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, a J.D. from Whittier Law School, and a B.A. from UCLA, graduating with Honors. He was admitted to The Florida Bar on November 23, 2020, Bar No. 1024811. This page is general information about how dog bite claims work in Florida. It is not legal advice about any specific incident or injury.

Louis P. Meyer, Esq., Senior Attorney, Kanner & Pintaluga, P.A., 100 S. Ashley Drive, Suite 610, Tampa, FL 33602. Phone: 561-206-2949. Email: lmeyer@kpattorney.com.

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