Dog Bite Lawyers in Colorado Springs

Colorado has a statute written specifically for dog bites. For serious bites it makes the owner responsible without any need to prove the owner was careless or knew the dog was dangerous. For less serious injuries, and for other animals, general negligence law applies.

Strict liability for serious injuries

Under Colorado’s dog bite statute, a dog’s owner is liable for economic damages when the dog bites someone who is lawfully on public or private property and causes serious bodily injury or death. It doesn’t matter whether the dog had ever bitten anyone before or whether the owner knew it could.

Economic damages means medical bills, future treatment, and lost income. Pain, suffering, and other noneconomic losses need a negligence claim alongside it, described below.

Serious bodily injury has a legal meaning: an injury that involves a substantial risk of death, a substantial risk of serious permanent disfigurement, or a protracted loss or impairment of the function of a body part or organ. Fractures generally qualify. Deep bites that leave lasting scars, particularly to the face or hands, often do.

The exceptions

The statute doesn’t apply when the person bitten:

• was unlawfully on the property,
• was on the owner’s property and it was clearly posted with “no trespassing” or “beware of dog” signs,
• knowingly provoked the dog, or
• was a veterinary worker, groomer, trainer, or similar professional working with the dog.

It also doesn’t apply to police and military dogs on duty, or to working dogs such as herding, hunting, and ranch dogs on the owner’s land.

Other dog and animal injuries

A bite that doesn’t meet the serious injury threshold, a person knocked down by a dog without being bitten, and injuries from other animals can still be pursued under general negligence law. Those claims need proof that the owner failed to use reasonable care: letting a dog run loose in violation of a leash law, ignoring earlier aggression, or failing to secure an animal known to be dangerous. Landlords and others who control property where a dangerous animal is kept may share responsibility.

Who pays

Homeowner’s and renter’s insurance policies often cover dog bites, including bites that happen away from the home. Some exclude certain breeds or dogs with a bite history, so the policy has to be read.

Children and dog bites

Children are bitten more often than adults and more often in the face. Their scarring can change as they grow, and plastic surgery may need to wait until they’re older. A child’s claim should account for that future care, and the deadlines for children differ. See children’s injuries.

What to do after a bite

Get medical care, since bites infect easily. Report the bite to animal control and get the dog’s vaccination records. Photograph the wounds as they heal. Identify the owner and, if you can, their insurer.

How we handle dog bite claims

We determine whether the statute applies, get the animal control and prior complaint records, find the insurance, and document scarring and future treatment with the physicians who will provide it.