How do I know if I can sue for a dog bite in New York?

The primary factor that allows an individual to sue for a dog bite in New York State has been for quite some time the ability to demonstrate a vicious propensity of the animal. An example with that would be some evidence that the dog has a history of growling at individuals, jumping up on individuals, bearing its teeth at individuals, and obviously if the dog has ever actually bit somebody in its past. That’s the standard that’s been in place in New York for quite some time. If one can show evidence of that, one has a viable case.

Now, the highest court in New York just recently has issued a ruling that alters that and they’ve changed the standard from strict liability based on vicious propensity to the negligence standard, which is going to open up the door to a number of other cases that ordinarily would not be viable in dog and pet cases. Those instances would be not only biting or vicious attack, but also if the animal escapes and causes some sort of damage or even in a nonvicious way just by running around or jumping on an individual hurts them. The high court in New York has now opened up the door for courts to contemplate those types of cases.