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A dog bite can disrupt everything at once—routine, income, sense of safety. You’re left managing medical care while the dog’s owner, or their insurer, starts working behind the scenes to protect themselves.
Washington law holds dog owners accountable when someone is bitten in public or while lawfully on private property. But even with clear rules, you may face delays, low settlement offers, or blame for what happened.
If you’ve been bitten, call our Washington dog bite attorneys at (253) 383-4500 Freeman Law Firm, Inc. moves quickly to protect your case and keep others from controlling the outcome.
Download your free copy now to discover invaluable insights into the PI claim process.
Washington follows a strict liability rule for dog bites. Under RCW 16.08.040, the person who owns or controls the dog is responsible if it bites someone in a public place or on private property where the person had a legal right to be. There’s no requirement to show that the dog was known to be aggressive or had ever bitten someone before.
Owner liability applies in most places where someone is lawfully present—public sidewalks, private homes with permission, or while performing work like mail delivery.
Washington law doesn’t hold dog owners liable in every situation. Two of the most common defenses used by insurers are trespassing and provocation. Both can affect whether your case moves forward—or gets denied entirely.
RCW 16.08.050 outlines who is considered lawfully on private property in Washington. That includes:
If you entered without permission—especially by going through a locked gate, past a warning sign, or over a fence—the law may treat you as a trespasser. In those situations, the dog’s owner might not be held responsible.
Insurers also look at whether the person provoked the dog. That can include hitting, teasing, grabbing at the dog, or doing something aggressive that could reasonably trigger a defensive response. Under RCW 16.08.060, provocation is a complete defense to liability. If the insurer can show that your actions caused the bite, the claim may be reduced or denied altogether.
Insurance companies may try to reframe what happened. That’s why it’s important to establish the facts early:
Clear evidence makes it harder for insurers to use trespassing or provocation as a way to avoid paying. The earlier you gather that information, the stronger your position will be.
Infections spread quickly and may not show symptoms right away. Even when a wound looks minor, underlying tissue damage or bacterial exposure can turn serious fast.
Early treatment creates documentation that proves the timing and extent of your injury. Medical records from those first hours or days can carry more weight than anything you say later. If there’s a delay, insurers may claim the bite wasn’t severe—or wasn’t the real cause of your condition.
Animal control reports are more than paperwork. They confirm when and where the bite happened, document the dog’s owner, and may include notes about the animal’s behavior or vaccination history.
Delaying the report can cause avoidable problems:
Filing a report early protects the case if the story changes later.
Certain evidence won’t be available a week later—or even the next day. If you’re able, document everything while the details are still clear:
Avoid giving recorded statements to an insurance company until you’ve spoken with an attorney. Statements made early—especially under pressure—can be used to question your credibility or shift fault.
You don’t need to wait until the situation escalates to speak with a dog bite lawyer. In fact, the earlier you do, the easier it is to protect your case from problems that are hard to fix later.
Dog bite cases aren’t handled the same way across the board. Some go through homeowner’s insurance. Others involve rental policies, missing records, or disputes over what actually happened. A dog bite attorney can help you:
At Freeman Law Firm, Inc., we’ve worked with clients across Washington who were caught off guard by a bite and didn’t know where to start. Our team handles the process from the beginning, so you don’t have to manage it alone or guess whether you’re doing the right things.
A dog’s jaw can crush bone, tear through muscle, or cause deep puncture wounds that trap bacteria. Many bites require stitches. Some need reconstructive surgery. Infections can set in quickly—especially in hands, joints, or facial tissue.
Children are particularly vulnerable. A bite to the face or neck may require multiple surgeries over time and leave visible scars that carry social and psychological weight.
Nerve damage is another concern. When bites affect arms, hands, or legs, victims may lose strength, sensation, or full range of motion. That kind of impairment doesn’t just affect recovery, it can reshape daily life.
Freeman Law Firm, Inc. builds every case around the full picture of what was lost, not just the ER bill. That includes future care, follow-up treatment, and any permanent physical changes.
Dog attacks can leave trauma that outlasts the physical injury. Clients frequently report disrupted sleep, recurring anxiety, or a fear of dogs that didn’t exist before. In some cases, the trauma affects where they go, who they trust, or how they interact with their own pets.
Psychological effects from dog attacks are well-documented and taken seriously in personal injury claims. When anxiety, fear, or sleep disruption is diagnosed and treated by a provider, it can be included alongside the physical injury—just like a surgery or rehabilitation plan.
Children who are bitten in public or while doing something routine like walking to school, playing outside may need counseling to work through the fear. Treatment should be factored into the case, and it’s something we actively pursue on behalf of our clients.
Whether physical or mental, the lasting effects of a dog bite deserve to be fully documented and built into the claim from the start. That’s the kind of detail Freeman Law Firm, Inc. presses for—because anything left out gives the insurance company room to pay less.
Under Washington law, the person legally responsible for the dog isn’t limited to whoever signed the registration form. Liability applies to whoever owned, kept, or had control over the dog at the time of the bite. That could be a friend watching the dog for the weekend, a roommate, or a family member acting as caretaker.
Victims don’t usually recover directly from the person who owns the dog. In most cases, payment comes from one of the following:
Policies may cover:
Freeman Law Firm, Inc. works directly with insurers to make sure the claim reflects the full impact of the injury, not just what’s convenient for the carrier to pay.
Landlords and property owners aren’t automatically responsible for a tenant’s dog. But in rare cases, they can be held liable—usually if they knew a dangerous dog was on the property and failed to act.
That could include ignoring prior complaints, keeping a dog on site after it attacked someone before, or failing to enforce leash or containment rules spelled out in a lease. Cases like this depend heavily on what’s already on record like past complaints, written warnings, lease agreements, or anything showing the owner knew the dog posed a risk. We investigate every angle to determine whether a third party bears any responsibility, especially when primary insurance limits aren’t enough to cover the damage.
Strict liability in Washington doesn’t depend on whether a dog has attacked before—but when it has, it can strengthen your case. Prior bites, formal complaints, or documented aggressive behavior help show the owner should have known the dog was a risk.
Under RCW 16.08.070–.100, local animal control agencies can classify dogs as dangerous or potentially dangerous. Those labels may come into play if the dog was already under restrictions at the time of the attack.When a dog is officially labeled dangerous, the owner has to meet specific safety requirements, including:
If the owner skipped any of those steps, that violation can be used to support your claim. At Freeman Law Firm, Inc., we examine whether the dog’s classification—or the owner’s failure to follow the rules—opens the door for additional compensation.
Severe injuries caused by dogs with a known history may also trigger felony charges under Washington law. Those charges are separate from any civil claim you bring—but they can provide supporting evidence that strengthens your case.
When that kind of history exists, our dog bite attorneys make sure it’s documented early and tied directly to what happened in your case.
The Washington personal injury statute of limitations gives you three years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit under RCW 4.16.080. If the person bitten was a minor, the deadline starts on their 18th birthday.
That may sound like plenty of time, but important details tend to fade. Witnesses become harder to reach. Medical records may be incomplete or harder to retrieve. Even when a claim is legally allowed, waiting too long can weaken what you’re able to prove.
Insurers try to use time gaps or delays to challenge claims. If there’s no clear record of how and when the injury happened, they may argue it wasn’t serious or wasn’t caused by the bite at all.
Building the case early makes it harder for those arguments to gain traction. It also gives your attorney more room to work with medical providers, gather records, and document how the injury has affected your life.
Yes. In most cases, the claim is handled through an insurance policy—not through a personal lawsuit against your friend, neighbor, or relative. You’re not asking them to pay out of pocket; you're accessing coverage they already carry.
You’re not out of options. Animal control, neighbors, or property managers may be able to help identify the owner. In some cases, surveillance footage, prior complaints, or other witnesses provide the missing details.
Freeman Law Firm, Inc. investigates ownership early so your case isn’t delayed by uncertainty.
Washington’s liability rule applies whether the dog had a history or not. A prior attack or formal warning can help strengthen your case, but it’s not required to hold the owner accountable.
Insurance adjusters know how to reframe what happened—or what didn’t. From the first conversation, they’re looking for ways to limit the payout, assign partial blame, or downplay long-term harm.
We take over communication before those tactics gain ground. You won’t have to manage conflicting messages or worry about saying the wrong thing under pressure.
A strong claim starts with what’s collected early: injury photos, witness details, animal control records, and a clear medical timeline. We don’t wait for the insurer to ask questions. We document what happened while the details are still fresh so the record speaks for itself later.
Not every injury shows its full impact in the first week. Some clients struggle with sleep, return-to-work delays, or ongoing care they didn’t expect at the start. That’s why we look beyond receipts.
We show how the bite affected your routines, your relationships, and your ability to live the way you did before. The goal isn’t just reimbursement, it’s a resolution that accounts for what the injury really took from you.
If a dog attack has impacted your life or the life of someone you love, call Freeman Law Firm, Inc. at (253) 383-4500 or send us an email today. We’re here to fight for the compensation you need to rebuild and move forward with confidence.
Disclaimer: This page is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Dog bite liability and insurance coverage can vary depending on the facts of the case and applicable Washington law. If you’ve been injured, speak with a qualified attorney to understand how the law applies to your situation.
