Injury Attorneys in Jersey City Experienced in NJ Dog Bite Law

Specific laws apply to dog owners and dog bite victims in the Garden State

Many states, including New Jersey, maintain specific laws that hold dog owners legally liable for damages that their dogs inflict on other human beings, regardless of whether their dogs have ever shown any previous inclination to attack people. If you have been bitten by a dog, you owe it to yourself to contact the Jersey City law firm of Zavodnick, Perlmutter & Boccia, LLC. Our experienced personal injury attorneys precisely understand New Jersey dog bite law through and through and can help you understand how these laws relate to your case.

The specifics of the New Jersey dog bite law

The technical name of the New Jersey dog bite law is N.J.S.A. 4:19-16. Under this law, you can recover damages if you can prove:

• The defendant you are suing owned the dog in question
• The dog in question bit you
• You were in a public place or you were lawfully on the property of the owner at the time of the bite

Note that if you were trespassing on the property of the dog owner, your injury was not a direct result of the dog bite or the defendant does not own the dog in question, you do not have a valid lawsuit under the New Jersey dog bite law.

Common variations on application of the dog bite law in New Jersey

In some scenarios, a defendant may appear legally liable but may not be held responsible for any or all of the damages suffered.

The first of these scenarios depends on whether the victim was trespassing on the property of the dog owner. New Jersey law and precedent allows a defense based upon trespass but only if the victim was trespassing with criminal intent. If the victim was trespassing without criminal intent at the time of the injury, the victim may still be held responsible for a portion of his or her suffered damages.

Another potentially more complex scenario involves an accident caused by more than one person, such as a case where the victim was legally on the property of the dog owner, was not looking where he or she was going and either stepped on the animal or otherwise inadvertently provoked the attack. The court or the jury may find the owner partially at fault for the victim’s injuries, and, therefore, entitled only to partial compensation from the dog owner. The jury could attribute an even 50 percent of the fault to the victim so that the victim would be entitled to compensation equal to 50 percent of their losses.

Let the attorneys of Zavodnick, Perlmutter & Boccia put our experience to work for you, protecting your best interests while working hard to surmount any challenges that arise throughout your case.

Jersey City personal injury attorneys ready to help you through cases involving New Jersey dog bite law

At Zavodnick, Perlmutter & Boccia, LLC, our personal injury attorneys possess extensive experience understanding and building personal cases around dog bite laws in New Jersey. We are ready to help Jersey City, Union City and Newark residents on either side of a dog bite injury case. We receive no payment unless your case succeeds. To arrange a free consultation regarding your case, contact us today either online or at 201.653.1155. Our office is located near the Journal Square PATH station and within walking distance of the Hudson County Court House. If you are unable to visit us because of your injuries, we can arrange appointments at your home or in the hospital.

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