When Dogs Attack

When Dogs Attack

The issue of monetary compensation to Mr. Xiu Min Li for his injuries will be determined upon finding of strict liability against the dogs’ owner and the property owner, who had rented the premises.  New York City does not have a ban on pit bulls, although other jurisdictions do.

In New York,  when harm is caused by a domestic animal, its owner’s liability is determined solely by a finding that a dog owner knew or should have known of the animal’s vicious propensities under a theory of strict liability.  Vicious propensities include the propensity to do any act that might endanger the safety of the persons and property of others in a given situation.

Vicious propensities in dogs in past cases have been found to include: jumping aggressively against a fence, barking and growling, snapping, showing its teeth, prior attacks of people by the dog, and past declaration of a dog as a “dangerous dog ” under Agriculture and Markets Law (“AML”) §121.

Some other indicators have also been found to determine vicious propensity: keeping a dog for use as a guard dog, constructing a pen or fence to keep the dog away from visitors due to past problems, “beware of dog” and similar signs, verbal warnings not to enter the property because the dog was loose on the property, records indicating the dog was aggressive, the type and severity of the attack on the victim, past attacks on other animals.

Mr. Xiu Min Li had been advised about the danger by warning signs and common knowledge from others in the neighborhood. However, it is most likely that his failure to overt the danger will not prevent his chances of monetary recovery for his severe injuries.  After all, keeping a pack of pit bulls inside a residential home in Brooklyn, NY, should be judged as strict liability against the responsible parties in this horrific incident.