Can you sue someone if their dog attacks and kills your dog?
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Can you sue someone if their dog attacks and kills your dog?
Asked on December 11, 2012 under Bankruptcy Law, North Carolina
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You can sue the dog owner for negligence. Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable dog owner would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm). Your damages (monetary compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit for negligence) would be for the value of your dog. If your dog incurred vet bills as a result of being attacked by the other dog, your damages would include compensation for the vet bills.
If the other dog has bitten or attacked in the past, your lawsuit against the dog owner would include (in addition to the negligence cause of action), a separate cause of action for strict liability. A cause of action is a claim. Strict liability imposes liability regardless of whether or not due care was exercised by the at-fault dog owner.
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