If a dog has attacked you, or someone else’s carelessness has left you injured, you are most likely dealing with three things at once: pain, a stack of medical bills, and a person on the other side who has suddenly stopped apologizing and started making excuses. I understand that combination better than most attorneys ever will.
I was mauled by a dog myself.
As both an attorney and ranch manager, I understand that animal-related injuries often involve more than a simple accident. These matters can raise questions about property conditions, animal control, negligence, fencing, warnings, supervision, and insurance coverage. I consider select injury matters involving dog bites, livestock, horses, ranch animals, and other animal-related incidents. If you or a loved one was injured in an animal-related incident, I can review the facts and help determine whether there may be a legal claim.
My name is Alex Murad. I am a California-licensed attorney based in Ojai, and I represent dog bite and animal-attack victims throughout Ventura County. If a dog has bitten you, the law may give you far more leverage than you realize, and the sooner you understand it, the better your position.
If you have been injured, you do not have to fight for what you are owed alone.
A Personal Injury Practice Built on Personal Experience
Several years ago I was trying to pull a dog off one of my goats. When I reached for the dog’s collar, he snapped and clamped down on my left arm. My thumbnail was torn off and gashes ran the length of my forearm. I drove myself to the emergency room while the owner stood there, more worried about her dog than about the man it had just bitten.
I made the mistake I now warn every client against. I thought it was open and shut. I thought I could handle it myself. The reality is that years later I still live with the lingering effects of that attack, and I never had the advocate I should have had. That day, and every day I look at my mangled thumb, is exactly why I do this work. I will fight for you the way I wish someone had fought for me. You can read the full story of my own dog attack here.
As I often say, everyone has the best dog. When it comes to their animals, people’s reality bends, sometimes a little and sometimes a lot. That is one of the reasons these cases are so much harder than they look.
California Dog Bite Law: Strict Liability Under Civil Code § 3342
California is a strict liability state when it comes to dog bites. Under Civil Code section 3342, a dog owner is liable when their dog bites someone who is in a public place or lawfully on private property, including the owner’s own property. Strict liability means liability without fault. The owner does not get to argue that they did everything right, that the dog had never bitten anyone, or that they had no idea it would happen. If their dog bit you while you were somewhere you had a right to be, the owner is on the hook for your injuries.
This is the most powerful tool a bite victim has, and it is one of the reasons it is a serious mistake to settle directly with an owner or an insurance adjuster before you understand what the law actually entitles you to. For a plain-English breakdown of how California’s dog bite liability rules work, see my guide here.
The “One Free Bite” Myth
Talk to almost anyone, even a first-year law student, and you will hear that “every dog gets one free bite.” People take that adage as gospel, and it costs them. Here is the truth behind it.
The “one free bite” idea is not really about bites at all. It is about foreseeability and owner knowledge. The rule that matters is that an owner is liable for the foreseeable harm caused by their dog’s foreseeable behavior. The average imaginary dog that exists only on paper might get one free bite. Your neighbor’s actual dog, the one with its own personality, habits, and history, often does not.
Say an owner knows their dog jumps on people. One day at the grocery store the dog jumps on an elderly woman, she falls, and she breaks her hip. The fact that the dog had never hurt anyone before is irrelevant. The owner knew of the propensity, the behavior was foreseeable, and the injury was exactly the kind you would expect. That owner is very likely liable. “He’s never done that before” is not the shield owners think it is, and it is not the defeat victims think it is. The real question is what the owner knew.
It is not enough to hire an attorney who knows the black-letter law. You need an attorney who understands the animals themselves, as a species and as individuals, because the primary issue in these cases is the owner’s knowledge of their dog’s behavior.
When Strict Liability Does Not Apply
Section 3342 is broad, but it is not unlimited. It is important to know where the lines are, because the cases that fall outside the statute are exactly the ones owners and insurers try to walk away from. The statute generally does not cover:
- Trespassers. The strict liability statute protects people who are lawfully present. If you were not legally on the property, your claim shifts to the older common-law rules, where the owner’s knowledge of a dangerous propensity becomes central.
- Injuries that are not bites. A dog that knocks you down, scratches you, or causes a fall is not covered by the bite statute. Those claims proceed under ordinary negligence and the owner’s knowledge of how the animal behaves. They are still very much winnable. They are just proven differently.
- Certain police and military dogs. California law carves out a specific exception for governmental agencies using a dog in police or military work under a written policy. The rules in those encounters are different, and your rights are no less important. I write about this in my piece on dogs in the line of duty.
Knowing which framework your case falls under is half the battle, and it is precisely the kind of thing most people get wrong on their own. There can also be defenses, such as provocation or a victim’s own share of fault, that an insurer will press hard, which is one more reason to have the facts reviewed early.
Other Animal Attacks and Injury Cases I Handle
Dog bites are the heart of this practice, but they are not the whole of it. Out here in Ventura County, animals and rural life create injuries that city lawyers rarely see. I represent people hurt by:
- Other domestic and farm animals, including horses, livestock, and exotic pets;
- Dangerous property conditions and premises liability, when a property owner’s neglect causes a fall or other injury;
- Ordinary negligence, the careless driving, careless handling, and careless choices that leave someone else hurt;
- Injuries to children and to working people who were simply doing what they had a right to do.
If you were hurt in a home you rent, my tenant injury and premises liability page covers those cases in detail. If you are not sure whether what happened to you is a case, that is exactly what a free consultation is for. Ask me.
What You May Be Able to Recover
Every case is different and I cannot promise an outcome, but California law allows injury victims to seek compensation for the real costs an attack imposes. That can include past and future medical treatment, lost wages and lost earning capacity, the cost of scar revision or reconstructive care, and compensation for pain, disfigurement, and emotional distress. Dog attacks in particular leave scars that are both physical and lasting, and the law recognizes that.
A practical note from my own experience: ask the hospital to photograph your injuries, get the owner’s information and the dog’s history before you leave the scene if you possibly can, and do not let an adjuster rush you into a number before you know what your recovery will actually require.
Act Quickly: California’s Deadlines Are Shorter Than You Think
In California you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. That sounds like plenty of time until it isn’t. Evidence disappears, witnesses move, and a dog’s history gets harder to trace with every month that passes. And if your claim is against a city, county, or other public entity, the deadline is far shorter. You may have only six months to file a formal government claim before you lose the right to sue at all.
The single best thing you can do after you have taken the night to heal is to call an attorney the next day, while the facts are fresh and your options are still open.
Why Having an Attorney Changes the Outcome
When you are the victim, the deck does not feel fair, because it isn’t. The owner will make every excuse in the book to turn the blame on you instead of on their dog. The insurance company does this for a living and you do not. That imbalance is the whole reason to have someone in your corner.
An attorney can establish strict liability or, where the statute does not apply, build the record of what the owner knew. An attorney can track down the dog’s bite history, the animal-control reports, and the veterinary records that often make or break these cases. An attorney can value your claim honestly, deal with the adjuster so you do not have to, and if the other side will not be reasonable, take the facts in front of a judge and jury. Most attorneys focus only on the injury. I focus on the injury and on the owner’s knowledge, because that is where these cases are actually won.
Why Hire Me?
I am a solo practitioner, which means when you hire me, you get me. Not a paralegal, not a junior associate, me. I practice in Ojai and throughout Ventura County, I have volunteered at a local legal aid clinic, and I bring what I call ranch grit to every case: a work ethic and a level of persistence you will be hard pressed to find anywhere else.
And on this particular subject, I bring something no marketing budget can buy. I have felt a dog’s jaws close on my arm. I know what the ER is like, what the recovery is like, and what it is like to be the victim while the owner worries about the dog. There is no matter I take more to heart.
If you or a loved one has been bitten by a dog or injured by someone else’s negligence, the sooner you talk to an attorney, the more options you have. Take the night to heal, then call. There is no matter I take more to heart, and I will be the advocate you need, in and out of the courtroom.
From my office in Ojai, I serve dog bite and injury victims across Ventura County, including Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Port Hueneme, Oak View, and Meiners Oaks.
The initial consultation is always free.
Call or text: 805-295-4197 Email: alexmurad@ranchgritlaw.com
Disclaimer: This website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Viewing this site or communicating with the Law Office of Alex Murad through this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. Licensed to practice law in California only.