Florida Dog Bite Law FirmShort answers to the questions people actually ask after a dog bite in Florida, each one grounded in the statute rather than in general advice.
Free to read. No form, no email, no gate.
If your question is not here, the case review is free too, and a question answered in five minutes is worth more than an hour of searching.
How this is organised
The questions below are grouped by what actually happened rather than by area of law, because that is how people arrive. Each one opens with a short answer and then explains the statute it rests on.
If you were hurt, the questions about lawful presence, provocation, signs and insurance are the ones that decide claims. If you are deciding whether to act, the ones about timing, court and cost are probably what you came for.
Every answer quotes the statute rather than paraphrasing it, and says so where Florida law is genuinely unsettled — which it is on the filing deadline, and on whether a “Beware of Dog” sign satisfies a statute that names different words.
For the wider body of Florida dog law — service animals, emotional support animals, buying a dog, cruelty, pet trusts — see Florida Dog Law.
- A Dog Knocked Me Down but Never Bit Me. Do I Have a Claim?Possibly yes. Section 767.04 only covers bites, but section 767.01 makes an owner liable for any damage done by the owner’s dog to a person, which reaches knockdowns, collisions and falls.
- Another Dog Attacked My Dog. Do I Have a Claim in Florida?Often yes. Section 767.01 makes a dog owner liable for any damage done by their dog to a person or to any animal included in the definitions of domestic animal and livestock.
- Bitten by a Dog at a Florida Vacation RentalPossibly more than one party. Section 767.04 reaches the dog's owner, but a host, property manager or platform may also be involved, and each may carry separate insurance.
- Bitten by a Dog in a Florida Public PlaceYou are covered without proving lawful presence. Section 767.04 reads "on or in a public place, or lawfully on or in a private place" — the qualifier attaches only to the private one.
- Bitten by a Neighbour's Dog in a Florida RentalThe dog's owner is liable under section 767.04. Where the bite happened in a common area the landlord controls and they knew about the dog, there may be a claim against them too.
- Can a Landlord Be Liable for a Tenants Dog in Florida?Sometimes. Section 767.04 targets the dog's owner, so a landlord claim runs on separate premises and negligence theories, usually turning on knowledge of that dog and control over the premises.
- Can a Trespasser Recover for a Dog Bite in Florida?Generally not on private property. Section 767.04 covers a person bitten in a public place, or lawfully on private property — and the statute itself defines what lawful means.
- Changing Lawyers During a Florida Dog Bite ClaimYes. A client may change lawyers, and it does not normally mean paying two full fees — the firms divide a single fee between them. The practical cost is delay, not double billing.
- Do I Actually Need a Lawyer for a Dog Bite Claim?Not always. A clean minor bite with no scar and no time off may not need one. A claim gets harder fast where there is scarring, a child, a fault argument, or a posted sign.
- Does a "Beware of Dog" Sign Protect the Owner in Florida?Maybe not. Section 767.04 protects an owner who displayed a prominent, easily readable sign including the words Bad Dog. Most Florida signs say Beware of Dog, which is not the phrase in the statute.
- Does My Health Insurer Get Paid Back From My Settlement?Often yes, in part. Many health plans have a right of reimbursement or subrogation against a recovery. It does not reduce the claim itself, but it affects your net, and the amount is frequently negotiable.
- How Long Does a Florida Dog Bite Case Take?It largely tracks your medical treatment. A straightforward claim can resolve in months once treatment is complete; one involving surgery, scarring or a child takes considerably longer.
- I Am a Postal Worker or Delivery Driver. Was I Lawfully There?Yes. Section 767.04 defines lawful presence to include performing a duty imposed by the laws of this state or by the laws or postal regulations of the United States. Doing your job is not trespassing.
- I Was Bitten as a Guest. Am I Covered in Florida?Yes. Section 767.04 defines lawful presence on private property to include being there upon invitation, expressed or implied, of the owner. A guest is squarely inside that.
- I Was Bitten at a Dog Park. Do I Still Have a Claim in Florida?Usually yes. A public dog park is a public place under section 767.04, so lawful presence is not something you have to establish, and the owner remains liable for a bite.
- I Was Bitten by a Dog at Work. What Are My Options?Possibly two claims. Workers' compensation covers the injury through your employer regardless of fault, and a separate third-party claim may run against the dog's owner under section 767.04.
- I Was Bitten by a Police K9. Does Florida Dog Bite Law Apply?Not the dangerous dog provisions. Section 767.16 exempts any canine owned or employed by a law enforcement agency. These cases run on governmental immunity and civil rights law, with much shorter notice deadlines.
- I Was Bitten by a Service Dog. Does That Change Anything?Not under the bite statute. Section 767.04 makes the owner of any dog liable, with no service-animal exception. The named exemption in chapter 767 is for law enforcement canines, not service dogs.
- I Was Bitten by a Stray. Is There Anything I Can Do?Often the dog is identifiable even when it looked stray. Where no owner is ever found there is usually no claim, so the immediate priority is medical care and a prompt animal services report.
- I Was Bitten by My Own Dog. Do I Have a Claim?Usually no. Section 767.04 creates liability in the dog's owner, and you cannot claim against yourself. Homeowners policies also exclude injuries to the policyholder and household members.
- I Was Bitten While Running or Cycling. What Applies?Section 767.04 covers a bite in a public place with no lawful-presence question at all. If the dog caused a fall or crash without biting, section 767.01 covers any damage a dog does to a person.
- Is Faking a Service Dog a Crime in Florida?Yes. Under section 413.08(9) a person who knowingly and wilfully misrepresents themselves as using a service animal commits a second-degree misdemeanour and must perform 30 hours of community service.
- Is Florida a One-Bite State?No. Florida is a strict liability state. Section 767.04 makes a dog owner liable for a bite regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of it, so the first bite counts.
- Is the Miami-Dade Pit Bull Ban Still in Effect?No. Florida removed the grandfather clause that had allowed pre-1990 breed ordinances to survive, effective October 1, 2023. That clause was the sole basis for the Miami-Dade ban.
- It Was My Friends Dog. Do I Really Have to Make a Claim?You are almost never claiming against the person. Dog bite claims are normally paid by the owners homeowners or renters policy, which they have been paying for precisely so this is covered.
- My Bite Seems Minor. Is It Worth Pursuing?It depends on how it heals, not how it looks now. Infection, nerve symptoms and permanent scarring often declare themselves weeks later, and a bite that looks minor today may not stay minor.
- My Child Was Bitten. Does the "Bad Dog" Sign Defense Apply?Not to a child under six. Section 767.04 protects an owner who posted a conforming sign except as to a person under the age of 6, so for a young child the sign is legally irrelevant.
- Older Adults Knocked Down by Dogs in FloridaThere is likely still a claim. Section 767.04 only covers bites, but section 767.01 makes an owner liable for any damage done by their dog to a person — which reaches knockdowns and falls.
- Should I Give a Recorded Statement to the Insurance Company?Not to the other sides insurer without advice. Florida reduces recovery by your percentage of fault and bars it entirely above 50 percent, and those questions are aimed at that number.
- The Dog Owner Offered to Pay My Medical Bills. Should I Accept?Be careful. An early private offer is normally based on the bills you have so far, and dog bite costs like infection treatment and staged scar revision tend to arrive months later.
- The Insurance Company Offered Me Money Already. Should I Take It?Be very careful. An early offer is calculated from the bills that exist now, and it normally comes with a release that ends the claim permanently, including for costs that have not arrived yet.
- The Owner Says I Provoked the Dog. Does That End My Claim?Usually not. Florida converts your share of fault into a percentage that reduces recovery rather than defeating it. But since 2023, a victim found more than 50 percent at fault may recover nothing.
- What a Florida Dog Bite Demand Letter ContainsIt sets out liability, the injuries, the documented losses and a figure. It is normally sent once treatment is complete, because a claim priced before that is priced without knowing the injury.
- What Happens at a Dog Bite Deposition?Questions under oath, answered in a conference room with a court reporter present. There is no judge and no jury. The transcript becomes evidence, which is why short accurate answers matter.
- What Happens at a Florida Dangerous Dog Hearing?The owner may request a hearing within 7 calendar days of notice, and it must be held not later than 21 days and not sooner than 5 days after the request. A sworn affidavit is now required to start a case.
- What Happens to the Dog After It Bites Someone in Florida?Usually quarantine, then home. Florida requires immediate confiscation only where a dog killed a human or left a bite mark scoring 5 or higher on the Dunbar bite scale.
- What If the Dog Owner Has No Insurance in Florida?Harder, not hopeless. Liability under section 767.04 is unaffected. What changes is collectability, so the work moves to finding other responsible parties and other policies.
- What If the Owner Denies It Was Their Dog?Denial is not the end of it. Identification is proved from animal services records, quarantine and vaccination checks, witnesses, and camera footage — not from the owner conceding.
- Who Do I Report a Dog Bite To in Florida?Two agencies. County animal services handles the dog and any dangerous dog classification. The Florida Department of Health county office handles rabies risk. A report to one is not a report to the other.
- Will My Florida Dog Bite Case Go to Court?Usually not. Most Florida dog bite claims resolve through negotiation with the owner's insurer. A lawsuit is what happens when negotiation stalls, and most filed cases still settle.