Under New York law, a dog owner will be held responsible for your damages if he or she was aware of the dog’s propensity for the bad behavior that caused your injury. In the case of a bite, we must demonstrate that the owner knew or should have known of the dog’s tendencies towards this behavior. It used to be said that a dog got “one free bite” before its owner is on notice of a problem. This is not quite true. Other behavior can demonstrate vicious propensities under the law such as growling, baring of teeth, lunging and even a “Beware of Dog” sign. A dog owner can also be held responsible for injuries caused by other behaviors of which he was aware such as chasing and jumping.
