Different states approach injury victims’ rights in distinct ways. There is no “one size fits all” approach to personal injury scenarios. This is one of the reasons why it’s so important to do research concerning your rights and options under state law in the wake of sustaining harm caused by another’s negligence, recklessness, or intentionally dangerous conduct.
Depending on where you live, where you’ve been hurt and where you may be able to file legal action, the strength of your case may be stronger or weaker due simply to how various laws are phrased and interpreted within a given state.
For example, every state has a law that protects the rights of dog bite injury victims, but some do a better job of safeguarding victims’ rights than others. Unfortunately, the rights of dog bite injury victims who file a legal action in Texas aren’t as expansive as they are in many other states.
Strict liability vs. “one bite” approaches
In states that embrace a strict liability approach to dog bite scenarios, a victim isn’t required to prove that the attacking dog was known to be vicious. They can pursue damages from the dog’s owner even if that animal had never bitten anyone previously. By contrast, “one bite” states generally require victims to prove that an attacking animal was already regarded as vicious before they can collect compensation for the harm they’ve suffered.
Although Texas doesn’t specifically have a civil statute in place that addresses the rights of dog victims – it only addresses dogs that have attacked people in the state’s Health and Safety Code – it is considered to be a one-bite state in practice. Therefore, if you or a loved one has recently been bitten by a dog in Texas and you’re thinking about filing legal action, you’ll need to keep this potential procedural hurdle in mind.