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El Paso Dog Bite Lawyer
El Paso Dog Bite Attorneys
You may have heard that every dog in Texas gets one free bite. It is one of the most repeated pieces of bad legal advice around, and believing it can talk you out of a claim you would win. The truth is better news. There are two separate ways to hold a dog owner responsible, and your case only needs one of them to work. An El Paso dog bite lawyer figures out which door opens for you.
This page walks through both doors, then shows how these claims actually get paid and what to do in the days right after an attack.
The consultation is free and you pay nothing unless we win.
Call (512) 254-4424 any hour, day or night.
Legally reviewed by Matthew Kotzen
A former insurance-defense trial attorney, Matthew Kotzen spent the early part of his career representing insurance companies before switching sides to fight for injured people. He earned his J.D. from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University and has represented thousands of injury victims. He is a Lifetime Member of Best Attorneys of America, was named to the Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Attorneys by The National Trial Lawyers, and is admitted to the State Bar of Texas.
“I spent years building cases for insurance companies. Now I use that same playbook to make sure they pay what they actually owe.”
Goldberg & Loren Fights for Maximum Compensation
Pay Nothing, Unless We Win
Texas Injury Law at a Glance
| Deadline to file a lawsuit | Two years from the date of the injury. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 |
| Fault rule | Modified comparative responsibility ("51% bar"): you recover only if you are 50% or less at fault, and your award is reduced by your share. §§ 33.001, 33.012 |
| Dog owner liability | Strict liability if the owner knew the dog was dangerous; otherwise negligence, including violation of a local leash ordinance. Marshall v. Ranne, 511 S.W.2d 255 (Tex. 1974) |
Two Doors to a Recovery After an El Paso Dog Attack
Texas gives a dog bite victim two independent paths to compensation, and they do not depend on each other. The first path opens when the owner knew, or had reason to know, their dog was dangerous. The second opens when the owner was simply careless, whether or not the dog had ever shown a mean streak. The attorneys at Goldberg & Loren look at both from the very first meeting.
Understanding that there are two doors changes everything about how you see your case. Even if the dog had never bitten anyone before, which seems to close the first door, the second door may stand wide open. Most people give up on a strong claim simply because they only knew about the one path that did not fit their facts.
Door One: When the Owner Knew the Dog Was Dangerous
The first door is what people are really pointing at when they mention the one-bite rule, though the rule is about knowledge, not a free pass. Texas follows the standard from a case called Marshall v. Ranne, which holds an owner strictly liable when they knew or should have known their dog was dangerous. A prior bite is one way to prove that knowledge, but it is far from the only way.
When this door opens, the case becomes much more direct. You do not have to prove the owner was careless in the moment, only that they kept a dog they knew could hurt someone and that it did. That shifts the fight away from excuses about an open gate or a startled animal and toward what the owner already understood about their dog.
The Warning Signs That Prove the Owner Knew
Knowledge shows up in the history. Growling and lunging at neighbors, straining against a fence, snapping at children, prior complaints to animal control, and a beware of dog sign on the gate all point to an owner who understood the risk. An owner who posts that sign has, in a way, admitted the very knowledge the law asks about. We gather the neighbor accounts, past complaints, and social media posts that build that history into proof.
Why Neighbors Are Often the Key Witnesses
People who live near a dangerous dog usually have their own stories, their own near misses, and sometimes their own photos. Those accounts can establish the owner’s knowledge long before your attack ever happened. We find and interview those neighbors early, because their memories are sharpest in the first weeks after an incident.
What Lillian's Law Adds When the Attack Is Severe
Texas took dangerous dogs more seriously after a severe mauling, and the result was Lillian’s Law, found in Chapter 822 of the Health and Safety Code. It can make an owner criminally responsible when a dangerous dog causes serious injury or death. That criminal exposure sits alongside your civil claim rather than replacing it, and a criminal finding can help prove the dog was a known threat.
Door Two: When the Owner Was Simply Careless
The second door does not care whether the dog had any history at all. It opens when the owner failed to control the animal the way a reasonable person would have. A clean record does not protect an owner who let a dog roam loose or ignored a broken gate for months.
This path matters most for the many attacks that come from a dog with no prior incidents. The question is not what the dog did before, but what the owner failed to do this time. A gate left open, a chain too long, or a door propped while children played outside can each be enough.
The El Paso Leash Ordinance as Proof of Negligence
El Paso, like most Texas cities, requires owners to keep their dogs restrained. An owner who let a dog run loose, left a gate unlatched, or ignored a tether has likely failed the standard the city sets. Most loose-dog attacks trace back to a simple, avoidable choice, and none of them require a history of aggression to count as negligence.
Negligence Per Se When a Safety Law Was Broken
Texas recognizes a doctrine called negligence per se, and it is a powerful shortcut. When someone violates a safety law written to protect people like you, that violation can count as negligence on its own. A loose dog in breach of the leash ordinance fits the pattern well, which can move the focus straight to your injuries and what they cost.
The Insurance That Actually Pays an El Paso Dog Bite Claim
Here is the part that surprises people most. You are usually not going after a neighbor’s savings or a friend’s paycheck. Dog bite claims are typically paid by insurance, and more than one policy may apply. Knowing that changes how comfortable people feel about coming forward at all, especially when the owner is someone they care about.
Several kinds of coverage can stand behind a dog attack, depending on where it happened and who owned the animal.
- A homeowner policy, which commonly covers dog bites both on and off the property.
- A renter policy, which can cover a tenant’s dog even in an apartment.
- An umbrella policy that adds coverage above the homeowner or renter limits.
- A landlord policy, when the landlord knew a dangerous dog lived on the property.
- A business policy, when the attack involved a dog kept at a place of business.
Finding every policy that applies is often what turns a modest claim into a full recovery. It also means holding a friend or neighbor accountable rarely comes out of their own pocket, which is a relief to most victims who hesitate to come forward.
When More Than One Policy Applies to Your Claim
Sometimes the layers stack. A tenant’s renter policy and a landlord’s policy might both respond, or a homeowner policy and an umbrella policy might combine. We read each policy closely to find every layer of coverage available, because a serious attack can easily exceed a single policy’s limit.
When a Landlord Shares Blame for a Tenant's Dog
A dangerous dog is not always the property owner’s own animal. When a landlord knows a tenant keeps a dangerous dog and does nothing, the landlord can share responsibility for an attack in a common area. That opens a separate policy beyond the tenant’s own coverage.
We look at what the landlord knew and when, through complaints, prior incidents, and the lease itself. A landlord who ignored a known threat to keep a rental payment can be held to account alongside the dog’s owner.
The Steps to Take After an El Paso Dog Attack
What you do in the days after an attack shapes both doors of your claim. The right steps protect your health first and your case a close second. None of them are complicated, but they are easy to skip in the shock that follows a bite.
Get medical care right away, photograph the injuries and the location, and identify the dog and its owner if you can do so safely. Then make sure the attack is reported, because an official record carries real weight later in the case.
Reporting the Bite to El Paso Animal Services
El Paso Animal Services handles bite reports, and its file becomes part of your evidence. Reporting creates an official record of the attack, the dog, and the owner, and it can surface prior complaints about the same animal or the same address. That record often reveals that the same owner has generated problems before yours.
Why the Animal Services File Strengthens Both Doors
A single file can help both paths at once. Prior complaints support the knowledge needed for the first door, while a citation for a loose dog supports the negligence behind the second. We request the full animal services history because it frequently proves more than the victim ever expected.
The Ten Day Rabies Hold and What It Means for You
Texas requires a dog that bites a person to be observed for rabies, typically for ten days. That hold protects your health, since it confirms whether you need further treatment, and it also pins down the exact animal involved. We track the outcome of that observation because it ties the dog to the attack beyond any real dispute.
Table of Contents
El Paso Practice Areas
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Bus Accidents
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Car Accidents
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Dog Bites
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Motorcycle Accidents
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Pedestrian Accidents
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Personal Injury
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Premises Liability
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Rideshare Accidents
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Truck Accidents
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Wrongful Death
The Deadline on an El Paso Dog Bite Claim
Texas law generally gives you two years from the date of the attack to file a lawsuit. It sounds like plenty of time, yet memories of the dog’s history fade and witnesses move away long before then. The sooner the work starts, the stronger both doors become.
Early action lets us capture neighbor accounts while they are fresh and secure the animal services record before it is buried. Waiting only helps the owner who would rather the history stay hidden.
The Injuries and Lasting Harm of an El Paso Dog Attack
A dog attack is not a simple wound that heals and disappears. The physical damage can be severe, the risk of infection is real, and the emotional marks often outlast the scars. Understanding the full harm is part of valuing the claim correctly, because insurers like to treat a bite as a minor incident when it is anything but.
The two doors decide whether the owner is responsible. The injuries decide what that responsibility is worth. Both halves matter, and both deserve a careful accounting.
Why Children Are Hurt the Worst
Children are bitten more often than adults, and their injuries tend to be more serious. Because of their height, a child is frequently bitten on the face, head, and neck, which can mean disfiguring wounds and surgery. A young child also cannot read a dog’s warning signs or protect themselves, which leaves them exposed to the worst of an attack.
The consequences also stretch across time in a way adult injuries may not. A facial scar on a young child can require repeated surgeries as they grow, and the emotional effects can shape years of childhood. A claim for a child has to look decades ahead, not just at the current medical bill.
Infection, Scarring, and Emotional Recovery
Even a bite that looks manageable can turn dangerous. Dog mouths carry bacteria that cause serious infections, and puncture wounds are especially prone to them. Deep bites often leave permanent scarring that may require reconstructive surgery, a harm Texas treats as its own compensable loss.
Emotional recovery deserves the same attention as the physical kind. Nightmares, fear of leaving home, and a lasting wariness around animals are common after a serious bite, particularly for children. Texas allows recovery for that mental anguish, and we make sure it is documented rather than dismissed.
The Delivery Workers and Visitors Who Get Bitten
Adults are far from immune, and some jobs put people in a dog’s path every day. Delivery drivers, mail carriers, meter readers, and home health workers are bitten while simply doing their work. A worker attacked at a customer’s gate has a claim against the owner who failed to secure the animal, and often a separate avenue through workplace injury coverage. We look at every source of recovery when someone is bitten on the job.
Counting the Full Cost of a Dog Attack Claim
A fair claim reflects more than the first emergency room visit. It includes future surgery, scar revision, mental health treatment, lost income, and the pain of the attack itself. Texas allows recovery for each of these, and we document them fully so the insurer cannot shrink a serious attack into a nuisance.
Why an Early Settlement Can Shortchange a Bite Victim
Insurers often move fast to settle a dog bite, especially before the need for scar revision or counseling becomes clear. A quick check can feel like relief, but it closes the door on costs that surface later. We make sure the long-term picture is understood before anyone signs away the claim.
The Record That Shows the Full Extent of the Harm
Photographs of the wound as it heals, records of every treatment, and notes on the emotional impact all build the value of a claim. Scars change over time, so a clear record from the first day forward shows the true extent of the injury. We help victims keep that record so nothing about the harm is lost by the time the claim is resolved.
Talk to an El Paso Dog Bite Lawyer About Your Options
A dog attack leaves more than scars. It can mean surgery, lasting fear, and bills that pile up while you are still healing. You do not have to figure out which legal path fits your case on your own.
Our firm handles El Paso dog bite claims, tests both doors, and pursues every insurance policy that applies. The consultation is free and confidential, and you pay nothing unless we win your case.
Call (512) 254-4424 any hour, or reach us through our contact page. Talk to an El Paso dog bite lawyer and find out which door opens for you.
Frequently Asked Questions about El Paso Dog Bites
When More Than One Policy Applies to Your Claim?
Sometimes the layers stack. A tenant's renter policy and a landlord's policy might both respond, or a homeowner policy and an umbrella policy might combine. We read each policy closely to find every layer of coverage available, because a serious attack can easily exceed a single policy's limit.
When a Landlord Shares Blame for a Tenant's Dog?
A dangerous dog is not always the property owner's own animal. When a landlord knows a tenant keeps a dangerous dog and does nothing, the landlord can share responsibility for an attack in a common area. That opens a separate policy beyond the tenant's own coverage.
Why Children Are Hurt the Worst?
Children are bitten more often than adults, and their injuries tend to be more serious. Because of their height, a child is frequently bitten on the face, head, and neck, which can mean disfiguring wounds and surgery.
Legal Sources & References
The Texas laws described on this page are cited to the official statutes published by the Texas Legislature and were last reviewed on August 13, 2026.
- Statute of limitations (2 years), Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003
- Comparative responsibility & reduction, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 33.001, 33.012
- Dog-owner liability, Marshall v. Ranne, 511 S.W.2d 255 (Tex. 1974)
- Texas crash data, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
Goldberg & Loren
211 Ranch Rd 620 S, Suite #230
Lakeway, TX 78734
(512) 254-4424
The hardest part of a dog bite case is usually not the law. It is a client telling me they do not want to sue a neighbor. They almost never have to. The claim goes to an insurance policy, not to a person's savings. I fight for dog bite victims in El Paso, and it costs you nothing unless we win.