Dog Bite Lawyer Hollywood, FL
If you or your child was bitten by a dog in Hollywood, Florida law treats the case differently from most personal injury matters. Florida is a strict liability state for dog bite injuries, meaning the owner is responsible whether or not the dog had ever shown aggression and whether or not the owner had any warning the animal might bite. That legal framework often changes what a claim is worth and how it should be pursued.
Loshak Law PLLC represents individuals and families injured by dogs throughout Broward County. With more than 13 years of personal injury experience, our firm handles the full range of animal attack cases, from neighborhood bite incidents and delivery-route injuries to catastrophic attacks on children. We know how to identify every available source of coverage, dismantle the defenses insurers commonly raise, and prepare a claim that reflects the full medical and emotional impact of the incident. Our Hollywood dog bite lawyer offers free, confidential consultations. Schedule yours today.
Why Choose Loshak Law PLLC for Dog Bite Cases in Hollywood, FL?
Dog bite cases sit in a distinctive corner of personal injury law. Liability under Florida’s strict liability statute is usually not the hard part. The harder questions are identifying coverage when a homeowner’s policy excludes the breed, documenting injuries that extend beyond the bite wound itself, and pushing back on the defenses carriers try to build around the statute.
Direct Handling of Dog Bite Claims by a Senior Attorney
Brandon F. Loshak founded our firm and personally handles personal injury matters. He holds an AV® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest mark for legal ability and ethical standards. He is admitted to the bar in Florida and Texas, earned his J.D. from St. Thomas University School of Law, and holds a degree in finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Aron Gibson has tried more than 60 jury trials in Florida courts, including premises and animal-related injury matters. He was named to the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40, received the Broward County Bar Association Executive Director Award, and currently serves as President of the Broward County Trial Lawyers Association. His undergraduate degree is from the University of Miami.
Seven-Figure Recoveries in Serious Injury Matters
Our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for clients injured in South Florida, including a $2 million policy limits settlement after a catastrophic collision that required five surgeries, a $1.75 million auto accident result, a $1 million Uber auto accident recovery, a $1 million premises liability matter, and a $500,000 slip and fall recovery. Past outcomes do not guarantee future results, but they reflect the resources our firm commits to cases involving serious injury, scarring, and disfigurement, which are the typical features of dog bite matters brought to a personal injury firm.
Pure Contingency Representation
Our firm works on a pure contingency basis for every dog bite claim. There is no hourly bill, no retainer, and no attorney fee is owed unless we recover compensation. Our firm advances the cost of medical record review, photo documentation of injuries, scar and disfigurement assessments, and retained witnesses where needed.
Familiar With the Insurers and Defense Firms That Handle These Cases
Our firm maintains offices in Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale. Our attorneys are familiar with the homeowners’ and renters’ carriers that issue policies in Broward County, the defense firms they retain, and the adjusters who handle animal-attack claims in this region. Both attorneys hold active memberships with the Broward County Bar Association and regularly appear before local courts.
“My son was attacked by a neighbor’s dog and the insurance company kept pushing us to settle for almost nothing. The Loshak team stepped in and made sure the plastic surgery consultations and all the follow-up care were accounted for. The result was night and day compared to what we were first offered. I would recommend this firm to any parent in our situation.”
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Types of Dog Bite Cases We Handle in Hollywood
Dog attacks in Hollywood happen across many settings, and the applicable law and available coverage often depend on where the bite occurred and who owned the animal. Our firm represents clients across the range of scenarios that arise under Florida’s animal liability framework.
- Neighborhood and at-home bites. Bites that occur when a visitor, neighbor, or family friend is invited to a home are the most common category. Homeowners’ and renters’ insurance policies typically provide the primary source of coverage, though some carriers exclude specific breeds or dogs with a known bite history.
- Child-victim dog bites. Young children are disproportionately affected by serious dog bites. Bites to the face, head, and neck are more common in young children because of their height and the way they approach dogs. These matters require close attention to future plastic surgery, psychological treatment, and the long-term effects of scarring on a developing child.
- Delivery driver and postal worker attacks. Mail carriers, package delivery drivers, meter readers, and utility workers bitten while on a route are lawfully on private property under Florida law. These cases often involve coordination with workers’ compensation and the owner’s homeowner’s policy.
- Dog-on-leash and neighborhood walk incidents. Bites that happen on public sidewalks, parks, dog-friendly beaches, and apartment complex common areas often turn on whether the owner controlled the animal appropriately, whether a leash law was violated, and whether the dog had a prior history.
- Short-term rental and vacation property bites. With vacation rentals common along Hollywood Beach and the surrounding area, bites involving a host’s or guest’s dog raise questions about platform policies, rental agreement terms, and homeowners’ coverage that differs from standard residential policies.
- Dangerous dog and repeat-offender bites. When a dog has previously been classified as dangerous under Florida law, or when the owner knew of prior aggression and failed to contain the animal, a range of enhanced civil remedies and criminal penalties applies.
- Non-bite dog injuries. Florida imposes liability for damage caused by dogs even when no bite is involved. Cases involving a dog knocking someone over, chasing a cyclist into the road, or causing a fall often proceed under a different provision of Florida law than strict liability bite claims.
Florida Legal Requirements for Dog Bite Claims
Florida’s dog bite framework is plaintiff-friendly in its basic structure, but it contains several specific rules that can change the outcome of a case.
Strict liability for bite injuries. Under Florida Statute § 767.04, the owner of a dog that bites a person in a public place or while the person is lawfully on private property is liable for the resulting damages, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of any aggressive tendencies. Florida is not a “one free bite” state. The owner’s liability attaches on the first bite.
Strict liability for non-bite injuries. Under Florida Statute § 767.01, dog owners are liable for any damage caused by their dogs to persons, domestic animals, or livestock. Florida courts have interpreted this statute to impose strict liability for non-bite injuries as well, such as injuries caused when a dog knocks a person over or causes a fall.
Dangerous dog classification framework. Under Florida Statutes §§ 767.11 through 767.13, a dog may be classified as “dangerous” by the local animal control authority after a formal investigation and hearing. Owners of dangerous dogs must meet heightened confinement, signage, and muzzle requirements. A subsequent bite by a previously classified dangerous dog exposes the owner to criminal penalties in addition to civil liability.
Common statutory defenses. Florida recognizes three primary defenses under § 767.04. First, comparative negligence reduces recovery if the victim’s own conduct (provocation, ignoring warnings, aggressive behavior toward the dog) contributed to the bite. Second, an owner who posts a prominent, easily readable “Bad Dog” sign on the property may avoid strict liability, except that this defense does not apply to victims under the age of six and does not apply when the owner’s own negligence was a proximate cause of the bite. Third, the statute applies only when the victim was in a public place or lawfully on private property, so trespassers typically cannot invoke strict liability.
Two-year filing deadline. Under Florida Statute § 95.11, as amended by House Bill 837 in 2023, negligence claims must be filed within two years of the injury. Certain statutory claims (including some brought under § 767.04) may be subject to different limitations, and early coordination with counsel helps ensure no deadlines are missed.
Modified comparative negligence. Under Florida Statute § 768.81, a plaintiff found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing. This rule interacts with the comparative negligence provision built into § 767.04 itself, and defense counsel will often try to assemble a provocation theory that crosses the 50% threshold.
Landlord and third-party liability. While the dog’s owner is the primary defendant under § 767.04, landlords may face liability when they knew or should have known a tenant’s dog was dangerous and had the ability to act. Dog walkers, kennel operators, and boarding facilities may face common-law negligence liability for bites that occur in their care.
What Damages Are Recoverable in Hollywood Dog Bite Cases?
Florida law allows dog bite victims to recover the same three categories of damages available in other personal injury cases.
Economic damages cover the verifiable financial losses. These include emergency room care, rabies prophylaxis and tetanus boosters, wound irrigation and closure, surgical repair, plastic and reconstructive surgery (often in multiple stages), treatment of infections, physical therapy, psychological counseling, and future medical care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasizes that germs can spread through bite wounds even when the wound does not appear deep, and medical follow-up is routinely necessary. On the income side, lost wages and diminished earning capacity matter when injuries affect a return to work. Children with facial scarring often require future procedures as they grow, and life care planners can quantify those costs across a minor’s remaining years.
Non-economic damages compensate for physical pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement and scarring, and post-traumatic stress, which is very common in children bitten by dogs. Visible scarring on the face, neck, arms, and hands carries particular weight in the damages analysis because the effect on the victim’s life is ongoing and unmistakable.
Punitive damages are reserved for egregious cases, such as repeated attacks by a dog the owner knew to be dangerous, deliberate encouragement of aggressive behavior, or an owner’s knowing violation of a dangerous-dog containment order. Florida law requires clear and convincing evidence of gross negligence or intentional misconduct to award punitive damages and applies statutory caps in most cases.
When a dog attack produces fatal injuries, surviving family members may bring a claim under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act for funeral expenses, loss of support and services, loss of companionship, and other statutorily defined losses. Fatal dog attacks in the United States average roughly 30 to 50 per year, according to CDC and industry data, and South Florida has seen several high-profile incidents in recent years.
Contact Loshak Law PLLC
If you or someone you love was bitten or injured by a dog in Hollywood or the surrounding area, the early days after the incident matter. Photographs of the wound before it heals, identification of the dog and owner, witness statements, and prompt medical documentation all play a role in the strength of the claim.
When you reach out to Loshak Law PLLC, we will listen to what happened, review medical records and any incident or animal control reports, help identify available homeowners’, renters’, or umbrella coverage, send preservation letters to the owner and insurer, and walk you through Florida’s two-year filing window.
Our consultations are free, and our firm works on contingency. No attorney fee is owed unless our Hollywood dog bite lawyer recovers compensation for you.
Contact our office to schedule your free case review today.
