Dog bites...who is responsible?

We work in a company that uses Rottweiler dogs as guards , I'm afraid that if one of them gets loose, they will surely bite us ,the owner doesn't seem to care. Is the owner or company liable to pay damages or medical expenses in case somebody gets bitten accidentally, without provoking the dog? Is there a law on this ? Where can we get a printed copy? In case an untoward incident happens we would know what to do. Thank you very much. Bon Ruiz

under anti-rabies act:

SEC. 5. Responsibilities of Pet Owner. - All Pet Owners shall be required to:

(a) Have their Dog regularly vaccinated against Rabies and maintain a registration card which shall contain all vaccinations conducted on their Dog, for accurate record purposes.

(b) Submit their Dogs for mandatory registration.

(c) Maintain control over their Dog and not allow it to roam the streets or any Public Place without a leash.

(d) Be a responsible Owner by providing their Dog with proper grooming, adequate food and clean shelter.

(e) Within twenty-four (24) hours, report immediately any Dog biting incident to the Concerned Officials for investigation or for any appropriate action and place such Dog under observation by a government or private veterinarian.

(f) Assist the Dog bite victim immediately and shoulder the medical expenses incurred and other incidental expenses relative to the victim’s injuries.

Thank you very much, I think there is an article in the Civil Code regarding problems caused by animals like dogs etc. I hope you can share that to me. Thank you for your time and concern.

bon, sorry. try to look it up in the civil code, available on chanrobles.net. but the direct provision of the anti-rabies act which is a special law, is more applicable as opposed to the civil code which is a general law.

Article 2183. The possessor of an animal or whoever may make use of the same is responsible for the damage which it may cause, although it may escape or be lost. This responsibility shall cease only in case the damage should come from force majeure or from the fault of the person who has suffered damage. CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES

I found the article that focuses on dog bites or damages...owner's liabilities. I hope this will help others who get into a dog bite situation.

Thank you very much for assisting me.

Henry Bon Ruiz

Can an owner be not liable to an instance where it is clearly the fault of the victim to be bitten?

Nakatali po yung aso namin right in front of our house. And even us were wondering how the victim was bitten given the dog will not reach you unless you have intentions to go upstairs.

Now we've been called for settlement but we dont agree given that te victim is asking for us to shoulder all expenses.

Need some advise on this.

Thanks

Sir tanong ko lang po kung halimbawa ayaw makipag-ayos ng dog owner na ipagamot ang bata na nakagat ng kanilang aso.pupuwede po bang sampahan ng kaso ang pet owner,at ano naman po ang kasong puwedeng isampa.
salamat sa magiging reply po ninyo Atty.LLL.

emv, the law presumes you are liable. it is your burden to prove otherwise.

falcon, it can be reckless imprudence

Sir puwede po ba na mabigyan ninyo ako ng idea kung bakit po papasok ang kaso sa rekless imprudence,dahil kasi po ang kadalasang naririnig ko tungkol sa reckless imprudence pertaining to vehicular accident lang po,please enlighten me lang po.
thanks na lang uli sir.

Sir, nagkaharap na po ang may-ari ng aso at nakagatng kanyang aso ,pero ayaw pong pumayag ng may-ari na ipagamot ang nakagat dahil raw sinipa ang kanilang aso kung kaya ang biktima ay nakagat.Ang katwiran ng biktima kasi raw ay madilim doon sa harap ng bahay ng may-ari at ang aso bagong panganak at nakahiga sa harap ng bahay at walang tali kung kaya natapakan niya at ito ay hindi niya sinipa.Ang sabi ng may-ari na sinipa ng biktima ang aso kung kaya siya ay nakagat,lahat po ng paliwanag ay ginawa ko na pati ang batas tungkol sa pagaalaga ng hayop.Pero ayaw po talangang pumayag na ipagamot ang biktima magasampa na lang daw ng kaso ang biktima at pinipilit niya yong naka sulat sa civil code na "force majeure". Ano po kaya ang mabuting gawin dito bigyan ko na lang CFA ang biktima at bahala na ang may-ari na patunayan niya na talagang sinipa ng biktima ang aso.
Salamat na lang uli sir,malaki pong tulong ang site na ito para sa aming mga lupon.

you are part of the lupon? if there is no settlement, then all you can do is issue the cfa.

Thank you Atty, sana di kayo magsawang magreply sa mga tanong ko,thanks again sir.

Hi Atty, apparently, the night that the incident happen the victim was under the influence of alcohol/ drugs. Can this be a strong evidence of guilt on the part of the victim? When in court, can we request for a drug test to prove our contentions?

Also, sa reklamo, it is always required that the complainant must named the specific name/s whom the complaint is intended to. Initially the complaint was only for one person and when filed in court an additional name appeared. Is this ok? Or shud they start over to include yung additional name? What case shud The added person can file in times of this especially when she has her name/professional license to protect?

Thanks.

Also atty., is it advisable for us to file a complaint in our brgy for tresspassing? Or shud we wait for the first case resolved before filing another?

Anu yung pwede naming indemnities for filing a tresspassing case against the person?

In case of settlement, can the owner appeal for a lower reasonable amount based on public-rate medication? Nangyari kasi they have consulted a private doctor for this which is 15x significantly higher than if you have the medications in san lazaro for instance. Also, have asked some doctor friends and confirmed that in these cases normally may kahati si patient sa gamot na binibili nya perp in this case were being charged of the whole cost of medicine... Their asking for a full 20000 reimbursement which is very very unreasonable.

how will you prove that he was intoxicated? i don't think you have sufficient basis to require a forced drug test.

if there is an additional name who also lives in the same city or municipality, then it should not be included.

please someone correct me if i am wrong, but there is no law called 'trespassing'. in fact, the legal presumption is that anyone is welcome to enter your home.

in mediation, anything can be asked. but the other side has to agree.

Atty. please help me with an advice. may aso po kasi kaming beagle with papers po. two weeks ago, kinagat po ng aso ng kapitbahay ang aso namin even with it being inside our gate and garage. pinilit pong abutin ng asong malaki ang beagle at napunitan po ang tenga ng aso. when my sister went out to check why the dog was howling, duguan na po ito. the neighbor refuses to pay damages that the vet says, hindi na matatahi ang tenga at we should charge them by that. pero 500 lang po ang gusto nila ibigay na kulang pa po sa home service at check up ng vet, plus the shots the dog has to take po. twice na po sila nagharap sa barangay pero ayaw po nila kami kausapin ng maayos, sila pa po ang galit at nung time na nakipag usap po ang kapatid ko eh hinamon po ng sapakan. ano po ba pwede namin gawin?

small claims case. rules on sc.judiciary.gov.ph

dog owner po me.may parent na pumunta sakin nakagat daw po ung anak nya ng dog namin.but he cant even prove it.from 1030 am nasa house na po ako the whole day.11pass daw po nabite ung bata ang pinatataka ko po lagi po nakasara gate namin at nasa house kaming lahat di kami aware na nakakagat ung aso namin.24 hours pass na ng pumunta sila.i gave them 500 para hindi na po siya nagwawala sa house kaso now po nanghihingi nanaman sila sakin ng 800 nanaman at by next week 800 po ulit.so sabi ko po magfile nalang sa brgy.5years old lang po ung bata and wala daw pong bantay kaya ung sabi lang po ng bata kinagat siya in front of our house.3 times na din po nagwawala,nagsisigaw ung nanay ng bata sa labas namin.ano po ba ung need kong gawin?

you can file a complaint at the bgy for alarm and unjust vexation

According to the law, owner of the dog will be responsible to pay damage if dog bites to victim and victim has all legal rights to claim on the owner of the dog. Apart from this there are many laws like anti-rabies, individual legal rights. In such cases a Dog bite attorney can help you out.

Question po Atty.

Dog owner po kami. Bumisita po cousin and a friend ng daughter namin, both are 15 yrs of age. Yung aso namin is pregnant and nakatali po sya sa sulok outside of our main door but is on a very safe distance na di makakagat ng dumadaan papasok sa pinto. My wife warned our neice and friend to stay inside at mabagsik yung aso dahil pregnant sya. They all stayed inside however without my wife's knowledge and di naman napansin ng anak namin since kausap nya yung isa friend na kasamaa nila, that yung cousin nya (our niece) went outside and went to our dog despite of the warning. Later on she went inside informed my daughter and they went to my wife who was cooking that she was bitten by our dog because she touched the belly of the dog which is the most sensitive part when the dog is pregnant.

My wife asked my daughter, to accompany her cousin to their house and inform their parent about the incident kasi maliapit lang bahay nila and di pa makaalis wife ko because walang maiiwan sa bahay namin and she does not want to leave our 5 and 7yr old children alone because they were napping. She would like to wait for me kasi nasa office pa ako. But we informed our neice that we will bring her to the hospital when I arrive. But the parents could not wait any more and decided to go to the hospital by themselves.

To shorten the story, they went to a premium hospital with PHP 40,000+ incurred medical expenses. They would like us to pay almost the whole amount. My concern is, it is very difficult for us to get that kind of money and we were never asked na sa hospital na yun nila dinala at ganung kamahal babayaran. We understand our liability na pagamot yung neice namin, however, sana they could have consulted us with the expenses first para makagawa kami ng paraan. I am sure may ibang hospital na maganga na kahit kalahati lang ng 40k pwede na. I am asking kung pwede half ng 40k lang babayaran namin, pero ayaw ng bayaw ko. Are we really liable for the whole amount of 40k, pwede po ba na iinsist namin na half lang bayaran. Pa advise naman po. Thank you in advance.

hello po,may tanong po ako. pwde po ba ma file.an ng kaso na hinabol ng aso yung taong nagmomotor tapos hinabol ng aso yung taong nagmomotor. tapos reckless imprudence yung finile sa korte.

natumba po yung tao tapos tinulungan ng mama ko. tapos di naman po sa amin yung aso.

Hello po. Itatanong ko lang po sana kung tungkol saan yung Ra7796 tesda. Naguguluhan po kasi ako sa gustong ipadting nun. Kailangan ko lang po sa school pero hindi po ako law student.salamat