A dog bite in a Summerville neighborhood: what parents should know

Picture a post that could run on Nextdoor for Summerville or Goose Creek. A dog slips through a gate in a subdivision and bites a child riding past on a bicycle. The comments split between “the owner should be held responsible” and “it was an accident, the dog has never bitten anyone.” Under South Carolina's dog bite statute, whether the dog ever bit before is not the question.

Some people assume a dog gets one free bite. Section 47-3-110 has no such rule. When a person is bitten or attacked while in a public place or lawfully in a private place, the owner or the person keeping the dog “is liable for the damages suffered by the person bitten or otherwise attacked.” The S.C. Supreme Court has described the statute as imposing strict liability on the owner or keeper (Clea v. Odom), and nothing in it requires an earlier bite.

The statute has limits. It protects people in a public place or lawfully on private property, so it does not cover a trespasser. It does not apply when the person bitten “provoked or harassed the dog and that provocation was the proximate cause of the attack.” It also exempts a qualifying police dog acting on a lawful command under a written agency policy, though that exemption does not cover a bite on a bystander. A child riding a bicycle on a public street is in a public place, and whether anything the child did counts as provocation is a question of fact. How the dog bite statute works.

Some parents hesitate to make a claim because they like their neighbors. In the ordinary case, the owner's homeowner's or renter's liability insurance pays the claim, subject to that policy's limits and exclusions, and the neighbor usually pays nothing personally. Not making a claim can leave your family paying for your child's later treatment, such as scar revision years from now. How insurance handles a dog bite claim.

1. Get medical care. For a facial wound, ask whether a plastic surgeon should close it. The treating doctor must report the bite to the county health department, now part of the S.C. Department of Public Health, by the end of the next working day (Section 47-5-90).
2. Make sure the bite is reported. If no doctor treats the bite, the law puts the report on the parent or guardian, due to the county health department by the end of the next working day. The health department then orders the owner to quarantine the dog for at least ten days under Section 47-5-100, at the owner's home, an animal shelter or another place the notice names.
3. Photograph the injury on day one and every few days after. Photos taken over time show how the wound heals and scars.
4. Get the owner's name and address, and stay civil. You do not need to discuss fault, and you should not discuss insurance.
5. Do not sign a release for a quick check. For a child's claim of $2,500 or less, South Carolina lets a parent settle without court approval (Section 62-5-433). A small check and a signature can end the claim before anyone knows what later treatment will cost.

A child's claim can include emergency care, later treatment such as plastic surgery and scar revision, counseling, and the scarring itself. The statute makes the owner liable for “the damages suffered,” and what those are depends on the child's injuries and treatment. If your child was bitten by a dog.

The law also protects a child's settlement. Under Section 62-5-433, a claim worth more than $25,000 net to the child needs circuit court approval on a verified petition stating that the settlement is in the child's best interests. The money is then paid through a conservator or under a probate court protective order. For $25,000 or less, the circuit or probate court may approve the settlement, or a conservator may settle it without court approval. Without a conservator, the guardian or guardian ad litem must petition the court. Only a claim of $2,500 or less may be settled by a parent with no court approval and no conservator.

Time limits apply too. Most injury suits must be filed within three years (Section 15-3-530). For a child, Section 15-3-40 may extend that time, but never past one year after the child turns 18. Whether a child gains any extra time depends on the dates, so the deadline is worth checking early.

For prevention, the American Veterinary Medical Association publishes guidance for families and dog owners.