Dog Bite Lawyers in White Plains, NY

In many cases, the dog owner can be held responsible for injuries caused by their pet. Under New York law, owners may be liable if the dog had known “vicious propensities”, meaning the owner was aware the dog had previously shown aggressive behavior such as biting, lunging, or attacking.

Up until April 2025, New York followed a form of the one-bite rule, where an injured person had to prove a dog had a history of aggressive behavior and the owner knew or should have known about it. However, in the case Flanders v. Goodfellow, the New York Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that injured people can now bring negligence claims against dog owners.  

Victims may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, reconstructive surgery, lost wages, pain and suffering, scarring, emotional distress, and other damages related to the injury.

In most cases, dog bite injury claims fall under New York’s three-year statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits. However, if the attack involved a government entity or special circumstances, different deadlines may apply.

If you are bitten by a dog while working and you are hurt, you will be entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits. In 2018, there were approximately 6,000 members of the postal service that were bitten by dogs in the United States. As a gig-based economy begins to take shape in White Plains and more people engage in apps such as DoorDash and Uber Eats, it is more and more likely that members of the public wind up on people’s property to provide a service and wind up being bitten by their dog. It is important to realize that even you are self-employed and working for one of these apps, when you are bitten by a dog, you are still entitled to Workers’ Compensation. Our firm will work with you to file your claim with the Workers’ Compensation Board and ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve when your injuries prevent you from being able to sign in to your app and make your deliveries.

In White Plains, the owner of the dog that has attacked you will be strictly liable for paying your medical bills regardless of whether or not the owner was negligent in allowing his dog to bite you and regardless of the dog’s history of aggression. This means that no matter what the circumstances, if you are bitten by a dog that has an owner, your medical bills must be paid by the owner of that dog. At Curan & Ahlers, LLP, we work with our clients to ensure that their medical bills are taken care of and billed to the right insurance company or individual responsible for paying the medical bills. It often happens that medical providers will send unpaid medical bills to collection agencies which can ruin a person’s credit. We ensure that all medical bills are paid by the owner of the dog so that you do not wind up in debt with a ruined credit score.

You will be able to recover compensation, other than for medical bills and expenses, after being bitten by a dog in White Plains if you meet a few criteria. First, you must prove that the owner of the dog negligently permitted his dog to bite you. A typical example of this is that you are walking down a street in Westchester County and a dog has been left off his leash in an owner’s front yard and runs into the street and attacks you. Second, you must prove that the dog has vicious propensities and the owner knows about it. At Curan & Ahlers, LLP, we can help you to prove that a particular dog has vicious propensities in several ways such as sending our investigators to speak with the owner’s neighbors and consulting the Westchester County Dangerous Dog Registry which is a registry of all dogs in Westchester county that have been classified as dangerous. The dogs on this registry have already been involved in incidents that caused their owner to go before a judge for a hearing and the judge to find that the dog considered “dangerous” pursuant to General Municipal Law 209-cc. We are also able to conduct searches to determine if there have been prior incidents regarding this dog that have resulted in personal injury claims. Third, you must prove that you have a serious injury which is defined by the law in New York State. At Curan & Ahlers, LLP, our firm is here to analyze your injuries, advise you as to whether you will meet this criteria, and argue on your behalf with the owner’s insurance company about your injuries.

There are several injuries that are common in dog bite victims. Approximately 800,000 people have to seek medical attention for dog bites every year and about 1,000 people seek emergency care for dog bites every single day in the United States. The victims will often sustain injuries such torn ligaments, puncture wounds, and scarring. Dog bites can often lead to parts of a victim’s body being disfigured and requiring reconstructive procedures. The American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery found that in 2017 there were 27,752 people that had been bitten by dogs and had to undergo reconstructive surgery. Victims also can die from a dog attack, especially when there is more than one dog that is involved in the attack. In 2017, there were 39 dog-bite related fatalities in the United States. A very concerning statistic is that 38 percent of the victims who died from the dog attacks were under the age of 8 years old. An even more shocking statistic is that in 2011, 68 percent of the children killed in dog attacks in the United States were ages 1 and under. This means it is essential to watch infants and young children around dogs as they are very likely victims.

Despite the fact that in 2020 pit bulls made up only 6.2 percent of the total U.S. dog population, they contributed to 72 % of the 46 dog bite-related fatalities that occurred in 2020. From 2005 to 2020, 568 people were killed in the United States by dogs and 76 % of these people were killed by either pit bulls or Rottweilers.