When A Dog Bites
ORC 955.28 — strict liability, and the three ways out of it
Ohio does not have a one free bite rule. The section imposes liability on the owner, the keeper or the harborer of a dog for injury, death or loss the dog causes, without any need to show the dog had done it before or that anybody should have seen it coming.
The liability is not limited to bites. The section covers injury, death or loss caused by the dog, which takes in a dog that knocks somebody down or runs into the road and causes a crash.
| The situation | Where it sits |
|---|---|
| A first bite, no history at all | Liability attaches. There is no free one |
| A delivery driver or postal worker on the path | Lawful presence. The exceptions do not reach them |
| Someone committing a criminal offence above a minor misdemeanour | An exception |
| Someone teasing or tormenting the dog on that property | An exception |
| A dog that knocks somebody over rather than biting | Still injury caused by the dog |
“Who had charge of the dog, and whose property was it on.”
A separate common law route exists alongside this section with a different standard and different damages available, and choosing between them is a decision with consequences. Whether a landlord or anybody else was a harborer has been narrowed by the courts and is fact specific. Dangerous and vicious dog designations, quarantine after a bite, and the criminal provisions elsewhere in the chapter are not on this page. Whether a claim exists, against whom, and on which route are questions for a licensed Ohio attorney, and these cases are commonly taken on a contingency.
Sources for this section (1)
- ORC 955.28 — Liability of an owner, keeper or harborer for injury caused by a dog
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Talk to a licensed Ohio attorney about your situation.