Phoenix dog bite lawyer.
Arizona strict liability claims against dog owners under A.R.S. 11-1025. A Phoenix victim does not have to prove the dog bit before or that the owner knew it was dangerous. But strict liability comes with a one-year deadline that catches unrepresented victims constantly.
The attacks that walk
in this door.
Phoenix dog bite cases reach across the metro from Glendale to Mesa, with patterns that reflect the metro's mix of suburban density and outdoor lifestyle.
Home & Yard Attacks
Homeowner's or renter's insurance is the typical source of recovery. Arizona bars breed as the sole underwriting factor there, though umbrella and excess coverage sits outside that rule.
Trail & Park Bites
South Mountain, Camelback, the Preserve, and the Salt River area generate a higher rate of trail-incident cases than most metros, often involving off-leash dogs in leash-required areas.
Apartment & Rental Dogs
The large Phoenix rental market means many bites involve renter's insurance, which Arizona law now shields from breed-based denial.
Pediatric & Facial Bites
Bites to children, often to the face, involve specialized plastic surgery valuation and longer-term care and psychological treatment.
How Arizona strict liability
dog bite law works.
Arizona's dog bite statute is one of the most plaintiff-friendly in the country, but only if the case is filed in time.
Strict liability for dog bites
The owner is liable regardless of the dog's prior history or knowledge of viciousness, as long as the victim was lawfully on the property or in a public place. Prior bites and owner knowledge are irrelevant to liability.
One year from the date of the bite
The strict liability claim has a one-year deadline, a critical difference from Nevada and from Arizona's negligence claim. This is the operative clock for most cases because strict liability is the cleaner theory.
Two years for a negligence theory
A common-law negligence dog bite claim gets the full two years, confirmed in Andrews v. Eddie's Place. Both theories can sometimes be pled, but the one-year clock should be treated as the deadline.
Strict liability for dogs at large
Arizona imposes separate strict liability for damages caused by dogs running at large, in addition to the bite statute.
How a Phoenix dog bite
case develops.
The one-year strict liability deadline drives the early timeline, so deadline screening comes first.
Deadline & records
Identifying the date of the bite and the one-year filing deadline, and pulling Maricopa County Animal Care and Control bite reports and dangerous-dog records.
Insurance identification
Homeowner's, renter's, or umbrella insurance is typically the source of recovery. Umbrella policies fall outside Arizona's breed rule, so those terms need separate review.
Treatment & documentation
Bite wound documentation, infection treatment, and where applicable plastic surgery consultation. Pediatric facial bites involve specialized valuation.
Demand or suit in one year
Most claims resolve through demand because strict liability simplifies the theory. Cases against uninsured owners or with severe injuries may require suit within the one-year window.
“Arizona makes the liability easy and the deadline brutal. One year disappears faster than the wound heals.”
Meesha Moulton · Founding Attorney
The questions
that come up first.
The questions that come up most often before the first call. If yours is not here, the call is what it is for.
How long do I have to file a Phoenix dog bite case?+
Does the dog have to have bitten someone before?+
I was approaching the dog when it bit. Is that provocation?+
What if the dog was off-leash in a leash-required area?+
Does homeowner's insurance cover dog bites in Arizona?+
Bitten by a
dog?
Call and tell us what happened. The one-year strict liability deadline runs fast, so time matters. Meesha personally reviews every case. No fee, until your case is won.