A dog bite: the owner's strict liability and the first week

A dog has bitten you or your child, and you want to know what the law says and what to do. This guide sets out the strict liability the Control of Dogs Act 1986 places on the owner, who usually pays, the report and the record to make this week, what the Guidelines say about scarring, the rules for a child, and the Board. The last section is for the owner of the dog.

Section 21: the owner's strict liability

Section 21 of the Control of Dogs Act 1986 makes the owner of a dog liable in damages for damage caused in an attack on any person by the dog, and for injury done by it to livestock. The injured person does not have to show that the owner knew the dog was dangerous, or that the owner was careless. The Act removes the old rule that a dog was allowed one bite.

Strict liability is not the same as no questions. Who owned the dog, whether the dog was the one that attacked, and what happened all still have to be shown. Contributory negligence can also be raised, for example where a person provoked the dog, and would reduce rather than remove an award. The Act gives the duty; the facts are still yours to record.

Who pays

Most dog owners in Ireland are private individuals, and most do not think of themselves as insured for a dog. Many household insurance policies carry public liability cover that responds to a claim for injury caused by the policyholder's dog, and where it does the insurer deals with the claim. Whether a particular policy covers it depends on its terms. Where there is no insurance the owner pays personally, which is a practical limit on any claim and something a solicitor would weigh.

The first week

The owner and the dog

Get the owner's name and address before you leave, or from a neighbour if the owner went indoors. Note or photograph the dog: breed, colour, size, collar, tag. Note the time, the place, whether the dog was on a lead or muzzled, and whether there was a warden or a Garda present.

The doctor

See a doctor the same day. Bites carry infection, and a bite that looks small may need cleaning, antibiotics or a tetanus booster. Say how it happened and where the dog bit you. The record made that day is the first evidence of the injury, and the Board's medical report, the Medical Assessment Form (Form B), is written by the treating doctor or GP. Keep every receipt from the start.

The report

Report the attack to the Gardaí or to the local authority dog warden, or both. The warden can investigate, and a court can order under the Act that a dog be kept under control or destroyed. The report creates an independent record of the attack and often identifies the owner where you could not.

Photographs and witnesses

Photograph the wound the same day and as it heals, with a ruler or a coin for scale. Keep the clothing. Take the names and numbers of anyone who saw it and ask them to write a few lines now.

Scarring and what the Guidelines say

A dog bite often leaves a scar, and scarring is where the Personal Injuries Guidelines, adopted by the Judicial Council on 6 March 2021, place most bite injuries. The Guidelines have one section for facial disfigurement and one for scarring elsewhere. The Guidelines' bracket for an injury described like this is:

The Guidelines list the considerations that move an award within a bracket: age, the nature of the underlying injury, the treatment, the residual scarring, the impact on work, quality of life and relationships, and any psychological reaction. A fear of dogs that needs treatment may be a separate psychiatric injury, assessed under its own section. These are the 2021 figures; the Judicial Council's December 2024 increase has not been brought into force, as the changes page explains. The scarring guide sets out the full sections, and the injury checker shows the Guidelines' wording for an injury described like yours.

Scars take time to settle. A medical report written at six weeks says less than one written at twelve months, and the Board's assessment is made on the report it has. Most people do not accept an offer on a scar until a doctor has said what it will look like when it has matured.

Children

Many dog bite injuries are to children, and often to the face. Three rules apply. A parent or guardian claims for a child as next friend. The two-year limit does not run while the child is under 18 (Statute of Limitations 1957, section 49), so the two years start on the eighteenth birthday, although most families claim sooner. And any settlement or Board assessment for a child must be approved by a court under section 35 of the 2003 Act; the Board cannot issue an Order to Pay for a child without it. The children guide explains each, and why a solicitor is the usual route for a child.

The one-month letter and the two years

The section 8 notice is a short letter to the owner stating the nature of the wrong alleged: an attack by the owner's dog at a named place on a named date. It does not describe the injuries or name a figure. Served late without reasonable cause, it lets a court draw inferences and refuse or reduce your costs. The section 8 guide explains it and the letter builder writes it.

The two years run from the bite, or from the later date of knowledge, and not at all while the injured person is a child. A Board application pauses the clock while it is open and for six months after the Authorisation. The time-limit guide explains both.

The Board

Nearly every personal injury claim in Ireland goes first to the Injuries Resolution Board (still searched as PIAB; see the glossary). Section 12 of the 2003 Act means a claim cannot go to court until the Board has dealt with it or issued an Authorisation. A dog bite claim is no exception.

The application is the Board's online form (€45 online, €90 by post), the medical report on Form B and proof of identity. You name the owner as respondent and the household insurer if you know it. The respondent has 90 days to consent to an assessment. The Board then assesses on the documents, on the assumption that the respondent is fully liable, and must do so within nine months of consent. The lead Board guide walks through each step. The Board's own form calls the application a compensation claim; the Board's Annual Report 2025 figures, including the median award of €14,020, are on the figures page and are not a figure for any one injury.

If it was your dog

If you are the owner, you may receive a section 8 letter and later a Formal Notice from the Board. The Act places liability on you without proof of fault, so the question is rarely whether you were careful. Tell your household insurer at once; most policies require it, and the insurer usually deals with the Board on your behalf. The Board's responding-to-a-claim page sets out the 90 days and the four options. Consenting to an assessment is not an admission of liability. The guide for shops, landlords, employers and dog owners is written for you, and the Formal Notice guide explains the letter and the €1,200 respondent charge.

Where this leaves you

You have the order of things: the owner's details, the doctor, the warden or the Gardaí, the photographs as the wound heals, the one-month letter, the two years, the Board. The first-week checklist prints these steps for a dog bite, with the sources beside them.