Last updated: October 26, 2026
In Louisiana, a dog’s owner is generally responsible for a dog bite if the owner could have prevented it and the injured person did not provoke the dog. That rule comes from Louisiana Civil Code article 2321, which makes dog owners “strictly liable” for preventable injuries. The Louisiana Supreme Court has said “could have prevented” means the dog posed an unreasonable risk of harm, so the question in most cases is what the owner knew, what precautions were in place, and how the bite happened. If you were bitten on or after July 1, 2024, you generally have two years from the date of the bite to file suit.
That is the short version. Below is a plain-English look at how Louisiana dog bite law works, who usually pays, what to do after a bite in Houma or anywhere in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, and the mistakes that can weaken a claim.
Article 2321 of the Louisiana Civil Code covers damage caused by animals. It has a general rule for all animals and a separate, stricter rule just for dogs. For dogs, the owner is strictly liable for injuries to people or property that the owner could have prevented and that did not result from the injured person provoking the dog.
“Strict liability” means you do not have to prove the owner was careless in the usual sense. You do not have to show the owner was distracted, broke a leash law, or ignored a warning. What you do have to show is:
Louisiana does not follow the old “one free bite” idea some people have heard about. A dog does not need a history of biting before its owner can be held responsible, although a prior bite or known aggressive behavior can make a claim much stronger.
This phrase is where most Louisiana dog bite cases are decided. In Pepper v. Triplet (La. 2004), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that an injured person must show the dog presented an unreasonable risk of harm. Courts weigh the risk and seriousness of harm against the realistic burden on the owner, much like a balancing test.
In Pepper, the dog was inside a secure fence, and the person who was bitten had entered the yard without permission. The court found the dog did not pose an unreasonable risk under those facts. Compare that with a dog running loose in a neighborhood, a dog that had already lunged at people, or a large dog left unsupervised around visitors. Facts like these often point the other way.
Factors that commonly matter include:
Provocation is the main defense written into article 2321. It usually means something the injured person did that a dog would reasonably react to, such as hitting, teasing, cornering, or stepping on the dog. Simply walking past a dog, petting a dog with the owner’s permission, or doing your job on someone’s porch is not usually treated as provocation.
Louisiana also uses comparative fault under Civil Code article 2323. If a court finds you were partly responsible for what happened, your recovery is reduced by your share of fault. Under the current version of the article, someone found 51% or more at fault cannot recover damages at all, which is one more reason the facts of how a bite happened matter so much. Children are a special concern here, because young kids often do not understand a dog’s warning signs, and courts look at their conduct differently than an adult’s.
Article 2321 focuses on the owner. In some situations, though, another person or business may share responsibility under general negligence rules, depending on what they knew and what they could control. That can include someone who was keeping or walking the dog, or a property owner or business that allowed a dangerous dog on the premises.
When a bite happens on someone else’s property, the claim can overlap with Louisiana premises liability law. Our guide on when a property owner is responsible for your injury explains how those claims work.
In most cases, payment comes from the dog owner’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, which typically includes personal liability coverage. These claims are common and expensive. According to the Insurance Information Institute, insurers paid about $1.86 billion on 28,450 dog-related injury claims nationwide in 2025, an average of roughly $65,450 per claim.
A few practical points:
For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana’s deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit is generally two years from the date of the injury under Civil Code article 3493.1. Before that change, the deadline was one year. Bites that happened earlier, claims involving minors, and claims against government entities can follow different rules, so it is wise to confirm your specific deadline early instead of assuming.
A serious dog bite can mean surgery, scarring, and months of recovery, and the insurance company will look closely at whether the owner “could have prevented” it. Kopfler & Hermann has represented injured people across the Houma area and southeast Louisiana since 1977. Our attorneys can help gather the evidence that matters in these cases, identify every source of insurance, and deal with the insurers for you. You can learn more on our Houma dog bite lawyer page and our Louisiana premises liability page, or contact our office to talk about what happened.
Yes, with an important limit. Under Civil Code article 2321, a dog’s owner is strictly liable for injuries the owner could have prevented, unless the injured person provoked the dog. Louisiana courts read “could have prevented” to mean the dog posed an unreasonable risk of harm, so the facts of each bite still matter.
No. A dog does not need to have bitten someone before for its owner to be held responsible in Louisiana. A known history of aggression can strengthen a claim, but it is not required.
The dog’s owner is still the main responsible party under article 2321. Whether you were invited onto the property or there without permission can matter a great deal. If the dog belonged to someone else, the property owner or a business may also share responsibility depending on what they knew and could control.
Get medical care first, then report the bite and gather the owner’s information. Because children are smaller, bites to the face and neck are a particular concern, so follow-up care and photos of healing matter. Courts also look at a young child’s conduct differently than an adult’s when deciding whether the dog was provoked.
Often, yes. Homeowner’s and renter’s policies usually include liability coverage that can apply to dog bites. Some policies exclude certain breeds or dogs with a bite history, or have low limits, so it is worth finding out early what coverage exists.
For bites on or after July 1, 2024, you generally have two years from the date of the injury to file suit. Earlier bites, claims involving minors, and claims against public entities can follow different timelines, so confirm your deadline early.
About the author: This article was written by the attorneys at Kopfler & Hermann, Attorneys at Law, a personal injury firm serving Houma and southeast Louisiana since 1977. The firm handles dog bite, premises liability, car, truck, maritime, and other injury claims. Office: 306 Grinage Street, Houma, LA 70360 · (985) 851-3311.
This article is provided for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Louisiana law changes, and every case is different; no particular result or outcome is promised or guaranteed. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. For advice about your specific situation, speak with a licensed Louisiana attorney.
