Dog Bite Liability in Irving: What You Need to Know

Written by Geoffrey Dashner. Read more about the author.

My phone rings with a version of the same call at least a few times a month. Someone’s dog bit a neighbor, a delivery driver, or a kid playing outside. The owner is shaken, maybe defensive, and they want to know how serious this really is. The honest answer: it depends heavily on what happened, who got hurt, and what insurance you have. But one thing I tell every caller is this — don’t try to manage a dog bite claim on your own if someone was injured badly enough to need medical care.

At Dashner Law Firm | Irving Injury & Accident Attorney, we handle these cases from both sides — representing injured victims and advising dog owners who are facing claims. That dual perspective shapes everything in this post. If you’re an Irving resident trying to figure out where you stand after your dog bit someone, this is written for you.

Do I Need a Lawyer if My Dog Bites Someone in Texas in Irving?

Yes, and sooner than you might expect. The moment someone files a claim — or even signals they intend to — the legal process starts moving. Texas follows a modified version of the “one bite rule” under common law, but courts have steadily expanded liability. If the injured person’s attorney argues your dog had shown prior aggressive behavior, or that you were negligent in restraining it, you can face significant financial exposure even without a prior bite on record.

In Irving specifically, Dallas County courts have seen dog bite lawsuits where damages ran well past $100,000 once medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering were added up. The CDC estimates there are roughly 4.5 million dog bites in the U.S. each year, with about 800,000 requiring medical attention. A meaningful percentage of those result in claims.

Here’s what I see go wrong when dog owners try to handle things informally: they apologize and agree to “work something out,” which gets used against them. They let their insurance company handle it without getting independent counsel, and they don’t realize their policy might not fully cover the claim. Or they simply wait, thinking the injured party will let it go — and then get served with a lawsuit.

If your dog bit someone who needed stitches, required a hospital visit, suffered a broken bone from the fall, or is a child, you need to speak with a lawyer before you say anything further to the injured party or their family. That’s true whether the bite happened in your backyard, at a neighborhood park near the Las Colinas waterway, or anywhere else in the DFW area.

Do You Need a Lawyer for a Dog Bite Injury Claim in Texas?

Whether you’re the dog owner or the person bitten, the answer is almost always yes if the injury is more than superficial. Texas personal injury law is detailed, and dog bite cases layer civil liability, insurance coverage questions, and sometimes local animal control ordinances on top of each other.

From the dog owner’s side, an attorney helps you understand your actual exposure. Your homeowner’s or renter’s policy may have a dog bite exclusion — something policyholders often don’t discover until a claim is filed. Some policies cover the first incident but not a second. Others exclude specific breeds entirely. I’ve reviewed policies for Irving clients where the owner assumed they were covered and weren’t.

From the injured party’s side, a Texas dog bite injury attorney helps document damages properly, gather evidence like animal control records and witness statements, and negotiate with the insurance carrier. FindLaw notes that Texas allows injured parties to pursue negligence claims even when a dog has no prior history of biting, under certain circumstances — meaning the legal landscape is broader than most people assume.

Will the Insurance Company Provide a Lawyer When You Are Being Sued Over a Dog Bite in Texas?

Your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance carrier does have what’s called a “duty to defend.” If a covered claim is filed against you, the insurer must provide a defense attorney — at no cost to you — as long as the claim falls within your policy’s coverage terms.

But “duty to defend” doesn’t mean unlimited protection. The attorney the insurance company assigns works for the insurance company’s interests, not yours. Their goal is to resolve the claim at the lowest possible cost to the insurer. If your policy limit is $100,000 and the plaintiff is demanding $350,000, the insurance company’s lawyer has no financial motivation to fight for the amount above your limit. That difference could become your personal liability.

What I recommend: even if your carrier provides a defense, consult independently with a Texas personal injury defense attorney who can review the situation without a conflict of interest. This is especially true when the damages are severe, when a child was bitten, or when there’s any dispute about whether your policy actually covers the incident. Our about our practice page gives more background on how we approach these situations.

What Type of Lawyer Do You Hire to Defend Against a Dog Biting a Child in Texas?

Cases involving children require specific attention, and that affects what kind of lawyer you want. A child’s injuries often carry higher damages because courts and juries factor in the long-term psychological impact on a minor. Children are also protected parties under Texas law, which limits their ability to consent to risk — meaning defenses like “the victim assumed the risk” carry much less weight.

You want a Texas personal injury attorney who has handled dog bite defense specifically, not just general liability work. Look for someone with trial experience, because cases involving injured children are more likely to go to trial if the plaintiff’s attorney believes a jury will be sympathetic. Settling before trial can be the right move, but you need leverage to negotiate well, and leverage comes from having counsel who can credibly take a case to the courtroom.

The American Bar Association recommends verifying that any attorney you hire has relevant trial experience and a record in comparable cases. Check verdicts, settlements, and client reviews — not just marketing language. You can see some of what our team has handled at our verdicts and settlements page.

In cases where a child suffered nerve damage, scarring, or psychological trauma, damages can include future therapy costs, permanent disfigurement, and emotional distress. Johns Hopkins Medicine has documented that dog bites to the face — more common in small children — frequently require reconstructive procedures and extended recovery. The financial stakes in these cases can be very high, and inexperienced representation on the defense side often leads to settlements that shouldn’t have been that large.

Do Lawyers Take Dog Bite Cases Without Insurance in Texas?

This question comes up often, and the answer depends on which side of the case you’re on.

If you’re the dog owner with no homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, you’re personally on the hook for any damages awarded. Personal injury attorneys who represent dog bite victims typically work on contingency — meaning they only get paid if they recover money for their client. They will still take a case against an uninsured dog owner, but recovery becomes harder if you lack assets.

On the defense side, if you have no insurance coverage, you need to hire your own attorney out of pocket. Some defense attorneys work on hourly rates; others may structure a flat-fee arrangement depending on the complexity of the case. The lack of insurance doesn’t eliminate your liability — it just means you’re paying both the attorney and any judgment out of your own funds.

One scenario I see in Irving: renters who don’t have renter’s insurance, their dog bites a neighbor, and suddenly they’re facing a civil lawsuit with no coverage. If you’re in that position, call a Texas dog bite lawsuit attorney before you do anything else. An attorney can assess the actual strength of the plaintiff’s case, the realistic damages range, and whether early negotiation makes more sense than defending through trial.

Justia provides a useful overview of Texas negligence law that helps explain why even uninsured defendants face real legal risk — courts can garnish wages or place liens on property to satisfy a judgment.

Can a Dog Bite Cause Nerve Damage Requiring a Lawyer in Texas?

Dog bites can absolutely cause nerve damage, and when they do, the legal and medical complexity both increase. Puncture wounds from a dog’s bite can sever or compress nerves, particularly in the hands, forearms, face, and neck — areas where nerves are close to the surface. WebMD notes that peripheral nerve injuries from animal bites can result in numbness, chronic pain, and loss of motor function that persists long after the wound heals.

From a legal standpoint, nerve damage changes the damages calculation dramatically. A surface laceration that heals in six weeks is a different claim than a bite that leaves someone with permanent reduced grip strength in their dominant hand, chronic pain, or numbness that affects their ability to work. The NIH has published research on the long-term outcomes of peripheral nerve injuries, showing that full recovery is not guaranteed even with surgical intervention.

For dog owners facing this type of claim, the presence of nerve damage almost always means the injured party has hired or will hire an attorney, and the claim will not settle quickly or cheaply. The medical documentation for nerve injuries — nerve conduction studies, specialist evaluations, surgical records — builds a record that drives damages upward.

For injured victims, a Texas dog bite injury attorney helps ensure the full scope of the injury is documented and that future medical costs are factored into any settlement demand. Settling before the full extent of nerve damage is understood is a common mistake — once you settle, you can’t go back for additional compensation if the injury proves more serious than initially thought.

If a dog bite caused nerve damage or you’re defending a claim where nerve damage is alleged, this is precisely the situation that requires experienced legal counsel, not a wait-and-see approach.

How Texas Law Approaches Dog Owner Liability in 2026?

Texas doesn’t have a strict liability dog bite statute the way some states do. Instead, liability under Texas common law generally requires showing that the dog owner knew or should have known the dog had dangerous or aggressive tendencies. This is the “one bite rule” framework — but it’s not a free pass for a first bite.

Several other theories of liability also apply. Negligence claims can succeed if the owner failed to use ordinary care in controlling the dog, regardless of whether it had bitten before. Local ordinances in Irving and Dallas County impose leash requirements and other restraint obligations — violating those can establish negligence per se, meaning the violation itself proves the lack of reasonable care.

Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute provides a detailed breakdown of how strict liability versus negligence approaches differ by state. Texas sits in a middle position, and experienced attorneys on both sides of a case know how to argue within that framework.

Animal control records matter. Prior complaints, prior incidents even without a formal bite, or a dog that animal control has previously flagged — all of that can be introduced to argue the owner was on notice. I always advise dog owners to pull any animal control history related to their dog as early as possible. Knowing what’s in that record helps you understand what you’re actually defending against.

Practical Steps If Your Dog Bites Someone in Irving

Act quickly, and act carefully. Here’s what I recommend based on handling these cases directly:

Do not admit fault beyond basic expressions of concern. “I’m sorry you’re hurt” is very different from “I’m so sorry, it’s entirely my fault, I’ll pay for everything.” The second statement can follow you into litigation.

Call your insurance carrier to report the incident. Document the timeline accurately. If there are witnesses, get their contact information. If animal control responds, cooperate but don’t volunteer legal conclusions about your dog’s history.

Contact a Texas dangerous dog attack attorney before the injured party’s attorney contacts you. Getting ahead of the claim gives you more options. By the time you’re served with a lawsuit, the other side has already built their case.

Our Irving office sees cases at every stage — some come to us within days of the incident, others after a lawsuit has already been filed. Earlier is always better. We also handle Texas premises liability and Texas wrongful death cases that sometimes arise from severe animal attacks, so our team understands how these situations can escalate.

Talk to a Dog Bite Attorney in Irving Before It Gets Complicated

Dog bite cases have a way of becoming more serious than the dog owner initially expects. Medical bills grow. The injured party hires an attorney. Insurance coverage turns out to be narrower than assumed. A child’s injuries carry long-term consequences that multiply the damages. At each of those turning points, having experienced legal counsel in your corner makes a material difference in how the situation resolves.

Dashner Law Firm | Irving Injury & Accident Attorney handles dog bite cases throughout Texas. Our team works with dog owners navigating claims and with injury victims seeking fair compensation. You can see what our clients have experienced at our verdicts and settlements page.

If your dog bit someone in Irving or anywhere in the DFW area, or if you were injured by a dog and need to understand your rights, get in touch with us today. Call our Irving team at (972) 635-4460 or visit us at 4500 Fuller Dr, Irving, TX 75038. Initial consultations are free, and we can tell you quickly where you stand.