Kentucky dog bite statute of limitations: one year
Kentucky allows one year to file a lawsuit for an injury to the body. The rule sits in Kentucky Revised Statutes section 413.140 and a dog bite falls under it like any other personal injury.
One year goes by fast while a wound heals. Talks with an insurance adjuster can drag on for months and those talks do not stop the clock. Only a filed lawsuit does.
Children get more room. Under KRS 413.170, a child who was bitten can file within that same one year, counted from the day the child comes of age. A parent can still act much sooner and you can read what changes when there is a dog bite on a child.
Is Kentucky a strict liability state for dog bites?
Yes. KRS 258.235, subsection 4 says any owner whose dog is found to have caused damage to a person shall be responsible for that damage. You do not have to prove the dog bit anyone before.
The word owner reaches further here than most people expect. The definitions in KRS 258.095 include anyone who keeps or harbors the dog or has it in their care.
The same list covers a person who lets the dog stay on premises they own or rent and live on. So a relative or a dog sitter can be the one who answers for the bite.
There is one limit to know. That section defines an attack so that it leaves out a dog biting a person who was trespassing on the owner's property.
What happens if you were partly at fault
An owner's insurer may say you caused the bite yourself. Kentucky does not throw out your claim for that. In Hilen v. Hays, the Kentucky Supreme Court decision, the court chose the pure form of comparative negligence.
Pure comparative negligence means your award shrinks by your share of the blame. It does not drop to zero just because you were partly at fault.
A judge or jury sets the numbers. KRS 411.182 tells the court to assign a percentage of fault to each party and to set the award from those findings.
Reporting a dog bite in Kentucky
Kentucky puts the first reporting duty on whoever treats the bite. A doctor must report it to the local health department no later than 12 hours after first seeing the patient, under KRS 258.065.
When no doctor sees a bitten child, the parent or guardian makes the report. An adult with no doctor visit reports it or the person caring for them does. If the health department is closed, the report is due on its next working day.
Next, a health officer can hold the dog in quarantine for up to 10 days, says KRS 258.085. The owner pays the cost of that quarantine or any rabies testing. The report also gives you a written record of the dog, the owner and the date.
When to call a Kentucky dog bite lawyer
With only one year on the clock, the first weeks count most. Put your medical bills, wound photos and the health department report in one folder.
Write down where the dog lives and who was caring for it that day. Because the state's meaning of owner is wide, that caretaker may hold the insurance policy that pays. Sorting out who that is should happen well before the year runs out.
How to report a dog bite in Kentucky
Report the bite to your local animal control or health department. The CDC, rabies after an animal bite page sets out the next steps.
Before you sign with anyone, check that the attorney is licensed: use the Kentucky Bar Association lawyer locator.
