Does Oregon follow the one bite rule?
Mostly, yes. In Westberry v. Blackwell, an Oregon Supreme Court case, a woman was bitten while visiting the owners' home. The court said an owner is strictly liable only if the owner knows or has reason to know of the dog's dangerous propensities.
That same case gives you a second path. An owner who could have confined or controlled the dog and did not can be liable for negligence, even with no earlier bite on record. So you have two ways in: what the owner knew and what the owner failed to do.
Proof of knowledge is often ordinary. Think of a neighbor who warned the owner, a prior lunge at a jogger or a "keep away from him" said at the door. Write each one down with a name and a date while you still remember it. Our page on the one bite rule walks through the kinds of proof that tend to matter.
When a court already flagged the dog
Oregon has one true strict liability rule. Under ORS 609.115, if a court has found a dog to be potentially dangerous and the dog later hurts someone, the keeper is strictly liable for the economic damages. Those are money losses such as medical bills and lost pay.
The same chapter defines a potentially dangerous dog as one that, without provocation, menaces a person off the keeper's premises or causes an injury less severe than a serious one. A keeper is whoever owns, possesses, controls or has charge of the dog, though kennels, shelters and vets are left out.
The rule does not help a person who provoked the dog, attacked its keeper or trespassed where the keeper can lawfully keep others out. Pain and scarring still need the proof described above.
Oregon dog bite statute of limitations
You have two years. ORS 12.110 sets that period for any injury to the person not arising on contract and a bite falls under it.
A child's clock pauses, but not for long. ORS 12.160 in the same chapter tolls the period while the child is under 18. The extra time cannot run past five years or past one year after the 18th birthday, whichever comes first. For a young child, that puts the outer limit at seven years from the bite. Read more on a dog bite on a child.
A police dog or a county shelter dog adds a much shorter step. ORS 30.275 bars a claim against a public body unless notice is given within 180 days after the injury.
If the owner says you were partly to blame
Oregon compares fault. Under ORS 31.600, your own carelessness does not bar recovery so long as it is not greater than the combined fault of those you sue. Your award is cut by your percentage.
At 50 percent you still recover half. At 51 percent you recover nothing. That is why a careless remark to an adjuster, such as "I reached for the dog first," can cost real money.
Reporting a bite and hiring an Oregon dog bite lawyer
When a bite breaks the skin, ORS 433.345 says the facts must be reported immediately to the local health officer by anyone with direct knowledge. State health rules then govern confining the dog and watching it for rabies.
That report fixes the date, the dog and the owner on paper. Ask animal control whether the dog has ever been through a potentially dangerous dog case, because a yes changes who must prove what.
A lawyer can pull those court records and line up the witnesses who saw the dog act up before. With a public body involved, that work has to start well before the 180 days run out.
How to report a dog bite in Oregon
Report the bite to your local health department. The Oregon Health Authority, Rabies page sets out the next steps.
Before you sign with anyone, check that the attorney is licensed: use the Oregon State Bar licensee directory.
