South Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
Last updated August 28, 2026 · Reviewed by Ronald David Rodman
Florida holds a dog owner responsible for a bite even when the animal has never shown aggression before. Florida Statute § 767.04 makes that responsibility strict, which places the state outside the older common-law rule that effectively gave every dog one free bite.
Under the statute, the owner of a dog that bites a person in a public place, or lawfully in a private place including the owner’s own property, is liable for the damages the bitten person suffers, regardless of the dog’s former viciousness or the owner’s knowledge of it. Strict liability is a rule that makes an owner answerable for the harm without the injured person having to prove carelessness. The statute then supplies one real defense, and it is narrower than the sign on the fence suggests. Our Miami dog bite attorneys find that gap misunderstood by owners and bite victims alike.
What a Bad Dog Sign Actually Protects
Florida Statute § 767.04 excuses an owner from liability where, at the time of the injury, the owner had displayed in a prominent place on the premises a sign easily readable including the words “Bad Dog.” The wording is specific and so is the placement. A sign reading “Beware of Dog,” a sign hung where an approaching visitor would not see it, and a sign too weathered to read are all outside what the statute describes.
Two exceptions cut through the defense entirely. It does not apply to a person under the age of 6, whatever the sign says. And it does not apply where the damages were proximately caused by a negligent act or omission of the owner, which reaches a gate left unlatched, a leash requirement ignored, or a dog left loose in a yard a child can wander into. A posted sign is not a general release from responsibility.
How the Bitten Person’s Own Conduct Affects a Claim
The statute carries its own comparative fault provision. Any negligence on the part of the person bitten that is a proximate cause of the biting incident reduces the owner’s liability by the percentage that the bitten person’s negligence contributed to the incident. Teasing or cornering a dog, ignoring a direct warning from the owner, or reaching over a fence can each reduce what a claim recovers.
That reduction sits inside Florida Statute § 767.04 itself rather than being borrowed from Florida’s general fault statute. In practice it is the argument an insurance adjuster reaches for first, particularly where the bitten person was an adult visiting a home they had been to before.
When the Bite Happens Away From the Owner’s Property
The statute covers bites in public places and bites where the person was lawfully on private property. Florida Statute § 767.04 defines lawful presence to include being on the property to perform a duty imposed by the laws of this state or by United States postal regulations, and being there on the owner’s invitation, express or implied. Mail carriers, meter readers, and delivery drivers fall under the first. Invited guests fall under the second.
Where a bite happens somewhere the owner does not control, such as an apartment complex breezeway or a rented house, a second claim can run alongside the statute against whoever was responsible for the property. Florida Statute § 767.04 states that the remedy it provides is in addition to and cumulative with any other remedy provided by statute or common law, which is why a Florida premises liability claim is often filed with it. Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada has handled both kinds of claim across Miami-Dade and Broward Counties since 1976.
Talk With a Miami Attorney After a Dog Bite
Dog bite claims turn on facts that disappear quickly, including the animal’s history, the condition of the gate or fence, and whether a sign was posted and readable on the day it happened. Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada has represented injured people across South Florida for close to 50 years. Call (305) 448-8585 or contact our South Florida injury team for a free consultation. There is no fee unless we recover for you.