The advent of spring typically means that many dog owners will begin enjoying the warmer Cleveland weather by taking their canine friends on longer walks, bringing them along to dog-friendly bars and restaurants, or exposing them to interactions with friends who have come over for cookouts. Unfortunately, with the rise of more human-to-dog contact, the warmer months also usually see an increase in the number of bites and attacks by dogs. Dogs, and larger dogs in particular, often cause injury to others, leading to medical care, treatment, and sometimes long-lasting harm like scarring or orthopedic injury. The question then arises: who is legally responsible for injuries caused by dog attacks?

Since most dogs never harm anyone, dog owners may be surprised to learn that under the Ohio Revised Code,[1] the owner, keeper, and/or harborer of a dog is generally strictly liable for harm caused by the dog. The law does not require that the dog bite or attack another person; any type of damage it causes can result in liability. Exceptions precluding legal responsibility exist in cases where another person was trespassing, teasing, or tormenting a dog at the time the dog caused harm. However, typically, the owner or person keeping or harboring the dog is responsible.

Unfortunately, when a large or aggressive dog does attack someone, the victim’s medical bills can pile up quickly, creating a difficult situation. Many homeowner’s and renter’s insurance policies provide coverage for harm caused by dogs, so long as the dog owner disclosed that they had a dog at the time of applying for coverage. What many dog owners fail to realize is that many insurance policies contain specific exclusions from coverage for harm caused by certain breeds of dogs or dogs that have previously bitten a person. This can lead to a very serious situation where a dog owner is legally liable for substantial medical bills caused by the dog but has no insurance coverage for them or the claim.

In a recent Ohio case, a homeowner’s policy excluded coverage for bodily injury caused by “full or partial breed Dobermans, German Shepherds, Pit Bulls, Chows, Akitas and Rottweilers or any other dog or dogs, regardless of breed, that have been involved in past human biting incident.”[2] After a Rottweiler mix attacked two people and an insurance claim was brought, the insurance company filed an action in court for declaratory judgment declaring that it had no duty to provide coverage. The court upheld this exclusion and ruled that the insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify the owner of the Rottweiler. Other similar policy exclusions apply to other breeds, such as Presa Canarios, Great Danes, or Chihuahuas. They may also exclude dogs over a certain weight, wolves, coyotes, hybrids of such animals, or any dogs used for fighting.

In another case, a policy exclusion denied coverage for a dog that “[h]as previously caused: (1) Bodily injury to a person.”[3] The dog had previously nipped people on some five occasions. The court upheld this restriction and ruled that there was no duty for the insurance company to provide coverage.

Accordingly, it is prudent for dog owners, keepers, and/or harborers to review their insurance policies to ensure coverage is available for their dogs in case they cause injuries, and I strongly recommend it. This is particularly important where:

1. A policy is new or has not been reviewed for a period of years, if the policy language has changed;
2. If a dog has bitten a person during the previous year, even if the injury caused was not severe;
3. If a person has obtained any new dog, particularly if it is large or a working dog of any sort whose breed may be one of the types that are mentioned in a policy exclusion such as a Rottweiler or Pit Bull;
4. If the person is not the owner of a dog but can be deemed a harborer or keeper by having the dog on their property or by helping care for or keep the dog around the time of the bite or attack.

If a dog bites someone or causes harm and coverage is denied, dog owners, keepers, and/or harborers who find themselves without insurance coverage can be in a very difficult position where they are still legally liable for the harm but have no paid-for defense or insurance indemnity. This can be even more frustrating when payment of insurance premiums has been made with the assumption that there would be coverage in the event of a dog attack.

Attorneys Colin Ray and Chris Patno regularly represent individuals in this legal subspecialty who have been bitten or seriously injured by dogs. They have even set legal standards and beneficial case law in Ohio in this regard. Those injured in a dog attack or those who have questions about a dog attack may contact them for a free, no-obligation consultation. To see counsel from our Personal Injury & Wrongful Death attorneys, please reach out to request a consultation or call us at 216-696-1422.

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[1] R.C. 955.28.
[2] Garlock v. Jordan, 2025-Ohio-82 ⁋3 (6^th Dist.).
[3] Grange Indem. Ins. Co. v. Hinds, 2023-Ohio-4085 ⁋19 (3^rd Dist.).

This information is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Readers should consult with qualified legal counsel regarding their specific circumstances before taking any action based on the information presented.

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The availability of coverage for business losses will vary among policy forms, exclusions and jurisdictions. Each policy must be examined for specific coverage and exclusions, while paying particular attention to the losses for which recovery is being sought.

There are several policies and exclusions to consider.

Commercial Property Insurance (Business Interruption)

Companies often purchase business interruption coverage as part of traditional “all-risk” commercial property policies. Business interruption coverage is designed to cover lost income arising from disruptions to an insured’s business operations. Under most policies, insureds will have to prove that a “Covered Cause of Loss” caused direct physical loss of damage to the property, at the described premises, resulting in a suspension or interruption of business operations and the resulting loss of business income.

Business interruption coverage is generally tied to a suspension of an insured business caused by direct physical loss of, or damage to, the insured property.

Some policy holders will argue that the presence of a virus in a structure qualifies as physical damage. Further, business interruption coverage often only extends coverage to losses caused by specific perils, such as fires, earthquakes, storms, and other expressly designated causes.

In addition, many business interruption policy forms frequently exclude “loss or damage caused by or resulting from any virus, bacterium or other microorganism that induces or is capable of inducing physical distress, illness or disease.”

Contingent Business Interruption

A policy may provide “contingent business interruption” coverage, which typically provides coverage for economic loss caused by damage to the property of a key supplier. Policy terms may limit coverage to damage to the property of a direct supplier or may include damage to the property of suppliers of suppliers.

Civil Authority Coverage

Many property insurance policies also include “Civil Authority” coverage, which covers similar business income losses that result from a public authority restricting the use of or access to an insured’s premises. However, as with business interruption coverage, “Civil Authority” coverage often requires the underlying civil order or restriction to directly result from physical loss or damage to the property.

Event Cancellation Insurance

An event cancellation policy may protect an insured from financial losses such as lost ticket sales, out-of-pocket expenses, contractual guarantees, and perhaps reimbursement to attendees. Most often, event cancellation policies are crafted to kick-in when events become either legally or physically impossible to hold.

General Liability Insurance

Typically, commercial general liability policies provide liability coverage for third party claims for “bodily injury” and/or “property damage” resulting from an “occurrence.” Riders for communicable disease coverage tend to have specific limitations in the form of specified trigger events and other limitations on the amount of recovery.

Pollution Policies

First party pollution policies may provide business interruption coverage for “releases” and “exposures” to “toxics.” However, many pollution policies have limitations on communicable diseases.

Recent Legislative and Executive Developments

Recently, states like Ohio have drafted proposed legislation seeking to provide business interruption coverage for the Covid losses even if the business interruption insurance policies in issue have exclusions which apply. In Ohio, HB 589 currently proposes providing coverage to businesses with less than 100 employees who have sustained a Covid-related business loss up to the policy limits set forth in the policy. As proposed currently, the insurance company would administer and pay the claim and the insurance company could then apply to The State of Ohio for reimbursement. Although this Bill is in its early discussion stage, if passed it would provide much needed protection. Each Ohio business should immediately contact their respective state representatives and lobbyists with their stated support of this bill and encourage other similarly situated businesses to do the same.

Recently, President Trump has also supported insurance companies paying business interruption claims due to Covid-caused damage since it is the right thing to do.

Thus, there is an evolving school of thought that such claims should be paid even though there may exist arguable policy defenses. It is expected the insurance industry and their lobbyists will strongly oppose such efforts arguing that claims such as this were not actuarily foreseen nor planned for and such claims would pose an undue burden on insurance companies.

What To Do To Preserve Your Rights Today

Many business owners believe they can wait and see how the Covid upheaval all plays out. Damages may still be evolving, they may believe they have no claim, they may have applied for the PPP or other loan or grant. However, that is simply not the case. Time is of the essence even if all damage is not complete and is ongoing or some of the damage is offset by grants or loans. Most insurance policies require an insured to submit a formal claim in order to timely place the insurance company on notice. Failure to do so will likely result in a policy defense to a valid claim down the road should the claim not be made NOW. Simply calling your agent is arguably not sufficient. Further, many agents have advised no coverage exists even if that is not necessarily the case. Agents do not make this determination. Claims personnel and eventually trial courts if needed, do. You therefore must submit the claim immediately to the claim department of the insurance company and obtain an official claim number. You can do this through the agent but must verify an official claim has been set up.

Your insurance policy likely has a time period listed within it where suit must be filed. Submitting an early claim provides you with the best chance for avoiding the need to file suit due to time limits. Submitting a claim does not mean you will eventually file suit. However, it will protect your rights should you need to do so later.

If after submitting the claim, the insurance company requests evidence of damages or otherwise as required by the policy, you need to reasonably comply. Failure to do so may result in the insurance company raising a second defense of failure to cooperate as required by the policy.

McCarthy Lebit offers to Help Businesses in Assessing COVID Business Interruption Insurance Claims

No cost for the initial assessment, pursued claims to be done on a contingency fee basis

At this time, McCarthy Lebit is offering any business which has a business interruption policy and has/will incur at least $250,000 in damages due in any way to COVID-19 to submit their policy, declaration sheet, contact person and information, and a short paragraph statement identifying nature of damage and amount. Send the information to Christian Patno crp@mccarthylebit.com with a copy to his assistant Amy Thorne adt@mccarthylebit.com.

Once a conflict check is cleared, the policy will be assessed along with the evolving legal, executive and legislative law in order to determine the potential validity of a claim. Communication will then take place with the submitting person to assess what further steps, if any should take place, and if the claim is one that if denied, suit should be filed. There will be no cost for the initial assessment and if a claim is pursued thereafter it will be done on a contingency fee basis where there will be no cost to the client unless MLCL is successful in prosecution.

The time to act is NOW.

The attorneys at McCarthy Lebit are continuing to stay apprised of COVID-19 developments and remain available to discuss any needs that your business may have during these uncertain times.

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This information is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Readers should consult with qualified legal counsel regarding their specific circumstances before taking any action based on the information presented.

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