Dog Bite Lawyer in Century City
Most people who are bitten know the dog, or at least know its owner. That is what makes these claims awkward, and it is the reason people wait, apologize, and let the injury go untreated until it is infected.
It is worth understanding what the law actually does here, because it is unusually clear. Etehad Law represents people bitten in Century City and across Los Angeles. The firm's office is on South Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
The case review is free, these matters are handled on contingency, and in most cases the money comes from an insurance policy rather than from the owner personally.
Free ConsultationEtehad Law represents people bitten by dogs in Century City. California holds the owner strictly liable for a bite, regardless of whether the dog had ever bitten anyone before, and the claim is usually paid by a homeowner's or renter's insurance policy rather than out of the owner's pocket.
Key Takeaways
- No first-bite excuse. Civil Code 3342 makes the owner liable whether or not the dog ever showed viciousness before.
- It has to be a bite. A knockdown or a chase-induced fall is a negligence claim instead, and the skin need not be broken to count as a bite.
- Report it. Los Angeles County requires anyone with knowledge of a bite to report it, and quarantine runs a minimum of ten days.
- Two years to sue, and the payer is usually a homeowner's or renter's policy.
California Does Not Give a Dog One Free Bite
Some states require the victim to prove the owner knew the animal was dangerous. California does not. Civil Code section 3342 says the owner of any dog is liable for damages suffered by a person bitten while in a public place or lawfully in a private place, including the owner's own property, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner's knowledge of it.
That last clause is the whole point. A history of good behavior is not a defense. Neither is the owner not knowing. If the dog bit you and you were lawfully there, liability generally follows.
What Happens After You Call
The early work is documentation: photographs before the wounds close, the medical record, the bite report, and identifying who owned the dog and what insurance responded. Scarring claims in particular are usually worth more once a treating physician has assessed whether the mark is permanent, which takes time.
From there it is a claim against an insurer in most cases. Some resolve in negotiation. Some are filed. It depends on the injury and on how the carrier behaves.
What the Statute Does Not Cover
Injuries That Are Not Bites
Section 3342 is limited to being bitten. A dog that knocks a cyclist down, or chases someone into the road, has caused a real injury that falls outside the statute and has to be pleaded as ordinary negligence instead. The boundary is narrower than it sounds in one useful respect: the skin does not have to be broken for a bite to count.
Trespassers
The statute protects a person in a public place or lawfully in a private place. Someone who was trespassing when bitten is generally outside it.
Police and Military Dogs
Bites by police and military dogs carry their own statutory treatment and are not a straightforward 3342 claim.
Provocation and Comparative Fault
Provoking the animal is a live defense, and California reduces recovery by the injured person's own share of fault rather than barring it. Teasing a dog, ignoring a clear warning, or reaching into a car window are the sorts of facts an insurer will raise.
Reporting a Bite in Century City, and Why It Helps You
Century City sits inside the City of Los Angeles, so animal control is handled by Los Angeles Animal Services rather than the county. The relevant shelter is West Los Angeles, at 11361 West Pico Boulevard, and the 90067 zip code falls within its service area.
Separately, bites are reported to Los Angeles County Public Health's Veterinary Public Health program, which puts it plainly: everyone with knowledge of the bite has to report it. The obligation covers bites by any mammal other than small rodents and rabbits, and it exists under title 17 of the California Code of Regulations section 2606 and the county code.
The public-health consequence is a quarantine period for dogs and cats of a minimum of ten days, which is about rabies observation rather than punishment. The practical consequence for you is that a report creates an official record of the animal, the owner and the date, made at the time, by someone with no stake in your claim. Claims with a bite report behind them are materially easier to prove than claims without one.
Los Angeles requires a dog off its owner's property to be leashed, under sections 53.06 and 53.06.2 of the municipal code, and requires licensing under section 53.28. Where a leash violation contributed to the bite, the violation of an ordinance can support a negligence finding in its own right. One caution worth stating: the six-foot leash length people often quote from the Health and Safety Code applies specifically to dogs exempted from rabies vaccination, and is not a general California leash-length rule.
What These Claims Are Actually Worth Arguing About
Three things tend to drive the outcome. Where the bite landed, because a facial or hand injury carries permanent visible consequences that a calf wound does not. Whether there is scarring, and whether a physician will say it is permanent. And whether the wound became infected, since dog bites carry a meaningful infection risk and an infection changes both the treatment and the value.
On insurance, California leads the country in dog-related liability claims. Insurers paid 2,830 such claims in California in 2025, averaging 81,789 dollars, for a statewide total of about 231.5 million dollars. Those are insurance claims rather than a count of bites, and they are statewide rather than Los Angeles figures, but they tell you the coverage is real and that carriers treat these as serious exposure.
There is no published count of dog bites in Los Angeles. Neither the city, the county animal agency nor county public health releases one, and figures circulating online under that description generally belong to another jurisdiction.
Your Deadline, and Which Courthouse
Two years from the bite, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If a public agency owned or handled the dog, a written claim is generally due within six months under Government Code section 911.2.
Personal injury cases arising in Century City are assigned to the West District of Los Angeles Superior Court, which means the Santa Monica Courthouse on Main Street or the Beverly Hills Courthouse on Burton Way. The court ended its central personal injury hub in October 2022, so guidance that still routes Los Angeles injury cases downtown is out of date for this part of the city.
Legal Disclaimer
This page is provided by Etehad Law for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The attorney responsible for this communication is Simon P. Etehad, Esq. (California State Bar No. 186449), Etehad Law, Beverly Hills, California. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
If a dog bit you in Century City, call Etehad Law for a free case review and an honest answer about what your claim involves.
(310) 550-1220Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is different.
Frequently Asked Questions About Century City Dog Bites
Start Your Free Case Review
Find out if you have a case today.
Share what happened
We review your case and keep you updated
We pursue the result you deserve
Free Consultation · No Fee Unless We Win
Talk to a Century City Dog Bite Lawyer
Tell us what happened in 60 seconds. Please complete the form below, and one of our qualified representatives will contact you shortly.
By submitting this form, you consent to receive our newsletter and agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. We respect your privacy and will not share, rent, or sell your email address to third parties.
Thank you. We have your details.
One of our qualified representatives will contact you shortly. If your matter is urgent, please call our office directly.