New York’s dog bite law changed on April 17, 2025, and most of what you will read online is out of date. In Flanders v. Goodfellow, the Court of Appeals overruled its own 2006 decision in Bard v. Jahnke and held that you can sue a dog owner for ordinary negligence, even when the dog had never bitten anyone before.
For nearly twenty years, an owner in New York could defeat a claim by proving the dog had a clean record. That defense is gone.
The Injury Group represents people bitten and attacked by dogs across Queens. Call 212-468-4878 for a free case review. We work on contingency, so you pay nothing unless we recover for you.
Queens Has More Dog Bites Than Any Other Borough
We pulled all 34,033 dog bite reports filed with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene between 2015 and 2024 from NYC Open Data and broke them out by borough. Queens leads the city.
| Borough | Reported bites |
|---|---|
| Queens | 8,652 |
| Manhattan | 7,694 |
| Brooklyn | 7,317 |
| Bronx | 6,025 |
| Staten Island | 2,863 |
Three findings from the Queens data matter to your case:
- 2024 was the worst year on record. Queens logged 989 reported bites, up from 847 in 2015, a 17% increase. Citywide, 2024 brought 4,041 reports.
- 75% of the dogs that bit someone in Queens were not spayed or neutered (6,492 of 8,652 reports). Intact dogs are overrepresented by a wide margin, and that fact often speaks to how the animal was managed.
- Pit Bull is the most frequently named breed at 1,387 reports, followed by German Shepherd at 354 and Siberian Husky at 203. The largest single category is “Unknown” at 1,671, which is what happens when an owner leaves the scene before anyone gets information.
These are only the bites someone reported to the Health Department. Many are never reported at all, which is one reason we push clients to file a report even when the owner apologizes and offers to pay out of pocket.
What Flanders v. Goodfellow Changed
The case involved a mail carrier bitten on her delivery route. The lower courts threw out her claims under Bard, because the owners said they had no idea the dog was dangerous. The Court of Appeals reversed on two separate grounds, and both help injured people.
Negligence claims are back. The Court overruled Bard v. Jahnke to the extent it barred ordinary negligence suits against dog owners. An owner now owes the same duty of reasonable care that a driver or a property manager owes. Leaving a gate unlatched, walking a powerful dog on a frayed leash, or letting a dog loose in a crowded park can support a claim on its own, with no history of aggression required.
Vicious propensity got easier to prove. The Court confirmed that a “vicious propensity” is not limited to a prior bite. Growling, snarling, lunging, and repeatedly throwing itself against a window at passersby can all put an owner on notice. In Flanders, other letter carriers testified the same dog had charged at them during deliveries, which was enough to send the question to a jury.
If a lawyer or an insurance adjuster tells you that New York gives every dog “one free bite,” they are describing the law as it stood before April 2025.
The Two Paths to Compensation in New York
New York splits dog bite recovery in a way that surprises most people, so it is worth being precise about what each path pays for.
Strict liability for medical costs. Under Agriculture and Markets Law §123(10), the owner or lawful custodian of a dog that has been legally declared “dangerous” is strictly liable for medical costs resulting from the injury. Fault does not matter. The limitation is that this provision covers medical costs, not pain and suffering, and it requires the dangerous dog designation.
Everything else. Pain and suffering, scarring and disfigurement, lost wages, future surgeries, and psychological injury come through a vicious propensity claim or, since Flanders, an ordinary negligence claim. This is where the real value of a serious bite case lives.
Most of our cases are built on both tracks at once. Filing only the strict liability piece leaves the largest part of the claim on the table.
Who Pays a Dog Bite Claim in Queens
The dog’s owner is the obvious defendant, but the money usually comes from an insurance policy rather than a person’s savings.
Homeowners and renters insurance typically covers dog bite liability, including bites that happen off the property. In a Queens co-op or condo, the unit owner’s HO-6 policy is often in play. A landlord can be liable separately when they knew a dangerous dog was on the premises and had the power to remove it. Where the attack happened in a building common area, hallway, or courtyard, the building’s policy may respond as well.
Dog walkers, groomers, boarding facilities, and daycares carry their own commercial coverage, and a “lawful custodian” is covered by §123 the same way an owner is. If the dog was in someone else’s care when it bit you, there may be two policies.
Do not accept a cash offer from an owner before anyone has identified the applicable policies. That offer is almost always a fraction of what the insurer would pay.
What to Do After a Dog Bite in Queens
- Get medical care the same day. Puncture wounds seed bacteria deep into tissue and infection is the most common complication. The record also fixes the date and severity of the injury.
- Report the bite. Call 311 or report to NYC DOHMH. The Health Department tracks the animal for rabies observation, and the report becomes an official record of the incident.
- Identify the dog and the owner. Get a name, address, phone number, and the dog’s license and vaccination status. An unidentified dog can mean a course of rabies shots you did not need.
- Photograph everything before treatment closes the wound: the injury, your torn clothing, the location, and the dog if you can do it safely.
- Get witness contact information. In the Flanders case, testimony from other delivery workers about the dog’s past behavior is what revived the claim.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the owner’s insurer before speaking with a lawyer.
Injuries We See in Queens Dog Attack Cases
Facial injuries and permanent scarring. Dogs bite at head height on children. Facial scarring carries a high damages value because it is permanent, visible, and often requires staged reconstructive surgery over years.
Nerve and tendon damage. Defensive wounds to the hands and forearms frequently sever tendons, and the loss of grip strength or fine motor control can end a career in the trades.
Infection. Capnocytophaga and Pasteurella infections from dog saliva can escalate into sepsis. A bite that looked minor on day one can become the most serious part of the claim.
Psychological injury. Children attacked by dogs commonly develop lasting anxiety and a fear of animals. This is compensable, and it needs to be documented by a treating professional rather than mentioned in passing.
Where a fall during the attack caused a head injury, our Queens brain injury lawyers handle that portion. If the attack happened because a property owner failed to secure the premises, our premises liability attorneys work that angle alongside the bite claim.
Children and Dog Bites
Children are bitten at a disproportionate rate, and their injuries tend to be to the face and neck because of their height. Two rules matter for families.
First, the statute of limitations is tolled for a minor. The three-year clock generally does not begin until the child turns 18, so a claim from years ago may still be viable. Do not assume you are too late.
Second, a settlement on behalf of a child requires court approval in an infant compromise proceeding, and the funds are typically held until the child reaches majority. That process exists to protect the child, and it is one more reason not to accept a quick informal payout from a neighbor.
How Long You Have to File
Three years from the date of the bite for a personal injury claim in New York, under CPLR §214. For a child, the clock is tolled until their 18th birthday. If the dog belonged to a city employee acting in the scope of employment or the attack happened on certain public property, a notice of claim may be due within 90 days, which is a far shorter deadline that catches people off guard.
Evidence decays faster than the deadline suggests. Wounds heal, witnesses move, and a dog that is rehomed or euthanized takes its behavioral history with it. Call early even if you are undecided about a claim.
Why Queens Families Call The Injury Group
Our managing attorney, Margarita Moshe, RPh., Esq., practiced as a pharmacist for 16 years before earning her law degree from Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law with a concentration in Health Law and Clinical Bioethics. In a bite case that turns on infection, antibiotic response, or a course of rabies prophylaxis, she reads the medical record without waiting on an outside expert to explain it.
We take dog bite cases on contingency. There is no fee to speak with us, no retainer, and no bill unless we recover money for you. We deal with the insurer and the owner so you can focus on healing.
We represent clients throughout Queens, including Astoria, Long Island City, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Corona, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Flushing, Bayside, Whitestone, Jamaica, Queens Village, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Rego Park, Woodside, Maspeth, Ridgewood, Rockaway Park, and Far Rockaway. Our Manhattan office is at 456 W 55th St., Suite 300, and our Long Island office at 269 Fulton Ave., Hempstead.
Frequently Asked Questions About Queens Dog Bite Cases
Does New York still follow the one bite rule?
Not the way it used to. Since Flanders v. Goodfellow was decided on April 17, 2025, you can bring an ordinary negligence claim against a dog owner even when the dog has no bite history. A vicious propensity claim is still available too, and the Court confirmed that growling, lunging, and snarling can establish propensity without a prior bite.
What can I recover if the dog was never declared dangerous?
Full damages, through a negligence or vicious propensity claim: pain and suffering, scarring, lost wages, medical bills, and future care. The “dangerous dog” designation under Agriculture and Markets Law §123 matters for automatic strict liability on medical costs, but it is not required to bring a case.
Who pays if my neighbor’s dog bit me?
Usually their homeowners or renters insurance, not the neighbor personally. This is also true in most co-op and condo situations. You are making a claim against a policy your neighbor pays for, which is worth remembering when you are worried about the relationship.
How long do I have to file a dog bite claim in New York?
Three years from the bite under CPLR §214. If the victim is a child, the deadline is tolled until they turn 18. Claims involving a government entity can require a notice of claim within 90 days, so call promptly if a city agency may be involved.
What if the dog’s owner ran off and I cannot identify the dog?
Report it to 311 and the NYPD right away. “Unknown” is the largest breed category in the Queens data precisely because owners leave. We use canvassing, building video, and DOHMH records to identify dogs and owners, and an unidentified dog also affects your rabies treatment decisions.
What if I was bitten while working, like a delivery or postal worker?
Flanders involved a mail carrier, and delivery workers are among the most frequently bitten people in Queens. You may have both a workers’ compensation claim and a third-party lawsuit against the dog owner. Our workers’ compensation attorneys coordinate the two so one does not undercut the other.
The owner offered to pay my medical bills directly. Should I accept?
Speak with a lawyer first. Medical bills are typically the smallest component of a serious bite claim, and accepting payment can come with a release that ends your right to recover for scarring, lost income, and future surgery.
Does my own comparative fault end my case?
No. New York uses pure comparative negligence, so your recovery is reduced by your share of fault rather than eliminated. Insurers often overstate provocation, and that argument is frequently beatable.
What does it cost to hire a dog bite lawyer?
Nothing upfront. We work on contingency, our fee comes out of the recovery, and you owe nothing if we do not win. The consultation is free.
Talk to a Queens Dog Bite Lawyer Today
Call The Injury Group at 212-468-4878 (212-GOT-HURT) or email info@theinjurygroup.com for a free review of your case. Bring your photographs, the DOHMH or police report number if you have one, and any contact information you collected for the owner and witnesses.
Sources
- NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, DOHMH Dog Bite Data, via NYC Open Data (34,033 reports, 2015-2024).
- Flanders v. Goodfellow, N.Y. Court of Appeals, decided April 17, 2025 (overruling Bard v. Jahnke as to ordinary negligence).
- N.Y. Agriculture and Markets Law §123, Dangerous dogs.
- N.Y. CPLR §214.
Reviewed by Margarita Moshe, RPh., Esq., Managing Attorney, The Injury Group. This page is general information, not legal advice.
