DOG BITE LAW

South Carolina Dog Bite Law

The laws of South Carolina are favorable for the dog bite victim. There is a strict liability dog bite statute that covers both the owner of the dog and the person having the dog in his or her care or keeping, and applies to bites and other losses from being attacked by a dog.

• Overview
• Litigation forms and other materials for attorneys
• If your case involves injury to a dog, see What To Do If Your Dog Is Injured or Killed

Overview

South Carolina has a modern dog bite statute which makes a dog owner strictly liable for damages suffered by a person who is "bitten or otherwise attacked." The statute is unusual in a single respect, because it sets forth the provocation defense. Here is the text of South Carolina Statutes section 47-3-110:

SECTION 47-3-110. Liability of owner or person having dog in his care or keeping.

Whenever any person is bitten or otherwise attacked by a dog while the person is in a public place or is lawfully in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog or other person having the dog in his care or keeping, the owner of the dog or other person having the dog in his care or keeping is liable for the damages suffered by the person bitten or otherwise attacked. For the purposes of this section, a person bitten or otherwise attacked is lawfully in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog or other person having the dog in his care or keeping, when the person bitten or otherwise attacked is on the property in the performance of any duty imposed upon him by the laws of this State, by the ordinances of any political subdivision of this State, by the laws of the United States of America, including, but not limited to, postal regulations, or when the person bitten or otherwise attacked is on the property upon the invitation, express or implied, of the owner of the property or of any lawful tenant or resident of the property. If a person provokes a dog into attacking him then the owner of the dog is not liable.