Michael Zara, Zara Injury Law | Reviewed September 2026
This article is provided for general information and does not constitute legal advice. If you or a loved one has been bitten by a dog, consider speaking with a licensed attorney in your state about the specifics of your case.
A dog attack rarely feels like a legal event while it’s happening. It feels like pain, adrenaline, and confusion. But the choices you make in the hours and days afterward often decide whether you’re later able to recover your medical bills, lost income, and other losses from the dog owner’s insurance. Read this guide, and we will share more details with you on what to do after being attacked by a dog.
Get Medical Care First, Even If the Wound Looks Small
Puncture wounds and lacerations from a dog bite look worse than they are on day one and can turn into something much worse by day three. According to the CDC, nearly one in five dog bites becomes infected badly enough to require medical attention, and infections from bacteria carried in a dog’s mouth can progress quickly.
Go to urgent care or the emergency room the same day. Tell the treating provider exactly how the injury happened — that detail becomes part of your permanent medical record, and inconsistencies between what you told the doctor and what you tell an insurance adjuster later can be used against you. Ask for copies of every record and bill generated that day, and go to any follow-up appointments your provider recommends, since gaps in treatment give insurers an opening to argue your injuries weren’t serious.
Report the Bite — Colorado Requires It Within Hours
Most people don’t realize reporting a dog bite isn’t optional in Colorado. State law requires that bites breaking the skin be reported to animal control within 12 hours, and Denver enforces this through Denver Animal Protection, reachable at (720) 913-2080 or through their online bite reporting form. If the attack happened outside Denver, the report goes to animal control in the county where it occurred, not where the dog’s owner lives.
Reporting the bite does two things at once: it triggers a rabies quarantine on the dog (protecting you and anyone else who might encounter it), and it creates an independent, timestamped record of the attack that exists outside your own recollection. For attacks involving a clear crime — an unrestrained, previously-flagged dangerous dog, for instance — it’s also worth calling the non-emergency police line and asking that an officer document the scene.
Document the Attack While the Details Are Still Sharp
Memory fades fast, and insurance claims can drag on for months. Within the first few days:
- Photograph every wound, and keep photographing as bruising and scarring develop over the following weeks.
- Photograph torn clothing, damaged property, and the location where the attack happened, including any fencing, gates, or posted signage.
- Write down the dog’s breed and description, the time and location, what led up to the bite, and anything the owner said afterward.
- Get names and phone numbers for anyone who saw it happen — witness accounts are far harder to track down two months later.
- Start a simple log of related costs: ER bills, prescriptions, follow-up visits, and any missed shifts or income.
Know How Colorado’s Dog Bite Law Actually Works
Colorado is one of the more favorable states in the country for bite victims. Under C.R.S. § 13-21-124, a dog owner is strictly liable for a bite that causes serious bodily injury or death to someone lawfully on public or private property. That means you generally don’t have to prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous or had bitten before — Colorado rejected the old “one free bite” rule.
The statute isn’t unlimited, though. An owner can avoid liability if you were trespassing, if the property carried a clearly posted “beware of dog” or “no trespassing” sign, or if you provoked the animal. Bites that don’t meet the “serious bodily injury” threshold typically fall back on ordinary negligence, where you’d need to show the owner violated a leash law or otherwise failed to control a dog they knew could be dangerous. This is where an experienced dog bite attorney earns their keep — sorting out which track your case falls under, and gathering the specific evidence each one requires.
If the attack happened somewhere other than Colorado, the rules can look very different. Some states still follow a one-bite rule that puts the burden on you to show the owner had prior notice of aggression. Zara Injury Law is also licensed in Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina, and the right first call is an attorney familiar with the statute in the state where the bite happened.
Loose Dogs and Broken Leash Laws Strengthen a Case
If animal control’s investigation shows the dog was off-leash, unfenced, or violating a local confinement ordinance, that finding becomes powerful supporting evidence — even in a state without strict liability. Make sure the officer handling your report has accurate details about where the attack happened and whether the property was secured. If the case proceeds to a dangerous-dog hearing, showing up to give a statement matters for public safety even if you’ve already decided not to pursue a claim yourself.
Talk to an Attorney Before You Talk to the Owner’s Insurer
Insurance adjusters move fast, sometimes within a day or two of a bite being reported, and their first offer is rarely their best one. A personal injury attorney can send preservation letters to medical providers, deal with the insurer directly so you’re not negotiating your own settlement while still recovering, and flag which of Colorado’s statutory exceptions the insurer is likely to raise. Most dog bite firms, including ours, work on contingency, so there’s no upfront cost to have a case evaluated.
Dog bite and premises liability claims go through the same process we use across the firm: we pull medical records early, Mike reviews the file personally rather than handing it to an intake team, and we push back when an opening offer doesn’t reflect the actual bills, lost wages, and lasting impact on the record. That last part matters more in dog bite cases specifically — Colorado’s strict liability statute still leaves insurers room to argue trespass, provocation, or a posted warning sign, and those arguments are much easier to head off when they’re addressed at the start of a claim rather than after the insurer has already built its file. You can see the range of outcomes we’ve secured for clients on our case results page; results in any individual case depend on its specific facts and aren’t guaranteed.
Don’t Ignore the Emotional Aftermath
Physical wounds usually get the attention; the psychological ones often don’t. It’s common for bite victims — especially children — to develop a lasting fear of dogs, hypervigilance around animals, or trouble sleeping after a serious attack. If that’s happening to you or your child weeks or months out, a counselor or support group isn’t just good for recovery. It also creates a documented record of the attack’s full impact, which matters if the case moves toward a settlement or trial.
The Short Version
Get medical care first. Report the bite to animal control within hours, not days. Photograph everything and get witness contact information while it’s fresh. Understand which part of Colorado’s dog bite law applies to your situation, and talk to an attorney before you accept anything from an insurance company. Handled in that order, you protect both your health and your ability to recover what the attack actually cost you.
Sources & Authorities
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Dogs: Preventing Bites and Staying Healthy
- Colorado Revised Statutes — § 13-21-124, Civil Actions Against Dog Owners
- City and County of Denver — Reporting an Animal Bite
