Dog Charge and Fall in Central Maryland: How a No-Bite Defense Was Overcome at Trial

What happened?

Our client was crossing a residential yard while working when the owners’ dog charged out through a screen door at him. He backpedaled to get away, lost his footing, and fell hard on his back. The dog never bit him or touched him.

No police or animal control report was made. He went to urgent care within days.

He contacted us more than a year later, while he was still in rehab. By then, the owners’ homeowner’s insurer had its defense ready. It denied the claim outright. It said there was no bite, no contact, and that the dog was contained and not running loose. It pointed to the owners’ doorbell-camera video.

The defense also argued our client was at fault for where he was and how he reacted. That matters. In Maryland, contributory negligence means an injured person found even slightly at fault can be barred from recovering anything.

What injuries did our client suffer?

He suffered a serious injury where his mid and low back meet, with painful spasms that wouldn’t let up. Imaging, including an MRI, was part of his care.

His recovery wasn’t complete. A second-opinion doctor placed a permanent limit on how many hours he could work each day. He still lives with back pain and often can’t stand up straight.

There was a complication. More than a year after the dog incident, he slipped on ice and hurt the same part of his back. That second fall kept him out of work for several more months, and it gave the defense an easy argument: blame the second fall.

A later injury doesn’t erase an earlier one. The question is what each one caused. We gathered his records from both injuries so the jury could see that he’d recovered from the second fall and that his lasting problems traced back to the dog.

What treatment did our client need?

His care ran about 14 months:

Several months of work-conditioning rehab to rebuild strength for his job

He had no surgery. He was offered injections but turned them down because of the cost. He worked hard in rehab to get back to his job.

Workers’ comp paid for most of his care because he was hurt on the job. When some providers wouldn’t accept comp, he used health insurance instead. He also switched pain management providers over cost and care concerns, and the defense later called that ‘doctor shopping.’ We answered it with his records, which showed why each change happened.

The practical takeaway: If you change doctors, make sure the reason is in your records. A clear paper trail keeps an insurer from twisting a normal decision into a weakness, and steady treatment shows how seriously you were hurt.

• Urgent care within days
• Orthopedic care
• Imaging, including an MRI
• Physical therapy
• Pain management

How did the injuries affect our client’s life and work?

The injury upended his work. He was out for more than a year. When he went back, it was on limited hours, and a doctor later made that limit permanent. That meant a lasting loss of income, not just a few missed paychecks.

At home, the change was just as real. For a stretch after the injury, he lived with family and needed help with everyday care. He gave up golf. He can’t play with his grandchildren the way he used to. The people closest to him see him slouched from pain.

Those family members testified at trial. Hearing from people who saw him before and after made his losses concrete for the jury. It showed that pain doesn’t stay at the job site. It follows you home.

In Maryland, an injured person can generally seek medical expenses, lost earnings, and non-economic damages such as pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.

What made this case difficult?

This case had more defenses than most dog cases.

No bite. The insurer treated it as if there was no dog case at all.

A ‘contained dog’ story. The insurer said the dog wasn’t loose and leaned on doorbell video.

Contributory negligence. The defense argued he caused his own fall.

A late start. He came to us more than a year after the incident.

A second injury to the same part of his back.

Provider changes framed as doctor shopping.

No settlement authority. At mediation, the insurer still questioned liability and wouldn’t offer a real number.

Then there was workers’ comp. When workers’ comp pays your bills and wages, it generally has a right to be repaid from a recovery against the person who caused the injury, and it can take a credit against future comp benefits. We explained that to him before trial, so he understood what a win would and wouldn’t mean.

How did we handle it?

We fought the case throughout the trial.

Reframed the claim. This wasn’t a bite case. Maryland dog owners can be responsible when they fail to control a dog they know, or should know, could hurt someone.

Investigated the dog’s history. We looked into whether the dog had gone after other people before and whether the owners knew. Notice is often the heart of a dog case.

Built the medical picture. We collected every record from both injuries to separate what each one caused.

Preserved the medical testimony. We sent him to an independent orthopedic surgeon and recorded that doctor’s testimony on video before trial, so the jury could hear it even if the doctor couldn’t appear in person.

Kept the trial focused. We agreed with the defense on his lost wage numbers so the jury wouldn’t sit through hours of payroll records.

Prepared his family to testify about the change in his daily life.

Tried the case. When the insurer still wouldn’t negotiate after mediation, we went to a jury. Over two days, the jury heard from our client, his family, and his doctor on video.

The turning point was putting the owners’ failure to control their dog, not the missing bite, at the center of the case. Once the jury saw it that way, the defense’s main arguments lost their force.

What was the result?

The jury found the owners negligent and found that our client was not at fault. It awarded damages, and the judgment was paid in full. The jury rejected the contributory negligence defense that the insurer had relied on from the start.

Every case is different. Our past results are no assurance that we will reach a favorable result in any future case.

What this means if you’re in a similar situation

You don’t need a bite to have a claim. What matters is whether the owner failed to control the dog and that failure caused your injury.

If you were hurt on the job, you may have both a workers’ comp claim and a separate claim against the person responsible.

Get care right away and keep every record, especially if you’re hurt again later.

Maryland generally gives you three years to file a personal injury lawsuit.

I got hurt again after the first injury. Does that ruin my claim?

Not necessarily. You can still recover for what the first injury caused. The key is clear medical records that show how you recovered from the second injury. We gathered our client’s records from both injuries so the jury could see what each one caused.