Liability Under Georgia's Dog Bite Law

Recently the Georgia Court of Appeals decided a dog bite case with unusual facts. This case involves whether a dog's medical condition can be a defense in a bite case. The Court held that knowledge of the dog's painful medical condition does not equal notice of vicious propensity to assign liability under Georgia dog bite law. The case is Custer v. Coward, --- S.E.2d ----, 2008 WL 3551225 (Ga.App.) and you can click on the link to read the case. Plaintiffs appealed the trial court's granting of summary judgment in favor of defendants. The plaintiffs' 5-year-old child was bitten by the defendants' dog while the plaintiffs were visiting the defendants, who were also their neighbors. While jumping on the defendants' trampoline, the plaintiffs' child fell onto the defendants' dog who bit the child on the leg and would not let go for a few minutes. The plaintiffs contendeded at trial that the defendants' knowledge that the dog had "Wobbler's Syndrome," a cranial neck instability that causes leg pain, somehow put the defendants on notice of the dog's vicious propensity. Plaintiffs argument is based on testimony surrounding the veterinarian's diagnosis that some dogs with Wobbler's Syndrome become aggressive, most likely from the pain of the condition. However, the court discarded plaintiffs' argument, finding that is no evidence that 'Butkus' had bitten or attempted to bite anyone before the incident. Further, there was no reason for the defendants to believe that the dog's leg condition would make it more apt to attack humans. What do you think? This is an unusual case and could set precedent in other states. This is one of the first cases where the dog has a medical defense for the bite.