Most children are bitten by a dog they already know. The family pet, a cousin’s dog, the neighbor’s dog they have petted a hundred times. That is what makes these cases hard in a way the law does not capture: the parent is weighing a child’s medical future against a relationship. Attorney Dustin handles pediatric dog bite claims in Riverside County, and the first thing worth understanding is that pursuing the claim almost never means going after the person. It means going after a policy that exists precisely for this.
What should we do in the first 48 hours?
Get the wound evaluated the same day, and ask specifically about pediatric facial injuries if the bite is to the head or face. Because of their height, young children are bitten on the face, head, and neck far more often than adults, and closure decisions on a child’s face are different from closure on a forearm. Urgent care may be the wrong venue.
Report the bite to county animal services. California requires animal bites to be reported to the local health officer, and Riverside County Animal Services will typically place the dog under a 10-day rabies observation period. That report creates the official record identifying the dog, the owner, and the address.
Then start photographing. Not once, but weekly for the first two months and monthly after that. Scars change substantially over the first year, and the photographic record is what later supports a disfigurement claim.
The dog belongs to a relative or neighbor. Do we have to sue them?
The claim is paid by their homeowners or renters insurance, not out of their savings. Personal liability coverage is a standard part of those policies, and dog bites are among the most common claims made against it. The policyholder pays no deductible on a liability claim and does not pay for their own defense.
Under California Civil Code section 3342 the owner is strictly liable for a bite, meaning no proof of carelessness is required, so the practical question is usually just which policy responds and for how much. Families who understand that the money comes from an insurer rather than from a person tend to find the decision considerably less agonizing. Declining to pursue it does not protect the neighbor; it only means your child’s future surgical care comes out of your pocket.
Can the insurer blame my child, or blame me for not watching?
Both arguments get made, and California law limits both. A child is not held to an adult standard of care. Children are measured against what a child of like age, intelligence, and experience would do, and California courts have treated very young children, generally those under about five, as incapable of negligence at all.
A parent’s alleged failure to supervise is also not imputed to the child. Your own conduct does not reduce your child’s recovery, which is a point adjusters rarely volunteer when they ask where you were standing.
How long do we have to file?
Longer than most parents assume. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 352, the two-year limitations period is tolled while the victim is a minor, so a child bitten at age six generally has until age 20 to bring a claim.
One exception matters enormously. If the dog belonged to a public agency, or the bite happened in the course of public agency conduct, a written government claim is due within six months under Government Code section 911.2, and minority does not simply pause that deadline. There is a process for late claims, and minority is a recognized ground, but it requires an application and is not automatic.
Why shouldn’t we settle quickly?
Because the full cost of a child’s scarring is not knowable for years. Reconstructive surgeons typically wait six to twelve months after injury before considering scar revision, allowing the scar to mature, and a scar on a growing child may need staged revisions as the face and body change through adolescence.
A signed release ends the claim permanently. Settling at age seven for the cost of the emergency room visit forfeits every revision that becomes necessary at fourteen. Psychological effects deserve the same patience, since fear of dogs, sleep disruption, and behavioral regression often surface weeks after the wound closes and are compensable when documented.
Who controls the settlement money?
Not the parents, and this surprises nearly everyone. A minor’s personal injury settlement in California requires court approval through a proceeding called a minor’s compromise, governed by the Probate Code and filed on Judicial Council forms including MC-350 for the petition.
The court reviews the settlement’s fairness and directs where the money goes. Funds are commonly deposited into a blocked account the child cannot access until turning 18, or placed into a structured settlement annuity. Attorney fees on a minor’s claim are also set by the court under California Rules of Court rule 7.955 rather than by the fee agreement alone, and courts routinely scrutinize and sometimes reduce them. Small settlements, historically those under a modest statutory threshold, can be released to a parent without a blocked account.
What does Attorney Dustin handle differently in a child’s case?
Pacing, mainly. That means resisting an early offer until a pediatric plastic surgeon has given a real opinion on future revisions, documenting the psychological component through actual treatment rather than assertion, and building the future care estimate before negotiating rather than after.
Attorney Dustin also handles the animal services records request, including prior complaints about the same dog, and manages the minor’s compromise petition through to the blocked account order so parents are not navigating Judicial Council forms alone.
A child’s dog bite claim is really a claim about the next fifteen years. Photograph the healing, keep the animal control report, get a pediatric specialist’s view before signing anything, and remember that the insurance policy, not your neighbor, is what pays. Talk with Attorney Dustin before responding to any settlement offer on your child’s behalf.