Provo Dog Bite Lawyer

In Provo, dog bites tend to happen close to home: a neighbor's dog that slips a gate, a dog loose in a shared apartment courtyard, a dog on a trail near the foothills or along the Provo River Parkway, or a delivery or visit to a house where the dog was never secured. Children are bitten more often than adults, and more often on the face.

Most people do not want to sue a neighbor or a landlord. In practice, a Utah dog bite claim is usually paid by the owner's homeowner's or renter's insurance, not out of anyone's pocket, and that changes the conversation.

What Utah Law Says About Dog Owners

The owner or keeper is liable. Under Utah Code § 18-1-1, a person who owns or keeps a dog is liable for injuries it causes, whether or not the dog was known to be vicious. There is no "one free bite."

The exceptions are narrow. They cover certified police dogs used within policy, injuries to other animals on the owner's fenced property, and trespassers on the owner's private property while the dog is secured in a fence or enclosure.

Fault can still be shared. The same statute says damages are figured under Utah's comparative fault law, § 78B-5-818, which is where insurers argue provocation. What you can recover is explained on our damages page.

Children get more time. The filing clock does not run while an injured person is under 18 (§ 78B-2-108); adults generally have four years. See our deadlines page.

After a Bite in Provo

Get the wound treated the same day; bites infect easily, and Utah Valley Hospital in Provo handles serious injuries. Report the bite to police or animal control so there is an official record and the dog's vaccination status is checked. Photograph the wounds as they heal, and write down the owner's name, address and any renter's or homeowner's insurer.

If the dog belonged to a tenant, the landlord and the property manager may also matter, especially where a gate, fence or common area was in poor repair.

More detail on value is in our guides on dog bite compensation and dog bite settlements.

The Injuries We See

Punctures and tears that need stitches or plastic surgery, facial scarring in children, nerve and tendon damage to hands and arms, infections, fractures from being knocked down, and anxiety that makes a child afraid to go outside.

What a Claim Can Cover

A complete claim accounts for:

• Treatment: the emergency visit, antibiotics, wound care and follow-up.
• Scar revision and reconstruction: including procedures a child may need years later.
• Lost pay: your own, or a parent's time away from work.
• Pain and fear: the physical injury and the emotional aftermath.
• Disfigurement: permanent scarring, especially on the face.

How the Insurer Pushes Back

Expect claims that you provoked the dog, that you entered the yard uninvited, or that the scar will fade on its own, plus a quick offer before the full course of treatment and any scar revision is known. Photos over time and a surgeon's opinion on future care usually matter most.

More on Utah dog bite law

• What actually changed in Utah's dog bite law in 2025 and 2026 — the new trespasser exception, what the amendment did not change, and the arbitration track with its 14-day election window.
• Utah Dog Bite Report — twelve Utah dog bite files next to the public data, plus Christian West's own bite.