Orem Dog Bite Lawyer

Orem is a city of neighborhoods, student rentals and busy parks, and many bites happen close to home: a dog that got through a gate, one loose at an apartment complex, or an encounter in a park. Orem requires dogs to be leashed and contained, including in most city parks; the city's animal control page lists the dog park area at Timpanogos Park as the off-leash exception.

Few people want to take a neighbor to court. In practice, Utah dog bite claims are typically paid through the owner's homeowner's or renter's insurance, and knowing that usually changes how a family feels about asking.

Utah's Dog Bite Rule

Strict liability. Whoever owns or keeps a dog is liable for injuries it causes, whether or not the dog was known to be vicious (Utah Code § 18-1-1(1)). Utah gives no free first bite.

Limited exceptions. The statute excuses certified police dogs used within agency policy, and owners whose dog, reasonably secured in a fence on their own property, injures an animal that came in without consent or a criminal trespasser.

Comparative fault still applies. Damages are figured under § 78B-5-818, which is where provocation arguments come in; a person found 50% or more at fault recovers nothing. The kinds of loss a claim covers are on our damages page.

Deadlines and children. Adults generally have four years (§ 78B-2-307); the clock does not run while an injured child is under 18 (§ 78B-2-108). If public property or a government employee is involved, a notice of claim is due within one year. See our deadlines page.

What to Do After a Bite in Orem

Get the wound cleaned and examined the same day; Timpanogos Regional Hospital at 750 West 800 North runs a 24-hour ER with pediatric emergency care. Report the bite: Orem Animal Control works under the Orem Police Department, and a report creates an official record and lets officers check the dog's rabies status. Orem requires dogs over four months old to be licensed, with proof of rabies vaccination, so the license record can help identify the owner and the dog's vaccination history.

Photograph the wounds as they heal, the place it happened, and any broken gate or fence. If the dog lived in a rental, the property owner or manager may matter too, particularly where a shared gate or fence was not maintained. Animals picked up in Orem go to the North Utah Valley Animal Shelter in Lindon.

For value questions, see our guides on dog bite compensation and dog bite settlements. A dog that runs into traffic and causes a crash creates a different kind of claim; our Orem car accident page covers that side, and our Orem personal injury page covers the rest.

Common Bite Injuries

Deep punctures and tearing that need stitches or plastic surgery, facial wounds in young children, nerve and tendon injuries in the hands, infections, broken bones from being knocked down by a large dog, and a lasting fear of dogs, especially in kids.

What the Claim Can Include

A full claim looks at:

• Immediate care: the ER visit, wound care, antibiotics and any rabies treatment.
• Later procedures: scar revision a child may need as they grow.
• Missed work: yours, or a parent's time caring for a bitten child.
• Pain and emotional harm: including anxiety and sleep problems after an attack.
• Scarring: permanent disfigurement, particularly on the face and hands.

What the Homeowner's Insurer Will Say

That you provoked the dog, that you had no business on the property, or that the scar will fade. A quick offer usually arrives before anyone knows whether revision surgery will be needed. Photos taken over months and a surgeon's view of future care carry the most weight.

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.