Iowa Dog Law

Liability Statute

A dog owner is liable to an injured person for all damages done by the dog when the dog is attacking or attempting to bite a person, so long as the injured person is not is not engaged in an unlawful act that directly contributed to the injury. This statute does not apply to owners of rabid dogs, unless the owner had reasonable grounds to know that the dog had rabies and by reasonable effort might have prevented the injury.

Common Law Liability

In order to recover under the common law, the plaintiff must prove that the dog owner’s negligence caused the injury.

Dangerous Dog Statute

Iowa does not have a Dangerous Dog Statute.

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