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Reviewed by David Gammill, California trial attorney · Last reviewed: September 24, 2026
In California, the owner of a dog is liable for a bite when the person bitten was in a public place or lawfully on private property, whether or not the dog had ever bitten anyone before (Civil Code § 3342). You have two years to file a lawsuit. Gammill Law Accident & Injury Lawyers is a Torrance trial firm that handles dog bite cases in Manhattan Beach and across the South Bay. The firm has recovered more than $100 million for California clients across verdicts and settlements. Its results include a $21.1 million wrongful death verdict, a $16 million school sexual abuse verdict, and a $12 million whistleblower retaliation verdict; every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
If a dog bit you or your child in Manhattan Beach, call 310-750-4149 and tell us what happened while the wounds, the witnesses, and the animal-control record are all still fresh.
Most injury cases turn on proving that someone was careless. A dog bite case usually does not. Under Civil Code § 3342, California’s dog bite statute, the owner is liable for the damage a bite causes in a public place or anywhere the victim had a right to be, regardless of the dog’s history and regardless of what the owner knew. There is no “one free bite” in California. A separate section, § 3342.5, adds duties for an owner whose dog has already bitten someone once, and our explainer covers that too. The statute reaches bites only: if a dog knocked you off your feet on a sidewalk or chased you off a bike path into traffic, that claim runs on ordinary negligence, which means proving the owner failed to control the animal. Our FAQ on whether California is a strict liability state for dog bites answers the question in plain terms.
Get medical care first, even for a bite that looks small. Puncture wounds close over quickly and trap bacteria, and a doctor’s note on the day of the bite is the single strongest piece of evidence you will ever have. Then report the bite. Manhattan Beach runs its own animal control, so the report goes to the City, not to a county agency. The officers work out of the Manhattan Beach Police Department’s Parking and Animal Control Office: call (310) 802-5160 during business hours, or (310) 802-5159, the animal control dispatch line, at any hour. A City officer identifies the dog, checks its rabies status, and handles the quarantine that follows a bite; the City also reports bites to the county health officer, which is how rabies follow-up is handled. If the dog was loose and no owner is standing there, call the City rather than driving the animal to a shelter yourself: the City picks up a stray, holds it in its own short-term kennel, and, if no owner is found, transfers it to a shelter or rescue. Manhattan Beach also licenses dogs through the City, and the same animal control officers enforce the licensing rule along with the City’s leash and dogs-at-large rules, so the City’s records often identify an owner quickly. A leash or licensing violation does not change the strict liability rule, but it is evidence in a negligence claim if one is needed. Make the report the same day if you can; it later confirms the owner’s identity and the dog’s history.
Then build the rest of the record while it still exists. Get the owner’s name and contact information, and if the person holding the leash was not the owner, get both. Get the names of anyone who saw the attack; in a town where the same people walk The Strand and the walk streets every morning, a witness is easy to find today and hard to find next month. Photograph the wounds before they are cleaned and dressed, and photograph the scene: the gate that was open, the leash that was not there. Ask the owner for the name of their homeowner’s or renter’s insurer, and write it down. And do not accept an early offer from the owner or an insurer. A bite that looks minor in the first week can need scar revision a year later, and a signed release ends the claim before anyone knows what it is worth.
Dog bite claims are usually paid by the owner’s homeowner’s or renter’s liability insurance, not by the owner personally. Whether the owner rents or owns, that policy typically carries liability coverage, and the claim is made against the policy, not against a neighbor’s savings. Where the dog’s owner rented, the landlord can also be responsible if the landlord actually knew the dog was dangerous and had the power to remove it but did nothing. And in the rare case where the dog belonged to a public agency, a police dog or an animal already in the City’s custody, the defendant is the City of Manhattan Beach, and a written claim is due to the City within six months under Gov. Code § 911.2 before any lawsuit can be filed; our guide to the California government claim deadline walks through that sequence.
A dog bite claim covers the medical care you have needed and will need, including scar revision surgery, which often cannot be done until the wound has fully matured months later. It covers counselling, which is especially important for a child who now fears every dog on the street. It covers lost wages and any earning capacity the injury took. And it covers non-economic damages, the legal term for the pain, the fear, and the daily loss of enjoyment the bite caused, which in a facial scar or a mauled hand can be the largest part of the claim.
Strict liability reaches the owner, but the investigation does not stop there. In a beach town, the person holding the leash is often not the owner at all: a dog walker, a sitter, or a friend keeping the dog for the weekend can be responsible for failing to control it. A claim may also reach a landlord who actually knew a tenant’s dog was dangerous and could have removed it, or a business that kept or was responsible for the animal, such as an office or a shop that keeps a dog on the premises. If the dog had bitten before, that earlier history strengthens the case, which is one more reason the animal-control report matters. We identify every party whose responsibility or insurance may stand behind your recovery, as the categories the facts support, not names we guess at.
Most California dog bite lawsuits must be filed within two years of the bite under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1, the state’s two-year statute of limitations. The clock runs differently for children, and it is far shorter when a public entity is involved, as noted above. The practical deadline is earlier than any legal one, because the animal-control record, the witnesses’ memories, and the photographs are all at their strongest in the first days. Most Manhattan Beach dog bite lawsuits are filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Southwest District, at either the Torrance Courthouse or the Inglewood Courthouse. Manhattan Beach has no courthouse of its own.
No. Under § 3342 the owner is liable for a bite whether or not the dog had ever shown aggression, and whether or not the owner had any reason to expect it. A prior bite is not required to win; it simply adds to the case if it exists, and § 3342.5 places extra duties on an owner whose dog has already bitten once.
To the City’s own animal control, which operates out of the Manhattan Beach Police Department’s Parking and Animal Control Office. Call (310) 802-5160, or (310) 802-5159 for animal control dispatch, and a City officer will take the report, identify the dog, and check its rabies status; the City then reports the bite to the county health officer. If the dog is loose, call the City rather than trying to catch it or drive it to a shelter yourself.
Yes. The statute covers anyone who was lawfully on private property, and an invited guest is lawfully present. The claim is made against the owner’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, which is what that coverage exists for.
Nothing upfront and nothing unless we win. We work on a contingency fee, which means the fee is a percentage of the recovery and is paid only out of the recovery. Our page on what a personal injury lawyer costs explains the arrangement in detail.
Our office is in Torrance, and we represent dog bite victims from Manhattan Beach and across the South Bay: Torrance, Gardena, Inglewood, Carson, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Lomita, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. For every kind of injury case in the city, see our Manhattan Beach personal injury page; for the dog bite law in more depth, see our Torrance dog bite page.
Gammill Law represents dog bite victims in Manhattan Beach and across the South Bay. If a dog attacked you or your child, a free, confidential conversation will tell you whether you have a claim and what deadlines apply. We work on a contingency fee under a written contingency fee agreement that complies with California law, so there is no fee unless we win.
Get your free case evaluation or call 310-750-4149. You will speak with people who handle these cases, and you will pay no fee unless we win.
This page is attorney advertising and general information, not legal advice for any specific situation. Deadlines and outcomes are fact-specific; consult a licensed California attorney about your own circumstances. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
