Dog Bite Liability in South Carolina: What Charleston Residents Need to Know

The Incident

On a July afternoon in 2026, a seven-year-old boy was playing in a neighbor's backyard on James Island when the neighbor's Rottweiler — kept behind an interior gate — pushed through the latch and lunged at him. The dog bit the child on his right forearm and his cheek before adults were able to pull it away. He was taken by ambulance to MUSC's pediatric emergency department, where he received stitches on his forearm and a plastic surgery consultation for the facial laceration. His parents had known the neighbor and the dog for three years. The dog had never shown aggression before. Under South Carolina law, that history does not protect the owner.

What South Carolina Law Says

South Carolina Code § 47-3-110 imposes strict liability on dog owners when their dog bites someone who is in a public place or lawfully on private property. Unlike some states that apply a "one bite" rule — where the owner only faces liability if the dog previously showed vicious tendencies — South Carolina holds owners liable for a first bite with no prior warning required.

The statute covers bites, but South Carolina courts have also addressed injuries caused by a dog knocking someone down, jumping on them, or otherwise causing harm through aggressive behavior. The key legal elements are: (1) the dog's owner is identifiable, (2) the victim was in a public place or lawfully present on private property, and (3) the victim did not provoke the dog.

Homeowner's insurance and renter's insurance policies frequently cover dog bite liability, making compensation realistically recoverable in many cases even when the dog's owner has limited personal assets.

Your Rights and Options

If you or a family member is bitten by a dog in Charleston, the steps you take immediately after the incident significantly affect your claim:

• Identify the owner and document the dog. Get the owner's name, address, and phone number. Photograph the dog if safely possible. Ask whether the dog is up to date on rabies vaccinations — you will need this information for your medical provider.
• Report the incident. Report the bite to Charleston County Animal Control or the City of Charleston animal services depending on the location. This creates an official record and triggers an investigation into the dog's history.
• Seek medical attention that same day. Dog bites carry a serious infection risk. Even puncture wounds that look minor can introduce bacteria deep into tissue. A same-day medical evaluation also documents the injury and preserves evidence of its severity.
• Photograph all injuries. Document the wound at its worst — typically 48 to 72 hours after the bite — as well as during healing. Photographs are critical evidence in any insurance negotiation or lawsuit.

What I Look For When Evaluating These Cases

The most important factors I evaluate in a dog bite case are the severity of the physical injury, whether scarring or disfigurement is likely to be permanent, the victim's age, and the available insurance coverage. Facial injuries in particular — especially those affecting children — often command substantial compensation because of the long-term psychological and aesthetic impact.

I also look carefully at provocation arguments. Insurers routinely claim the victim provoked the dog, even in cases where the victim simply walked near the animal or reached toward it in a friendly gesture. South Carolina courts have found that normal human behavior — including approaching a dog calmly — does not constitute provocation under the statute.

How Insurance Companies Fight Back

Dog bite claims are defended aggressively because they frequently involve significant damages. The insurer's primary defense tools are provocation (arguing the victim incited the bite), trespass (arguing the victim was not lawfully on the property), and comparative fault (arguing the victim's own conduct contributed to the incident). An experienced dog bite attorney can anticipate these arguments and counter them with evidence from animal control records, witness statements, and medical documentation.

Related Practice Areas at Traywick Law Offices

Dog bite claims frequently intersect with premises liability when the attack occurs on a business's property or at a rental property where the landlord was aware of the dangerous animal. Negligent security principles may also apply where a property failed to contain a known dangerous dog.

My Final Thoughts

South Carolina's strict liability law exists because dog owners bear responsibility for controlling their animals in public and on their property. If you have been bitten or injured by a dog in the Charleston area, you are not required to prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous — you simply need to document what happened and act quickly. Traywick Law Offices offers free consultations and handles dog bite cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.