DOG BITE - LAWFUL PRESENCE ON OWNER'S PROPERTY AND WHAT IS A PUBLIC PLACE
Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 412
Okla. Stat. Tit 4 § 42.2 basically defines when you can recover for a dog bite on the dog owners property and when you can recover for a dog bite in a public place.
The statute reads as follows: "a person shall be considered to be lawfully upon the private property of the owner of a dog when he or she is on the property in the performance of any duty imposed upon the person by the laws of this state, or its political subdivision, or by the laws of the United States, or the postal regulations of the United States, or when reading meters, or making repairs to any public utility or service located on the premises, or when working on the property at the request of the owner or any tenant having a lease upon any portion of the property, or when on the property upon the invitation, either expressed or implied, of the owner or lessee of such property, or when on the property for any other lawful purpose. The term "public place" shall, for the purpose of Sections 42.1 through 42.3 of this title and Section 1 of this act, mean and include any and all public streets, sidewalks, alleyways, easements, buildings, parks, playgrounds and recreational facilities, and any and all places of business, amusement or entertainment which are privately owned, wherein merchandise, property, services, entertainment or facilities are offered for sale, hire, lease, or use."
To put the above statute in a nutshell, you can recover personal injuries from a dog bite when you are an invitee to the dog owner's home and when you are in a public place as exemplified above. The one thing I will warn you is that when you are dealing with an insurance company, the will try to convolute this issue and before long have the owner saying you weren't an invitee where they will not be strictly liable.