How Nebraska Classifies Dangerous Animals

Nebraska uses animal control records to sort dogs into categories, and the categories turn on specific injuries. A dog that bites a person can be labeled one way or another depending on what treatment followed. For a bite victim in Omaha, the definitions show what the animal control records may say.

Two Categories in the Statute

Nebraska Revised Statute 54-617 defines a dangerous dog and a potentially dangerous dog, and both definitions rest on the records of the animal control authority. A dog is dangerous if it has killed a human being, has injured a human being in a way that requires medical treatment, or has killed a domestic animal without provocation. A dog also qualifies if it was previously determined to be potentially dangerous, the owner was notified, and the dog later injured a person, injured a domestic animal, or threatened people or animals.

What Counts as Medical Treatment

The statute defines medical treatment as treatment by a licensed health care professional that results in sutures, surgery, or treatment for one or more broken bones. That definition sets the line for the injury branch of the dangerous dog test. A bite that required stitches meets the definition, while a bite treated with a bandage at home does not meet it and falls under the potentially dangerous category.

Potentially Dangerous Dogs

A potentially dangerous dog is one that, when unprovoked, injures a person without requiring medical treatment, injures a domestic animal, or chases or approaches a person on a road, sidewalk, or public ground in a menacing fashion. A dog that approaches a person on a sidewalk can fall within this definition even if no bite occurs. Conduct decides the label.

Exclusions in the Definitions

The statute excludes certain situations. A dog is not dangerous under the injury test if the person was tormenting, abusing, or assaulting the dog at the time. The prior-determination branch excludes a person who was trespassing, committing another tort on the owner’s property, mistreating the dog, or committing or attempting a crime.

Those exclusions make the facts of each encounter important. Our Omaha dog bite lawyer team reviews what was happening when the bite occurred. That account is built from witness statements and the animal control report.

Rules for Owners After a Designation

Section 54-619 restricts how an owner can keep a dangerous dog. An owner may not own, keep, or harbor one unless it is confined in a way that protects the public. When the dog is unattended on the owner’s property, it must be kept indoors or in a secure, locked enclosure.

The enclosure must have secure sides and a secure top, prevent children from entering and the dog from escaping, protect the dog from weather, and sit at least ten feet from any property line. The owner must post warning signs visible from public access areas. Each item stands alone.

Evidence After a Bite

Treatment records matter because medical treatment is a statutory term. They show whether sutures or surgery were needed. A bite victim can support a claim with the following items and records:

• Photographs of the wounds over several weeks
• Treatment records, including whether sutures or surgery were needed
• The owner’s name and address
• Names of witnesses
• Any animal control report

How Nebraska dog bite laws treat liability is a separate question from classification. Liability looks at who must pay, while classification looks at how animal control labels the dog. Both use the same records.

Assumptions about who is at fault after a bite can mislead a victim. Sorting out dog bite myths early keeps the record accurate. Facts matter more than assumptions, and early corrections protect the file.

Related Claims

A bite on someone else’s land can raise a property question. Our Omaha slip and fall lawyer team reviews claims tied to conditions on private property. The owner of the land and the owner of the dog are not always the same person.

An attack that results in a death is a separate matter. Our Omaha wrongful death lawyer team handles claims for families. Those claims follow different rules than a bite injury claim.

Some dog encounters happen while a person is walking. Our Omaha pedestrian accident lawyer team reviews claims for people hurt on foot. Those claims start with where the person stood.

Working With Our Firm

Jason Ausman founded Ausman Law Firm P.C., L.L.O. and was admitted to practice in Nebraska in 2001. He is a Past President of the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys. The classification depends on records and specific injuries. People hurt by a dog in Omaha can reach out to us, and we’ll go through the treatment records and the circumstances of the bite together.