Dog Bite Demand Letter - Utah

Utah Dog-Injury Settlement Demand

[FIRM OR SENDER NAME]

[Street Address]

[City, State ZIP]

[Phone] | [Email]

Date: [__/__/____]

Delivery method: ☐ Certified mail ☐ First-class mail ☐ Email ☐ Claim portal ☐ Other: [________]

To:

[Adjuster, insurer, dog owner, keeper, or counsel]

[Address]

Claim Information

Injured person: [FULL NAME]

Date and time of incident: [__/__/____] at [TIME]

Location: [ADDRESS OR DESCRIPTION]

Dog owner: [NAME]

Dog keeper, if different: [NAME]

Dog description: [BREED / SIZE / COLOR / NAME / LICENSE]

Insurer and claim number: [________________________________]

Policy number, if known: [________________________________]

Response requested by: [__/__/____]

Dear [RECIPIENT]:

I represent [INJURED PERSON] concerning injuries caused by the dog identified above. This letter presents the known facts, the Utah statutory framework, documented damages, and a settlement proposal. It should be conformed to the evidence before sending.

1. Incident Facts

On [__/__/____], [INJURED PERSON] was [ACTIVITY] at [LOCATION]. The dog was [DESCRIBE CONTROL, RESTRAINT, LOCATION, AND CONDUCT]. The dog caused injury by [BITE / KNOCKDOWN / OTHER MECHANISM].

Describe the event in chronological order:

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

Witnesses and Records

2. Utah Statutory Liability Analysis

Utah Code § 18-1-1(1)(a) states that, subject to Subsections (2) and (3), an individual who owns or keeps a dog is liable for an injury caused by the dog regardless of whether the dog was vicious or mischievous or the owner knew that it was.

The evidence supporting the statutory claim is:

• Owner or keeper: [IDENTIFY PERSON AND EVIDENCE OF OWNERSHIP OR KEEPING]
• Dog caused injury: [IDENTIFY MEDICAL, WITNESS, PHOTO, OR VIDEO EVIDENCE]
• Injury: [IDENTIFY PHYSICAL OR OTHER DOCUMENTED INJURY]
• Causal sequence: [EXPLAIN HOW THE DOG CAUSED THE INJURY]

State the actual custody, management, control, or care facts and have Utah counsel determine whether they establish statutory keeper status.

3. Mandatory Exception Screen

Section 18-1-1 contains exceptions that must be evaluated before asserting liability.

3.1 Law-Enforcement Dog Exception

Subsection (2) addresses an injury caused by a certified dog used by specified governmental actors when all listed training, policy, policy-compliance, and official-use conditions are satisfied.

☐ No governmental or law-enforcement dog was involved.

☐ A law-enforcement dog was involved. The following facts and official policy materials have been reviewed:

[____________________________________________________________]

3.2 Secured Dog and Another Animal

Subsection (3)(a) addresses an injury or death to another animal that entered the owner's private property without consent while the dog was reasonably secured within a fence or other enclosure.

☐ The injured claimant is a person, so this animal-only exception does not describe the claim.

☐ Another animal was injured or killed. Analyze each statutory condition here:

[____________________________________________________________]

3.3 Secured Dog and Trespasser

Subsection (3)(b) addresses injury or death to a trespasser violating Utah Code § 76-6-206(2) when the event occurs on the owner's private property while the dog is reasonably secured within a fence or other enclosure.

Claimant's location and permission to be there: [________________________________]

Property owner: [________________________________]

Fence or enclosure and whether the dog was reasonably secured: [________________________________]

Facts relevant to the referenced trespass provision: [________________________________]

Conclusion after counsel review: ☐ Exception does not apply ☐ Exception may apply ☐ More facts required

Do not convert “lawfully present,” “peaceful conduct,” or “no provocation” into extra elements of § 18-1-1. Use the actual statutory exceptions and comparative-fault analysis.

4. Comparative Fault

Section 18-1-1(1)(b) directs that damages be determined under Utah Code § 78B-5-818.

Under § 78B-5-818(2), recovery may be obtained from a defendant or group whose combined allocated fault, together with specified immune-person and nonparty fault, exceeds the claimant's fault. Under subsection (3), a defendant is not liable above that defendant's allocated proportion of fault.

Claimant conduct alleged by recipient: [________________________________]

Factual response and supporting evidence: [________________________________]

Other persons or nonparties whose fault may be alleged: [________________________________]

Allocation analysis by counsel: [________________________________]

Do not describe provocation as a free-standing absolute defense. Identify the conduct, causation theory, evidence, persons in the allocation, and effect under the comparative-fault statute.

5. Additional Theory or Local Ordinance

This demand relies on § 18-1-1 unless counsel identifies and grounds an additional theory. Do not add generic negligence, landlord-liability, negligence-per-se, dangerous-dog, leash-law, or punitive-damages assertions without the duty, defendant, location, ordinance, causation, remedy, and current authority that apply to this incident.

Additional theory, if any: [________________________________]

Current official authority: [________________________________]

Local ordinance and territorial applicability: [________________________________]

Operative text attached: ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Not applicable

6. Preservation Request

Please preserve materials reasonably related to the incident that are within your possession, custody, or control, including:

• Photographs, videos, doorbell footage, surveillance footage, and audio;
• Communications concerning the dog or incident;
• Veterinary, vaccination, licensing, training, transfer, and ownership records;
• Animal-control, police, property-management, and prior-incident records;
• Fence, gate, leash, muzzle, enclosure, warning-sign, and repair records;
• Applicable insurance policies, endorsements, exclusions, and claim materials; and
• The identity and contact information of witnesses and persons who owned, kept, handled, or controlled the dog.

This is a preservation request, not a representation that every listed item exists or that this letter alone creates a particular sanction or adverse inference. Please identify promptly any item that cannot be preserved and why.

7. Injuries and Treatment

7.1 Injuries

7.2 Treatment Timeline

7.3 Prognosis and Future Care

Current symptoms and limitations: [________________________________]

Scarring or disfigurement evidence: [________________________________]

Recommended future care: [________________________________]

Medical basis and estimated cost: [________________________________]

Do not state that an injury is permanent, that future care is required, or that a diagnosis exists unless supported by an appropriate record or opinion.

8. Damages Presentation

This template makes no categorical claim that a listed damage is recoverable, uncapped, subject to prejudgment interest, or eligible for punitive damages. Counsel must ground each contested category and any interest, cap, lien, subrogation, collateral-source, or allocation issue that affects the demand.

9. Limitations and Pre-Suit Deadline Review

Utah Code § 78B-2-307(4) permits an action within four years for relief not otherwise provided for by law. That catchall text does not by itself establish every dog-injury deadline.

Before sending this demand, counsel should record:

Demand-response date: [__/__/____]

Latest safe filing date determined by counsel: [__/__/____]

A settlement discussion does not replace timely filing, service, or any required pre-suit notice.

10. Settlement Proposal

Based on the facts and records summarized above, [CLAIMANT] offers to resolve the identified claims for $[DEMAND AMOUNT], subject to:

• Written acceptance by [DATE AND TIME];
• Confirmation of the settling parties and covered claims;
• Resolution of valid liens and reimbursement claims as stated in the settlement documents;
• Mutually acceptable release language;
• Payment method and deadline: [________________________________]; and
• Any confidentiality or non-disparagement term only if separately negotiated and approved.

This offer: ☐ Includes all documented damages through [DATE] ☐ Is limited as follows: [________]

Please provide a written response identifying any disputed fact, statutory exception, fault allocation, damage item, missing record, coverage issue, or additional information requested.

Sincerely,

[NAME]

[TITLE / FIRM]

[CONTACT INFORMATION]

11. Attachments

☐ Incident, animal-control, or police report

☐ Photographs and video index

☐ Medical records and bills

☐ Wage or income-loss documentation

☐ Future-care support

☐ Witness statements

☐ Insurance correspondence

☐ Local ordinance text, if relied upon

☐ Damages summary

☐ Other: [________________________________]

Counsel Verification Checklist

☐ Confirm owner and keeper identity with evidence.

☐ Apply every condition in § 18-1-1(2) and (3), not a generalized exception label.

☐ Analyze comparative fault under § 78B-5-818 using all persons who may be allocated fault.

☐ Calculate accrual, limitation, tolling, filing, service, and pre-suit notice requirements for the actual claims and defendants.

☐ Verify territorial applicability and current text of every local ordinance cited.

☐ Ground any additional negligence, landlord, punitive-damage, interest, fee, venue, spoliation, or damage-cap proposition before adding it.

☐ Confirm medical, wage, future-care, and permanence statements against supporting records.

☐ Identify liens, subrogation, reimbursement, coverage, and release issues.

☐ Remove unsupported adjectives and conclusions before sending.

Sources and References

• Utah Code § 18-1-1 — Liability and damages for dog injury; exceptions
• Utah Code § 78B-5-818 — Comparative negligence
• Utah Code § 78B-2-307 — Within four years