Dog Bite Demand Letter - Virginia

VIRGINIA DOG-BITE / ANIMAL-ATTACK SETTLEMENT DEMAND

Date: [__/__/____]

Via: ☐ Certified mail ☐ First-class mail ☐ Email ☐ Other: [____________]

To: [OWNER / KEEPER / LANDLORD / INSURER / OTHER RECIPIENT]

Address / Email: [________________________________]

From: [LAW FIRM / CLAIMANT]

Claimant: [________________________________]

Incident date and time: [__/__/____] at [____]

Incident location: [________________________________], Virginia

Animal and owner/keeper: [________________________________]

Claim / policy number: [________________________________]

1. Purpose and Attorney Controls

This letter presents documented facts, injuries, losses, and a settlement proposal concerning the incident identified above. It does not assume that a person or entity is legally responsible.

Before sending, Virginia counsel must identify and verify from current official sources:

Delete any demand or remedy not supported by the completed authority record and the evidence.

2. Limitations Control

Va. Code § 8.01-243(A) states that, unless another provision in the section or another statute applies, a personal-injury action must be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues. The section does not itself select the accrual date for this claim.

A settlement-response date in this letter does not toll, extend, or replace any filing or notice deadline.

3. Incident Facts

On [__/__/____] at approximately [____], Claimant was [ACTIVITY] at [LOCATION]. The animal [FACTUAL DESCRIPTION OF CONTACT / ATTACK].

Describe only facts supported by a witness, record, photograph, video, admission, or other identified evidence:

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

Claimant's conduct immediately before the incident:

[____________________________________________________________]

How the incident ended:

[____________________________________________________________]

Emergency response / animal-control response:

[____________________________________________________________]

4. Responsibility Evidence

A. Animal and Responsible-Person Record

Do not state that a prior incident, sign, breed, complaint, designation, ordinance, or property relationship proves an element unless current controlling Virginia authority supports that conclusion.

B. Claimant-Conduct Record

☐ Lawful location and purpose documented
☐ Interaction with animal documented
☐ Any warning and Claimant's response documented
☐ Any alleged provocation, trespass, assumption of risk, or fault addressed
☐ Child, disability, worker, or other status recorded if legally relevant
☐ Conflicting witness accounts identified

Narrative:

[____________________________________________________________]

C. Liability Position

Based on the facts and the current authority recorded in Section 1, Claimant contends that [RECIPIENT] is responsible because:

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

Claim / theory and elements applied to evidence:

[____________________________________________________________]

5. Preservation Request

Please preserve materials within your possession, custody, or control that may bear on the incident, including:

• ☐ Photographs, video, doorbell, security, or body-camera footage
• ☐ Animal-control, police, fire, EMS, and dispatch records
• ☐ Veterinary, vaccination, licensing, training, and behavior records
• ☐ Prior complaints, warnings, reports, citations, or proceedings
• ☐ Communications concerning the animal or incident
• ☐ Lease, pet addendum, property-management, and maintenance records
• ☐ Fence, gate, restraint, sign, and repair records
• ☐ Applicable insurance policies, claim correspondence, and recorded statements
• ☐ Witness names and contact information
• ☐ Other: [________________________________]

This is a preservation request. It does not assert an independent duty, prohibit lawful animal-control or medical action, or state a sanction or inference. Counsel must separately determine any duty, scope, control, proportionality, notice, and remedy under current law.

6. Injuries and Treatment

Injuries and objective findings:

[____________________________________________________________]

Course of treatment and present condition:

[____________________________________________________________]

Future care supported by provider opinion and cost evidence:

[____________________________________________________________]

Scarring, impairment, or other claimed effects:

[____________________________________________________________]

7. Income and Other Claimed Losses

Any non-economic, punitive, fee, interest, future-loss, collateral-source, or other category must be supported by current claim-specific authority and evidence before inclusion.

8. Settlement Proposal

After applying the supported liability theory, defenses, insurance terms, recoverable categories, liens, and evidence, Claimant offers to resolve [DEFINED CLAIMS] for:

$[________________]

Material proposed terms:

• Released persons and claims: [________________________________]
• Liens / reimbursement interests: [________________________________]
• Confidentiality or non-disparagement, if any: [________________________________]
• Payment timing and method: [________________________________]
• Dismissal / documentation: [________________________________]
• Other: [________________________________]

This offer remains open until [DATE AND TIME], unless withdrawn earlier in writing. This is a proposed negotiation period, not a statutory deadline and not an agreement to extend any limitation, notice, filing, or policy deadline.

Please respond to [CONTACT] at [EMAIL / ADDRESS]. If you dispute responsibility or valuation, identify the factual and legal basis and provide the documents on which you rely.

9. Enclosures

• ☐ Incident / animal-control / police report
• ☐ Photographs or video index
• ☐ Witness statements
• ☐ Medical records and itemized bills
• ☐ Wage-loss verification
• ☐ Prior-incident or notice evidence
• ☐ Current authority record from Section 1
• ☐ Other: [________________________________]

Sensitive information has been redacted or transmitted through [SECURE METHOD].

[ATTORNEY / CLAIMANT NAME]
[Title / Virginia Bar No., if applicable]
[Firm]
[Address]
[Telephone]
[Email]

Source Checked for This Template

• Va. Code § 8.01-243(A): https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title8.01/chapter4/section8.01-243/

This template requires review and customization by a Virginia-licensed attorney before use.