Dog Attacks on Delivery Workers in Georgia

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For a delivery worker bitten at a customer’s door, the claim against the dog’s owner depends first on what the owner knew about the dog and on the worker’s legal status on the property. A worker who is an employee also has a workers’ compensation claim, and the claim against the owner runs alongside it.

What the Owner Must Have Known

A person who owns or keeps a vicious or dangerous animal and, by careless management or by letting it go at liberty, causes injury to someone who did not provoke it may be liable, and a vicious propensity can be shown by proof that a local ordinance required the animal to be at heel or on a leash and it was not (OCGA 51-2-7). In S&S Towing & Recovery, Ltd. v. Charnota, 309 Ga. 117 (2020), a dog that had escaped from a towing lot about 1,000 feet away attacked and killed a resident’s leashed dog in front of the resident’s home, then followed the resident inside and caused serious injury. The Supreme Court of Georgia held that the statute’s second sentence does not violate procedural due process, and wrote that a plaintiff who shows an ordinance required the animal to be restrained “must still prove scienter and can do so in two ways: by showing that the owner had knowledge of the animal’s vicious propensity as defined by the common law or by showing that the owner knew that the animal was unrestrained at the time of the injury.”

In Steagald v. Eason, 300 Ga. 717 (2017), a visiting neighbor was bitten by a pit bull that had growled and snapped at the owners and at another visitor during the week before. The Supreme Court of Georgia wrote that “[o]ur law does not presume that dogs are vicious or dangerous,” called the label “first bite rule” “more than a bit misleading,” and reversed a summary judgment for the owners, holding that a jury could find the owners knew of the dog’s propensity. Relying on an earlier Court of Appeals decision, the Court explained that the rule does not literally require a prior bite, and it disapproved a decision requiring that the dog have done the same act before.

A Person Who Comes to the Door

An owner or occupier owes an invitee ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe (OCGA 51-3-1), but is liable to a licensee only for willful or wanton injury; a licensee is a person who is not a customer, a servant, or a trespasser, has no contractual relation with the owner, and comes onto the premises only for the person’s own interests, convenience, or gratification (OCGA 51-3-2).

In Steusloff v. Finelli, No. A25A1366 (Ga. Ct. App. Oct. 3, 2025), a neighbor brought the homeowners mail that had been misdelivered to the neighbor’s house, was invited inside to see a renovation, and was attacked by a dog owned by the homeowners’ son and living at the home. The Court of Appeals held that the neighbor’s entry was for a mutually beneficial purpose, quoting Stanton v. Griffin, 361 Ga. App. 205 (2021): “if the primary purpose of the visit is to perform services for the host or services mutually beneficial to host and guest, the legal status of the visitor is that of an invitee.” On the dog’s history, the court relied on two earlier incidents in which the dog jumped on people in one homeowner’s presence, in one of which it bit an elderly neighbor, and held that this was “the same type of behavior resulting in injury here” and sufficient to support the verdict of $5,620,159.99. The jury had apportioned fault 25 percent to one homeowner and 75 percent to the other, and the court vacated the judgment entered jointly and severally and the award of fees under OCGA 9-11-68, remanding for a new judgment that apportions damages as the jury did and for reconsideration of the fee motion.

In Osowski v. Smith, 262 Ga. App. 538 (2003), a cable installer was struck from behind by a dog the installer believed was the homeowners’ Boxer, after, in the installer’s account, the homeowner had assured the installer that the dogs would be secured while the work was done. The parties stipulated that the installer was an invitee, that no leash law was in effect, and that the owners had no superior knowledge of the dog’s dangerous propensity. The Court of Appeals wrote that under either statute a plaintiff “must produce evidence of the vicious propensity of the dog in order to show that the owner of the premises had superior knowledge of the danger,” and that the installer had none. It reversed summary judgment for the owners on a different ground: the record showed “material disputed facts as to whether Joseph Smith voluntarily undertook a duty to restrain the dogs and whether that voluntary undertaking was negligently performed.”

A Worker Hurt on the Job

A delivery worker who is an employee is covered by the workers’ compensation chapter, and a person who meets all three criteria of OCGA 34-9-2(e) is an independent contractor outside it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an employee who receives workers’ compensation still sue the dog owner?
Yes. When compensable injury is caused under circumstances creating legal liability in someone other than the employer, the injured employee may pursue that person in court (OCGA 34-9-11.1(a)).

Does the workers’ compensation insurer get repaid from that recovery?
The employer or insurer has a subrogation lien up to the compensation it paid, limited to disability benefits, death benefits, and medical expenses, and recoverable only if the employee has been fully and completely compensated for all economic and noneconomic losses, counting both the benefits and the third-party recovery (OCGA 34-9-11.1(b)).

Can the employer’s insurer bring the claim against the dog owner?
If the employee has not sued within one year after the injury, the employer or insurer may, but need not, assert the employee’s cause of action, must notify the employee, and must pay over to the employee anything recovered beyond its lien (OCGA 34-9-11.1(c)).

What makes a delivery driver an independent contractor for workers’ compensation?
All three of the following: a contract, written or implied, intended to create an independent contractor relationship; the right to control the time, manner, and method of the work; and payment by the job or unit rather than by salary or the hour. A person who does not meet all three is an employee unless an administrative law judge determines otherwise (OCGA 34-9-2(e)).

  • OCGA 51-2-7
  • S&S Towing & Recovery, Ltd. v. Charnota, 309 Ga. 117 (2020)
  • Steagald v. Eason, 300 Ga. 717 (2017); Kringle v. Elliott, 301 Ga. App. 1 (2009) (as relied on in Steagald)
  • OCGA 51-3-1; OCGA 51-3-2
  • Steusloff v. Finelli, No. A25A1366 (Ga. Ct. App. Oct. 3, 2025); Stanton v. Griffin, 361 Ga. App. 205 (2021) (as quoted in Steusloff); OCGA 9-11-68
  • Osowski v. Smith, 262 Ga. App. 538 (2003)
  • OCGA 34-9-2(e); OCGA 34-9-11.1(a), (b), (c)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about dog attack claims under Georgia law. It is not legal advice, is not medical advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Whether an owner is liable depends on what the owner knew, the worker’s status on the property, and the specific facts. A person bitten by a dog should seek medical care and consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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