This page introduces dog bite and animal behavior expert witness Richard Polsky, Ph.D., to attorneys in Texas. Attorneys in Texas seeking the services of an expert witness to opine on dog behavior, canine aggression, unprovoked dog attacks, irresponsible ownership, dangerous dog breeds and related issues in animal behavior are encouraged to contact Dr. Polsky.

Dog bite & animal behavior expert witness for Texas attorney

Why hire Dr. Polsky?  He is a well-qualified and experienced expert witness.  Attorneys can be assured that Dr. Polsky will render competent and straightforward opinions and not the opinions an attorney may be looking for. He has frequently rendered deposition and trial testimony in Texas on commonly occurring animal behavior issues found in dog bite litigation. For example:

• Did the owner or property owner know the dog was dangerous?
• Was the owner or landlord negligent in the management of the canine?
• Was the canine properly contained?
• Was the incident foreseeable?
• Did the victim provoke the canine to bite?
• Are pit bulls or attacked trained police K9s inherently dangerous?
• Was the victim’s injury a result of a scratch or bite?

In Texas, the burden is on the plaintiff to prove that the owner (or landlord) had actual knowledge or must have known about the dangerous propensities of the dog prior to the incident.  Texas  does not impose “strict liability” for dog bites similar to dog bite law in California and Arizona. Alternatively, the plaintiff can win their case if they prove the defendant acted negligently in terms of how the dog was contained, managed, or handled. An overview of the laws in Texas as they pertain to animals, including dogs and dog bites, can be found on the website  maintained by the Michigan State University Law school.

Dr. Polsky has the experience and qualifications to render expert witness opinions on these issues.  And Dr. Polsky can opined about the degree of negligence by an owner, usually by considering the totality of the circumstances present at the time of the incident.

Below, are representative examples on incidences of canine attack  in Texas.  These instances touch on issues such as negligence and what any reasonable person should have known about the dangerous propensities in the dog.

^[1]Note that Texas, unlike other nearby states such as Arizona, does not impose statutory strict liability on the owner for dog bites.

• Pit bull mauls one-year-old child to death in Magnolia, Texas. A March 2011 attack by a pit bull dog killed a one-year-old boy in Magnolia, Texas, a small town about 50 miles north of Houston.  Read more
• Labrador retriever dog bite leads to lawsuit in Galveston, Texas. Joggers are often attacked by dogs, possibly because of the movement which triggers predatory tendencies in some dogs, and this may have happened in a dog bite incident in Galveston, Texas, in September 2011. The victim, Jack Kaufman, was jogging, and according to his complaint, the dog bit him, tearing his skin and causing severe injuries to his legs. The lawsuit also alleges that this particular Labrador retriever had exhibited prior dangerous propensities which were “abnormal to its class”, and that the dog had attacked other people prior to September 2011. Plaintiff also listed a number of areas of negligence by the defendant in their lawsuit, such as failure to properly control the dog.
• Texas leads nation in fatal dog attacks. There have been approximately 34 dog bite fatalities between January 2005 and February 2013 in Texas, making Texas the leader in incidences of fatal dog attacks in the USA. Children under the age of 11 represented 68% of fatal dog bite cases. Read more
• DNA analysis fails to identify dogs involved in fatal dog attack in Dallas, Texas.  DNA analysis is the standard in canine forensics when the identification of dogs involved in the fatal dog attack remains uncertain. DNA analysis is nearly 100% accurate, provided that the collection of forensic evidence is not contaminated.
• Dog bite to the face by a German Shepherd in a  Texas Petco store.  Increased risks of dog bite attack exists for customers of Petco stores given the  aggressive temperament of some dogs and the management practices of Petco.  Read more
• Unsupervised two-year-old toddler was killed in Hunt County, Texas
  Divine intervention when Bibles used to stop pit bull attack in Texas?
• Bull mastiff inflicts a fatal dog bite on a 2-year-old toddler in Killeen, Texas, in March 2014
• Mom bites off ear of pit bull to save 2 y.o. daughter
• Animal behavior perspective on fatal dog bite to 83-year-old woman in Texas
• Predatory attack by pit bull kills two-year-old infant
• Pack of stray dogs kill 52-year-old lady in Dallas, Texas
• Labrador retriever led dog pack kills process server in Austin
• study finds serious dog bite problem caused by stray dogs in southern Dallas, Texas
• Toddler killed in fatal dog attack in Hunt County, TX.
• Court of Appeals, Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana