My Neighbor’s Dog Bit Me in Bonita Springs. Can I Get Help With Medical Bills Without Ruining Our Friendship?

By David B. Pittman, Esq. – Founder, Pittman Law Firm, P.L.

Yes, you can pursue compensation without suing your friend personally, though recovering money depends on how your neighbor’s insurance policy is written. In a Southwest Florida dog bite claim, our office looks to homeowner’s insurance, Medical Payments (“MedPay”) coverage, standalone canine liability policies, or landlord/HOA coverage so your medical bills are paid through insurance rather than your neighbor’s personal savings.

When a neighbor’s dog bites you or your child during an evening walk through Bonita Bay, Pelican Landing, or a neighborhood off Imperial Parkway, your first worry after leaving the emergency room is almost always the friendship. You wave to this person across the driveway every morning. You do not want a courtroom confrontation with someone who lives next door, and you certainly do not want to hand a friend a $35,000 hospital bill.

In more than 30 years of practicing personal injury law in Southwest Florida—and holding an active Florida Real Estate Broker license for 25 years—I have helped many injured neighbors resolve this exact dilemma. The key is understanding two realities of modern Florida law right up front: first, how insurance policies act as a financial buffer between friends, and second, how widespread homeowner’s insurance dog breed and animal-attack exclusions alongside Florida’s 2025 Pam Rock Act (CS/HB 593) change the way we uncover coverage and handle animal control reports.

Key Takeaways

• We Pursue Insurance Coverage, Not Your Friend’s Bank Account: Our goal in a neighbor dog-bite case is to locate active insurance coverage—whether through homeowner’s liability, no-fault MedPay, a standalone animal liability policy, an umbrella policy, or an HOA/landlord policy—so our office deals strictly with an insurance adjuster rather than your neighbor.
• Many Florida Homeowner’s Policies Exclude Dog Bites or Specific Breeds: A huge percentage of Florida property insurers now attach complete “Animal Liability Exclusions” or blacklist specific breeds (such as Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and Dobermans). Finding money for your bills requires an attorney who knows how to hunt down alternative policies and coverage exceptions.
• Florida’s Pam Rock Act (Effective July 1, 2025) Changes the Rules: Amending Chapter 767, Florida Statutes, the Pam Rock Act requires owners of dogs classified as “Dangerous” to carry at least $100,000 in dog-bite liability insurance and mandates immediate confiscation by animal control if a bite scores a Level 5 or Level 6 on the Dunbar Bite Scale.
• Strict Liability Removes the Need to Blame Your Neighbor: Under Florida Statute § 767.04, dog owners are strictly liable from the first bite when you are in a public place or lawfully on private property—meaning you never have to accuse your friend of being careless to trigger coverage.
• Two-Year Statutory Deadline: Under Florida Statute § 95.11, you have two years from the date of the bite to resolve your injury claim or file suit before your rights expire.

Why Do So Many Florida Homeowner’s Policies Exclude Dog Bites Today?

Years ago, almost every standard homeowner’s insurance policy (HO-3) or condo policy (HO-6) in Lee and Collier Counties automatically paid up to $100,000 or $300,000 when a family dog bit a guest or neighbor. Today, Florida’s property insurance market is a completely different landscape.

Because I have held an active Florida Real Estate Broker license for 25 years alongside my personal injury practice, I review residential insurance policies and HOA disclosures all the time. Most homeowners in Bonita Springs have no idea that tucked into the back of their policy renewal is an endorsement that strips away coverage for their pet. Currently, Florida property insurers use three common restrictions:

1. Blanket Animal Liability Exclusions: Many surplus-lines carriers and private insurers operating in Southwest Florida now insert a total “Canine Exclusion” or “Animal Liability Exclusion” into the policy. If that endorsement is attached, the homeowner’s policy pays $0 if any dog—even a ten-pound spaniel—bites a visitor or knocks an elderly neighbor down.
2. Restricted Breed Blacklists: Other insurers cover dogs generally, but explicitly exclude any injury caused by a full or mixed-breed Pit Bull (Staffordshire Terrier), Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Doberman Pinscher, Chow Chow, Akita, Presa Canario, Cane Corso, Husky, or Wolf-hybrid.
3. Hidden Sub-Limits ($10,000 to $25,000 Caps): Even when a policy says it carries $300,000 in personal liability (Coverage E), insurers frequently hide a special sub-limit endorsement capping animal-related injuries at $10,000 or $25,000.

This is the number one reason you should never try to handle a neighbor dog bite informally over the fence. If your neighbor assumes their homeowner’s insurance will pay your NCH Bonita Springs Emergency Department bills, and they call their insurer on their own only to receive a coverage denial letter based on a breed exclusion, both you and your neighbor are suddenly stuck in an awkward financial bind.

How Does Our Firm Find Money for Your Medical Bills When a Policy Has an Exclusion?

When a standard homeowner’s policy contains a dog exclusion, most people assume there is no insurance money available without suing their friend out of pocket. That is where 30+ years of investigating Southwest Florida premises liability claims makes the difference. Before you ever worry about conflict with your neighbor, our office investigates five separate avenues of insurance coverage:

• No-Fault Medical Payments Coverage (“MedPay” / Coverage F): Even when liability coverage is disputed, many policies carry $1,000 to $5,000 in no-fault MedPay coverage designed to reimburse immediate emergency room copays and stitches without proving fault. Sometimes animal exclusions apply only to Coverage E (Liability) and leave Coverage F intact, depending on the exact policy language.
• Standalone Canine Liability Policies & Florida’s New $100,000 Mandate: Because homeowner’s insurers exclude so many breeds, many responsible pet owners—and many gated communities in Bonita Springs and Estero—require residents to carry a separate, standalone canine liability policy. Furthermore, under Florida’s Pam Rock Act (amending Florida Statute § 767.12), any owner whose dog has previously been classified as “Dangerous” is legally required to maintain at least $100,000 in dedicated liability insurance specifically covering dog bite injuries.
• Personal Umbrella Policies: Many homeowners in communities like Bonita Bay, Pelican Landing, and Spanish Wells carry a $1 million or $2 million personal umbrella policy that sits on top of their primary home and auto coverage. An umbrella policy sometimes provides broader “drop-down” coverage even when the underlying homeowner’s carrier attempts to deny the claim.
• Commercial Landlord or Property Management Insurance: If your neighbor rents their home or condo, and the landlord or property manager knew a dangerous dog was living on the premises and failed to enforce lease rules, the landlord’s commercial general liability policy may be on the hook.
• HOA or Condominium Association Master Policies: If the bite happened on a community sidewalk, dog park, clubhouse walkway, or common area maintained by an HOA or condo board that failed to enforce its own leash or pet rules, the association’s master commercial policy can provide coverage.

How Does Florida’s Pam Rock Act Affect Your Neighbor and Their Dog?

One of the biggest reasons victims hesitate to report a bite or call a lawyer is fear that Lee County or Collier County authorities will confiscate their neighbor’s dog and put it down. To give you an accurate answer, you need to understand how The Pam Rock Act (CS/HB 593)—which took effect on July 1, 2025 and overhauled Chapter 767, Florida Statutes—actually works.

Named after Pamela Rock, a 61-year-old U.S. mail carrier fatally mauled by five dogs in Putnam County after her mail truck broke down, the Pam Rock Act is breed-neutral. It does not target dogs based on what they look like; it targets specific behavior and bite severity using the standardized Dr. Ian Dunbar Dog Bite Scale (Levels 1 through 6):

1. Routine First-Time Bites (Dunbar Levels 1 to 4): If your neighbor’s dog has never been declared dangerous and inflicts a shallow puncture or moderate bite (Levels 1–4, such as one to four punctures from a single bite without severe mauling), Lee County Domestic Animal Services or Collier County Domestic Animal Services does not euthanize the dog. Reporting the bite simply triggers a mandatory 10-day rabies observation quarantine under Florida Administrative Code Rule 64D-3.040, which is usually completed right inside your neighbor’s own home so you can avoid painful and expensive rabies shots.
2. Severe Maulings (Dunbar Levels 5 and 6): Under the Pam Rock Act, if a dog kills a person or leaves a bite mark that scores Level 5 or higher on the Dunbar Bite Scale (multiple deep-bite incidents with at least two Level 4 deep punctures, or fatal injuries), Animal Control is legally required to immediately confiscate and impound the dog pending investigation and any hearing or appeal.
3. Requirements If a Dog Is Classified as “Dangerous”: If an investigation determines a dog aggressively bit or attacked a person unprovoked and classifies the dog as “Dangerous” under Florida Statute § 767.12, the owner can keep their dog (unless the attack caused severe injury or death), but must meet strict statewide rules: register the dog on Florida’s statewide Dangerous Dog Registry, permanently microchip the dog (removing the chip is now a third-degree felony), spay or neuter the animal, keep it in a locked enclosure or muzzled on a leash in public, and carry at least $100,000 in dog liability insurance.

Because the law draws a clear line between an ordinary accidental bite and a severe Level 5/6 mauling, you do not have to hide a routine bite injury from your doctor out of fear that your neighbor will lose their family pet.

Why Your Own Health Insurance Forces the Issue Anyway

Even if you tell your neighbor, “I’ll just put the hospital visit on my own health insurance and we’ll forget this ever happened,” the insurance companies will not let it drop.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 1 in 5 dog bites becomes infected with deep bacteria such as Pasteurella or Capnocytophaga. When you walk into NCH Bonita Springs Emergency Department on South Tamiami Trail, Lee Health Coconut Point, or Gulf Coast Medical Center with a dog bite to your hand, wrist, or leg, the hospital staff is required to enter a specific medical billing code for a dog bite (ICD-10 code W54.0XXA).

The moment that billing code hits your BlueCross, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, or Medicare plan, your health insurer’s subrogation department flags the file. Under Florida Statute § 768.76, your health insurer has a statutory right to be paid back by any liability insurance covering the incident. Within weeks, your health insurance company will mail you a form demanding the name and address of the dog’s owner so they can pursue your neighbor’s homeowner’s policy themselves.

That gives you an easy, honest way to talk to your neighbor without a hint of hostility: “Because the hospital coded this as a dog bite, my health insurance company requires the homeowner’s policy information to process the bills. Let’s turn it over to the insurance companies and let them handle what they’re paid to do.”

4 Steps to Protect Your Health and Your Friendship After a Bite

1. Get Same-Day Medical Care and Photograph the Wound: Go straight to a local emergency room or urgent care so the puncture wounds are irrigated, treated with antibiotics, and recorded in your clinical chart under Florida Statute § 90.803(4). Take clear photos of the bite before it is bandaged and save any torn clothing.
2. Confirm Rabies Vaccinations Right Away: Ask your neighbor for a copy of their vet’s rabies vaccination certificate and make sure a routine report is logged with Lee County or Collier County Domestic Animal Services. Without verified vaccination records, emergency room doctors must administer Rabies Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) shots, which routinely bill between $10,000 and $25,000.
3. Ask for the Declarations Page—Do Not Guess About Coverage: Politely ask your neighbor for the declarations page of their homeowner’s, renter’s, umbrella, or canine liability policy so our office can inspect the exact endorsements and check whether an animal or breed exclusion is attached.
4. Refuse Recorded Statements From the Insurance Adjuster: If an insurance adjuster calls you, politely decline to give a recorded statement. Adjusters are trained to get you to say you reached over a fence, stepped onto the property uninvited, or startled the dog—trying to pin more than 50% of the blame on you under Florida’s modified comparative fault statute (Florida Statute § 768.81) or invoke the “Bad Dog” sign defense under Florida Statute § 767.04 so they can pay nothing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if my neighbor’s homeowner’s insurance policy completely excludes dog bites or their dog’s breed?

Do not assume you are out of luck based on an adjuster’s verbal denial. Insurance companies routinely deny claims hoping you will walk away without reading the policy. Our office demands the complete certified policy—including all endorsements—to verify whether the exclusion was properly issued, whether no-fault Medical Payments (MedPay) coverage still applies, or whether coverage exists under a standalone canine liability policy, a personal umbrella policy, a landlord’s policy, or an HOA master policy.

How did the 2025 Pam Rock Act change Florida’s dog bite laws?

Effective July 1, 2025, the Pam Rock Act (CS/HB 593) amended Chapter 767, Florida Statutes, to create a statewide Dangerous Dog Registry, require owners of declared dangerous dogs to carry at least $100,000 in liability insurance, require microchipping (making microchip removal a third-degree felony), and mandate immediate confiscation and impoundment by animal control whenever a dog inflicts a severe bite scoring Level 5 or Level 6 on the Dunbar Bite Scale or causes a fatality.

Will reporting a minor dog bite in Bonita Springs get my neighbor’s dog put down?

No. For a first-time bite that scores below Level 5 on the Dunbar Bite Scale, Lee County Domestic Animal Services will not euthanize your neighbor’s pet. Under Florida Statute § 767.12, reporting an ordinary bite simply verifies the dog’s rabies vaccination status and triggers a 10-day health observation period, which is almost always conducted right at your neighbor’s home.

How long do I have to file a dog bite injury claim in Florida?

Under Florida Statute § 95.11, you have two years from the date of the dog bite to file a personal injury lawsuit in Florida. However, because insurance companies invoke policy exclusions and comparative fault defenses quickly, you should have an attorney review the insurance policies and medical records right away.

Let Our Bonita Springs Office Review the Insurance Policies for Free

You should never have to drain your own family’s savings to pay for emergency room care, hand surgery, or scar revision just to avoid an uncomfortable conversation with a neighbor. When you call Pittman Law Firm, P.L., we act as a professional buffer between you and the insurance company. We review the homeowner’s, umbrella, and HOA policies, determine whether any breed or animal exclusions apply, and deal directly with the insurance adjusters so you can focus on healing and keeping the peace on your street.

At our firm, you are never handed off to a case manager or lost in a high-volume system—we treat every client like family, and you work directly with me and our team. Visit our main office in Bonita Springs at Windsor Place (3525 Bonita Beach Rd, Suite 107, Bonita Springs, FL 34134), call us today at 239-992-8259, or contact us online for a free, confidential consultation. You pay no fees or costs unless we recover money for you.

About the Author

David B. Pittman, Esq. is the founder of Pittman Law Firm, P.L. in Bonita Springs, Florida. A graduate of The Citadel and the University of South Carolina School of Law, Mr. Pittman has spent more than 30 years representing injured victims and families across Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Naples, Estero, Cape Coral, and Lehigh Acres. He holds an AV-Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, is a lifetime member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and has held an active Florida Real Estate Broker license for 25 years—giving him first-hand knowledge of how Florida homeowner’s policies, animal liability exclusions, and HOA insurance coverages are written and enforced across Southwest Florida.

Legal Disclaimer

The information provided in this blog post is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute formal legal advice for any individual case or situation. Reading this content or contacting Pittman Law Firm, P.L. through this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every dog bite and insurance coverage claim turns on its own specific facts and policy language, and prior case results or settlements do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter. If you or your child has been injured in an animal attack in Florida, you should consult directly with a qualified personal injury attorney regarding your legal rights and statutory deadlines.