dog bite

What is the name of your state?washington
i will try to be as concise as possible.
i was on my morning run and a pitbull chased me but did not attack me.
i talked to the owner(resident of the home at which the dog resided) later that day and let him know that his dog was loose and aggressive. he said he would be sure the animal was contained.
i figure its taken care of. i go on my run the next day.when i near the dogs yard not only is the dog off its leash but the front gate is wide open. on this day the dog attacks me.i was able to fend the dog off with my knife but not before he made mince meat out of my finger.
i called animal control and an ambulance .the owner arrived shortly after the animal control guy.when i talked to the owner about my injury i let him know that i wasnt interested in raking him over the coals but that there would be expenses incured that he would have to pay.at which point he said"well i dont actually own the dog i was going to buy it but not now the owner will have to pay you"
in the end i had to go to the hospital pay for medication and miscelaneous items for the care of my wound and miss two days of work.
the animal control guy says the criminal burden falls the guy who says he was planning to buy the dog as he was the custodian of the dog.
i plan to talk to this guy again and try to work something out with him but if he gives me the lame"it wasnt my dog "balony what should i do?

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Why bother? He has already told you the direction he's going with this, and anything else done on your part to convince him otherwise would only be argumentative.

That's why we have Small Claims court. Let him do his talking in court. That way the judge, and everyone in the peanut gallery, the bailiff and yourself can laugh when he uses that stupid excuse.

IAAL

i live in a bad neighborhood the"custodian"of the dog is poor,i dont suppose someone such as him will ever consider buying a car or house or having a credit card.
in washington state i believe the best you can do if you win in small claims court and the deffendant does not pay is to send the debt to collections and notify credit agencys.
i dont even know if this is viable question im just feeling stuck.

my mother insisted i ask more questions.

these people rent their home.could it be possible that the actual homeowner has insurance for this sort of thing and could be held liable?

the "custodian"as named in the police report is not the person who is on the lease at the house.should i go after the "custodian" as named in the police report or the person on the lease.

so i guess in general what im asking is who can i sue? if there are multiple answers to this question what are the pros and cons of each.

Hire an Attorney that handles dog bite cases. He will find out who is best to go after. Most likely both the home owner and the tenet. Settlements on a case like this usually average around 10k to 15k

[stephenk]

ignore db cooper.

the problem you face is that the homeowner has a strong defense in that the renter temporarily had the dog at the property while he considered buying it. I doubt the homeowner even knew the dog was on the property.

But you can still make a claim against the homeowner's insurance carrier, if there is a policy on the house. Don't be surprised when your claim is denied.

your strongest claim is against the renter who had the dog.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Fortunately, none of us need be concerned about D B Cooper any longer. It's been kicked off the forums, right along with all the bad spelling.

IAAL

[cmorris]

My understanding is that when a person rents, they need renter's insurance...I rent right now while in school. I have an indoor cat and had to get renter's insurance. The apartment manager was afraid the cat may bite a maintenance man, even though my cat has yet to bite anyone. But it's a good idea anyway. I agree the homeowner's insurance would likely be denied, but it can't hurt.

thanks for the responses.
whats the deal with this d.b. cooper?