On the morning of Monday, October 5, 2026, a cyclist riding on the East Drive in Central Park, near 84th Street, collided with a dog that ran onto the roadway, according to a preliminary police report described by Streetsblog NYC, which reported that the dog was off-leash. He fell, suffered head and body injuries, and, tragically, died at the hospital. The dog's owner stayed at the scene.
We do not know all the facts, and nothing here is a comment on anyone involved. But the crash brings to mind an earlier Central Park case, and how differently New York's highest court now treats injuries caused by dogs.
The Old Rule: Only "Vicious" Dogs
For almost two decades, the Court of Appeals followed its 2006 decision in Bard v Jahnke, which "held that there can be no common-law negligence liability when a domestic animal causes harm" (Flanders v Goodfellow, 44 NY3d 57, 60 [2025], describing Bard). Under that rule, an injured person generally had to prove that the owner knew or should have known that the animal had "vicious propensities."
In 2015, the court applied that rule to a Central Park case. As one judge's concurring opinion described the facts, two people were with an unleashed dog near the park's bicycle loop road at about 7 a.m. As a cyclist approached, one of them bent down, clapped her hands on her knees, and allegedly called the dog over. The cyclist hit the dog and "was thrown from his bike, resulting in significant injuries." The court held that Bard "constrains us to reject plaintiffs' negligence causes of action" (Doerr v Goldsmith, 25 NY3d 1114, 1116-1117 [2015]).
What the Court of Appeals Did in 2025
In April 2025, in Flanders v Goodfellow, the Court of Appeals unanimously overruled its own earlier decision: "we overrule Bard to the extent that it bars negligence liability for harm caused by domestic animals" (44 NY3d at 60). The case involved a postal carrier who was handing a package to a homeowner when the family's dog slipped past him through the open door and bit her shoulder.
An injured person now has two possible paths, and may use both:
- Strict liability, as before. An owner who knows or should know of an animal's "vicious propensities will be held strictly liable for harm caused as a result of those propensities" (id.).
- Ordinary negligence. Injured people can now "rely on rules of ordinary negligence and seek to prove that the defendant failed to exercise due care under the circumstances that caused their injury" (id. at 72).
Because Flanders is still fairly new, only a few appellate decisions have applied it so far, and they do not yet show how the courts will treat many situations like the ones below. That is why we say a court "may" see things a certain way.
What Carelessness May Look Like
The question is whether the owner used due care under the circumstances. Facts that may matter include whether the dog was leashed where the locality's rules require it, whether the owner kept control of it, and whether the owner let it out an open door or called it across a path or road.
Leash rules can be part of that picture. The city's Health Department says, "Dogs in public must be on a leash no more than 6 feet long" (NYC Health Department). In city parks, dogs must be leashed "at all times, except in dog runs" and in designated off-leash areas during set hours, which in some parks run until 9:00 a.m. and start again at 9:00 p.m. (NYC Parks).
Breaking a local rule does not automatically make someone liable. As the Court of Appeals has explained, "violation of a municipal ordinance constitutes only evidence of negligence" (Elliott v City of New York, 95 NY2d 730, 734 [2001]).
Fault can also be shared. A dog bite, or a fall caused by a dog, is not a motor vehicle case, so the 2026 rule that bars people who are more at fault than the people they sue in motor vehicle cases does not apply (CPLR 1411(b)). Under the general rule, an injured person's own fault "shall not bar recovery," but it reduces the damages in proportion (CPLR 1411(a)). Our post on comparative negligence in bicycle accidents explains more.
Who Pays?
A lawsuit is brought against the person responsible, here the dog's owner. If the owner has insurance that covers the claim, the insurance company may be first in line to pay a settlement or judgment, up to the policy's limits. That leaves the question: what insurance pays when a dog hurts someone? The answer may come as a surprise to many. It may be the owner's homeowner's or renter's policy. According to the state Department of Financial Services, homeowners policies "typically insure you for your personal liability when another person suffers bodily injury or property damage as a result of your negligence," and "[g]enerally, you will also be protected if one of your pets injures someone." But "if you have a dog that is considered a dangerous animal . . . the company may exclude coverage for that pet" (DFS). Policies differ, so the policy's own words control.
If the owner has no insurance, the owner's personal assets may still be reachable. In our experience, though, collecting through an insurance company is easier.
The same kind of coverage may protect you if your own dog hurts someone. The Department of Financial Services says a basic renter's policy "costs about $300 a year for around $50,000 worth of property protection" (DFS), and its consumer guide advises, "Make sure that the policy has liability coverage" (DFS guide).
What to Do If a Dog Hurts You
- Get medical care, and follow your doctor's advice.
- If you were bitten, report it. The Health Department says, "Report all animal bites. To report a bite, call 311 or visit nyc.gov/health and search 'report animal bite'" (NYC Health Department).
- Get the owner's name, address, and phone number, and write down a description of the dog.
- If your medical condition allows, photograph the place where it happened, and write down the names and phone numbers of witnesses.
- Look for cameras on nearby buildings, stores, and doorbells. Video can be recorded over in a matter of weeks; see our Decision Day entry on Fernandez v Port Authority.
- Talk to a lawyer early. The general deadline to sue for a personal injury is three years (CPLR 214(5)). In some circumstances, your time to act may be much shorter.
If you were hurt by someone's dog, contact The Eskesen Law Firm for a free consultation. Calls are answered live 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Questions about your own accident?
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