The number of reported dog bites in Hawai'i has steadily increased in recent years to more than 1,000 annually, raising the potential that more lawsuits will be filed against dog owners. Dog bite lawsuits have generated awards and out-of-court settlements in Hawai'i of more than $350,000. A pending suit in Kaua'i courts by relatives of a 1-year-old boy killed by a dog could result in an award of more than $1 million.
The parents' lawyers will try to establish what many lawyers say underlie dog-bite cases: There are no bad dogs, just people whose mistreatment of their animals makes them vicious.