Not every dog bite is the same, and the severity of the bite directly affects how much compensation you can recover. Medical professionals and attorneys use a classification system called the Dunbar Dog Bite Scale. It rates bites from Level 1 through Level 6 based on wound depth, quantity, and severity.
Knowing where your injury falls on this scale puts you in a better position to evaluate what your claim may be worth. This guide explains each dog bite level and the settlement ranges associated with each, with a focus on how Nevada law shapes what you can actually recover.
What Is the Dunbar Dog Bite Scale?
The Dunbar Dog Bite Scale is a six-level classification system developed by veterinary behaviorist Dr. Ian Dunbar. It was originally designed to assess bite severity for canine behavioral evaluation, but attorneys and insurance adjusters now use it as a framework for evaluating dog bite settlement amounts.
The scale classifies bites based on two factors: whether and how deeply the teeth penetrated the skin, and how many wounds were inflicted. Level 1 is the lowest, covering aggressive behavior with no physical contact. Level 6 is the highest, covering fatal attacks.
Most dog bite claims that result in legal action fall at Levels 3 and 4. The injuries at those levels are serious enough to generate meaningful medical costs and lost wages but do not involve the catastrophic outcomes associated with Levels 5 and 6.
The scale does not determine your settlement on its own. It provides a starting point for evaluating the physical severity of the injury, which is then combined with factors like surgical intervention, scarring, the victim’s age, and the legal framework in the state where the bite occurred.
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Levels 1 and 2: Aggressive Behavior and Nipping Contact
Level 1 and Level 2 on the Dunbar Scale involve no puncture wounds and minimal or no physical injury. They are grouped together here because the settlement analysis for both is similar: recovery is limited unless special circumstances apply.
A Level 1 incident is not technically a bite at all. The dog displays aggressive behavior such as snarling, growling, lunging, or snapping its jaws without making contact with the victim’s skin. A Level 2 bite involves the dog’s teeth touching or pressing against the skin without breaking it.
The result may be light bruising, red marks, or shallow scratches that heal within days.
Because the physical injuries at these levels are minor or nonexistent, the medical expenses that drive most personal injury settlements are typically small. Insurance companies assign low values to claims without documented treatment costs. However, there are exceptions.
Exceptions include cases involving young children, cases where the aggressive behavior causes documented psychological harm such as anxiety or a lasting fear of dogs, and cases where the owner’s conduct was reckless.
In Nevada, these claims face an additional hurdle. The victim must still show the owner failed to act reasonably, which can be difficult when the physical harm is minimal. A leash-law violation under Clark County Code § 10.36.040 can satisfy that burden.
Level 3: Shallow Puncture Wounds
Level 3 is the first level on the Dunbar Scale where the dog’s teeth break the skin. A Level 3 bite involves one to four puncture wounds from a single bite, with none of the punctures penetrating deeper than approximately half the length of the dog’s canine tooth.
These injuries typically require a visit to an emergency room or urgent care clinic for wound cleaning and closure with stitches or adhesive strips, followed by a course of antibiotics to prevent infection. Tetanus status is evaluated, and if the dog’s vaccination history cannot be verified, rabies post-exposure protocol may be necessary.
Treatment costs at this level range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand depending on the number of wounds and whether complications develop.
Settlement values for Level 3 bites generally fall between $5,000 and $25,000. Cases at the lower end involve clean healing with no lasting marks. Cases at the upper end involve visible scarring, infection complications, or bites to the face or hands.
Scarring is the factor that most often pushes a Level 3 claim above the midpoint of that range, because the scar outlasts the medical bills and carries its own non-economic value.
Level 3 is where most dog bite claims in Las Vegas begin to have meaningful legal value, and it is also where the question of owner negligence controls whether you can recover compensation.
Level 4: Deep Puncture Wounds
A Level 4 bite penetrates deeper than half the length of the dog’s canine tooth and typically involves bruising or tearing caused by the dog clamping down and shaking its head. These cases carry significant value in Nevada because the medical costs alone often justify litigation.
The medical treatment at this level goes well beyond wound cleaning. Deep puncture wounds frequently require surgical debridement to remove damaged tissue and repair torn muscle or fascia, with reconstruction of the wound site in more severe cases. Nerve damage in the hands, arms, or face is common at Level 4, and physical therapy is often needed to restore function after the wound heals.
Infection risk is elevated because the depth of the puncture pushes bacteria deep into the tissue where surface cleaning cannot reach.
Settlement values for Level 4 bites typically fall between $25,000 and $75,000 for cases involving surgical treatment and documented recovery time. When the bite causes permanent scarring to the face, permanent nerve damage, or reduced mobility in a hand or limb, settlements can exceed $100,000.
Children bitten at Level 4 consistently receive higher settlements because of the longer duration of the scar’s impact and the severity of the psychological harm relative to the child’s age.
Level 4 is the threshold where insurers start treating dog bite claims as serious. It is also where Nevada’s negligence requirement matters most, because the medical costs and non-economic damages at this level justify the time and expense of litigation. An owner who allowed a dog with known aggressive tendencies to interact with visitors without restraint has a difficult case to defend.
Levels 5 and 6: Severe Mauling and Fatal Attacks
Level 5 on the Dunbar Scale involves a sustained attack with multiple bites, at least two of which qualify as Level 4. These are mauling incidents that produce extensive tissue damage, deep lacerations across multiple body areas, and injuries that often require emergency surgery.
Victims frequently face reconstructive procedures and long-term physical rehabilitation, along with treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
The injuries at Level 5 are life-altering. Permanent disfigurement, loss of function in a hand or limb, chronic nerve pain, and severe psychological harm are all documented outcomes.
Settlement values for Level 5 cases can exceed $150,000. That number climbs significantly higher if the victim is a child, if the attack causes permanent disability, or if the owner knew about the animal’s dangerous behavior and did nothing.
Level 6 is a fatal attack. These cases are pursued as wrongful death claims on behalf of the victim’s surviving family members. Recoverable damages include funeral and burial costs, loss of financial support, loss of companionship, and the emotional suffering of surviving dependents.
Wrongful death settlements in dog bite cases can reach into the millions of dollars depending on the victim’s age, family structure, and the strength of the evidence against the owner.
At both levels, Nevada’s NRS 202.500 becomes relevant. If the dog had been previously designated as dangerous or vicious by animal control, the owner faces strict liability for any subsequent attack. That designation, combined with the severity of the injuries, gives the victim’s attorney a direct path to liability without needing to prove general negligence.
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How Nevada Law Affects Dog Bite Settlements
How much of those settlement ranges you actually see depends on Nevada’s legal framework, which works differently from most states. Most states impose strict liability on dog owners, meaning the owner is automatically responsible for bite injuries regardless of the dog’s history. Nevada does not follow that rule.
Instead, Nevada requires the victim to prove the owner was negligent under NRS 41.130.
Bite level alone does not determine liability in Nevada. A Level 4 bite with $40,000 in medical bills produces no recovery if the victim cannot show the owner did something wrong. That proof can come through several paths. The most common is a violation of Clark County Code § 10.36.040, which requires all dogs to be leashed when off the owner’s property.
When an unleashed dog bites someone, the leash-law violation constitutes negligence per se, establishing fault as a matter of law without needing to prove the dog had a history of aggression.
The second path is the common-law dangerous-propensity standard. If the owner knew or should have known the dog was aggressive based on prior incidents, complaints to animal control, or documented behavioral problems, that knowledge supports a negligence claim even if no leash law was violated.
Nevada’s modified comparative negligence rule under NRS 41.141 also affects the settlement amount. If the owner argues you provoked the dog or were trespassing, and a jury assigns you more than 50 percent of the fault, you recover nothing. Even partial fault reduces the final amount proportionally. Insurance companies raise these arguments frequently in dog bite cases, particularly when the victim was interacting with the dog voluntarily.
One practical detail that applies across all bite levels: the claim is almost always paid by the owner’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy, not by the owner personally. That policy is where the money comes from, which is why filing a claim against a neighbor or a friend’s dog is less confrontational than it may feel.
What Should You Do After a Dog Bite in Las Vegas?
Seek medical attention the same day regardless of how minor the bite appears. Emergency rooms and urgent care clinics across Las Vegas and Clark County treat dog bite wounds regularly.
Even shallow puncture wounds carry a high risk of infection, and complications can develop quickly. The medical record created at that visit ties your injuries to the bite and prevents the insurance company from arguing they developed later or came from another source.
Report the bite to Clark County Animal Control. The report creates an official record of the incident, triggers verification of the dog’s vaccination status, and surfaces any prior bite history the dog may have. That history is how your attorney establishes the prior-aggression factor that strengthens your claim under Nevada’s negligence framework.
Photograph your wounds on the day of the bite and at regular intervals throughout the healing process. A scar’s final appearance is how attorneys and insurers assess this component of your claim, so a photographic record from day one through scar maturity gives your attorney the documentation needed to prove the full extent of the disfigurement.
Identify the dog, the owner, and the address where the dog is kept. If the owner rents the property, note the landlord or property management company as well, because landlord liability may apply when the landlord knew a dangerous dog was on the premises. Do not give a recorded statement to the owner’s insurance company before speaking with a dog bite lawyer in Las Vegas.
Nevada gives you two years from the date of the bite to file a lawsuit under NRS 11.190(4)(e), so starting the process early protects both your evidence and your legal deadline.
How Drummond Law Firm Can Help
Drummond Law Firm handles dog bite injury cases at every severity level throughout Las Vegas and Clark County. Whether your case involves a Level 3 puncture wound or a Level 5 mauling, the firm’s approach starts with identifying the strongest liability path under Nevada law and building the evidence to support it.
Attorney Craig Drummond, a former U.S. Army Captain and Bronze Star recipient, brings more than 15 years of trial experience to personal injury cases across Nevada. His team has recovered tens of millions of dollars for clients and is prepared to take your case to trial if the insurance company refuses to offer fair compensation.
The firm’s Reduced Fee Guarantee® ensures the attorney fee will not exceed the client’s net recovery, and you will not pay a fee unless the firm wins your case. If you or a family member was bitten by a dog in Las Vegas, call (702) 366-9966 for a free consultation to discuss your claim and find out where it falls on the settlement scale.
