Cap on Damages for Injuries to Pet Increases to $25,000
Buddy's Law Increases Limit on Pet Injuries to $25,000
Effective October 1, 2025, a new law, Buddy's Law, took effect increasing the cap on damages for an injury to a pet from $10,000 to $25,000. The law limits your recovery for an injury or death of a pet to $25,000 in economic losses. In the case of death, you can recover the fair market value of the pet since pets are considered personal property.
This means that if someone runs over your dog negligently, you can sue them for veterinarian bills up to $25,000. You cannot sue for the dog's pain and suffering because that is a noneconomic loss. Your recovery for economic losses cannot be greater than $25,000.
The same is true if a veterinarian commits malpractice in treating your pet. You can only recover up to $25,000.
Nonetheless, this is a substantial increase from the limit of $10,000. Any pet owner will tell you that vet bills are expensive especially if the pet needs surgery and is kept for several days.
