Dog Bite
If you were bitten by a dog and suffered an injury, Erskine Law can help you pursue your dog bite lawsuit.
Dog bite lawsuits involve dog bite attacks on your property, public property, and/or on the property of the dog owner, so long as you were lawfully on the property.
Michigan has specific dog bite laws for victims of dog bite attacks. MCL 287.351 is Michigan’s dog bite statute, which holds the owner or custodian of the biting dog strictly liable for the attack, regardless of the dog’s prior behavior or the owner’s knowledge of the dog having any tendency to bite. Strict liability means that the owner or custodian is automatically liable if the conditions of the statute are satisfied.
If the dog bite occurred on another individual’s or entity’s property, you must be lawfully on the property at the time of the dog bite incident to satisfy the statutory requirements. Being lawfully on the property means that you were a guest of the property, or on the property for a business purpose. This includes contractors, couriers, delivery persons, salespersons, or other persons providing services or maintenance on the property.
Insurance companies and defense attorneys often try to avoid or deny liability by using the “provocation defense.” This is a legal defense used to argue that the dog bite victim took some action directed toward the dog to cause the dog to react and bite. The provocation can be either intentional or unintentional. However, the reaction of the dog must be proportionate to the alleged provocation.
Other dog-related injuries that did not result in a bite are not subject to strict liability. For example, an off-leash dog that chases you and causes you to trip and fall, resulting in a broken limb would proceed as a standard personal injury case against the negligent dog owner.
Dog bite and dog-related injury cases are very fact-specific. Your personal injury attorney will analyze the facts and circumstances surrounding and leading up to the incident to determine the strengths of your lawsuit.