Dog bites – (248) 588-3333 – Michigan dog bite statute
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Michigan dog bite statute
Dog bites in Michigan are governed by the Michigan dig bite statute. Furthermore, Michigan uses a strict liability standard when determining dog bite liability. Strict liability means that the dog’s owner can be liable even if they were not aware of any tendency towards aggression or other warning that a bite was imminent. If your dog bites someone, you can be liable even if that dog has never bitten anyone before. All other dog related injuries are based on a negligence standard (discussed in detail in an earlier chapter).
The Michigan dog bite statute also lays out some exceptions to the strict liability standard. In order to sue for a dog bite injury, the following conditions must be met:
- The defendant actually owned the dog that made the bite
- The bite was the direct cause of the injury
- The victim of the bite must not have provoked the dog, otherwise the owner is not liable.
- The victim was either in a public place, or a private place where they were legally allowed to be (basically a castle doctrine/stand your ground standard for dog bites).
In other words, reckless provokers and trespassers may not sue for dog bite injuries arising from their actions.
“Trespassing” specifically means that the person lacked the legal authorization to be at that location. Keep in mind that such authorization can exist even if you did not have the property owner’s permission to be there. Police officers, fire fighters, owners of personal property or livestock, there are numerous examples of situations where someone can be present on another’s property without trespassing. This makes it rather crucial for the bite victim to have a lawyer to help discover useful facts like this.
Provocation can include unintentional acts (such as accidentally stepping on the dog’s tail). However, hitting the dog in response to the dog attacking another person or animal is not provocation because the dog was already aggressive.
The Text of the Dog Bite Statute
A helpful reference in case you need to cite the statute for a dog bite case.
LIABILITY OF OWNER FOR DOG BITE (EXCERPT)
Act 73 of 1939
287.351 Person bitten by dog; liability of owner.
Sec. 1.
(1) If a dog bites a person, without provocation while the person is on public property, or lawfully on private property, including the property of the owner of the dog, the owner of the dog shall be liable for any damages suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of such viciousness.
(2) A person is lawfully on the private property of the owner of the dog within the meaning of this act if the person is on the owner’s property in the performance of any duty imposed upon him or her by the laws of this state or by the laws or postal regulations of the United States, or if the person is on the owner’s property as an invitee or licensee of the person lawfully in possession of the property unless said person has gained lawful entry upon the premises for the purpose of an unlawful or criminal act.
History: 1939, Act 73, Imd. Eff. May 4, 1939 ;– CL 1948, 287.351 ;– Am. 1988, Act 142, Eff. Mar. 30, 1989
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