There are two types of legal protection available under Michigan’s dog bite law. First, there is the scope for initiating a legal action under MI dog bite statute. Second, a legal action for dog bite can be brought under Michigan common law. Under Michigan law, people who are the victims of unprovoked dog bites are entitled to impose liability on the owner of the dog. There is no “free bite rule” in Michigan; therefore, it is immaterial if the dog has never bitten any other person. Victims of dog bite or attack injury may also have the right to recover damages from the owner of a dog. Think about consulting a Michigan dog bite attorney. A Michigan dog bite lawyer, who is experienced in dog bite cases, can help you to get the compensation you are entitled to obtain for your economic losses as well as for your pain and suffering. Michigan dog bite attorneys can also explain relevant laws to you.
Dog bite statute of Michigan
Michigan holds the owner of a dog strictly liable for dog bites. As per the dog bite statute of Michigan, if a person is bitten by a dog, without any provocation while the person is lawfully on a private property including the property of dog’s owner or public property, the dog’s owner shall be made responsible for the damages suffered by the person bitten, without reference to the previous viciousness of the dog or knowledge of the owner about the viciousness of the dog. As per the statute “a person is lawfully on the private property of the dog’s owner” shall mean that the person is on the owner’s property to perform any duty assigned to him/her by a law of the state or U.S. postal service, or if the person is on the property of the owner of the dog as an invited guest, client or customer of the person who lawfully possess the property. Such damages are not obtainable to a person who secures lawful entry to the properties for committing a criminal or unlawful act or the victim is a trespasser to the dog owner’s property.
Since provocation is not required to be intentional, defendants often use provocation as a defense in statutory dog bite law suits. For instance, if a child tries to take some foods away from a hungry dog, it may not intend to provoke the dog; however, you may see that the defense attorney will narrate the child’s acts as provocation.
Michigan common law
If a person who owns or possess a dog knows or has reason to know that the dog is vicious or malicious, compared to other dogs, Michigan common law provides remedy for the victims of dog bite or attack. The owner of a vicious or malicious dog is strictly liable for the harm it causes to the victims, even though the dog owner has exercised the utmost care to prevent it from doing the harm. Comparative negligence applies to such recovery of damages, which implies that a plaintiff’s negligence may be used to reduce the damages recovered from an injury by a dog bite or attack in proportion to the comparative fault of the parties.