We Specialize in Michigan's Dog Bite Law
CALL US TODAY AT 248-850-5824
OR CONTACT US ONLINE!
What are the Possible Dog Bite Causes of Action in Michigan?
Statutory
Common-Law Strict Liability
MCL 287.288 preserves common law dog bite actions
Common-Law Negligence
What Do You Need to Prove Against a Dog Owner Under the Michigan Dog Bite Statute?
The dog bit the plaintiff;
The biting was without provocation;
The defendant owned the dog;
Plaintiff was lawfully at the location where the incident occurred.
Keep in Mind -- Must be actual owner, and provocation is a fact for the jury!
What is Common Law Dog Bite Strict Liability in Michigan?
The theory is that whoever knowingly keeps an animal accustomed to attacking and injuring persons is prima facie liable to any person attacked and injured.
Here, you would need to prove that the owner or keeper KNEW of its vicious nature.
Usually would plead this when the dog was under the control of a keeper as opposed to the owner.
What is Common Law Dog Bite Negligence in Michigan?
- Without regard to knowledge of dog's dangerous propensities
- IF that person was negligent in failing to prevent:
- Foreseeable Harm
- AND negligence resulted in INJURY.
- If the defendant did know of the dangerous propensity, that knowledge does effect the degree of care is required.
- Not only for bite - also for injuries caused by being chased by or jumped on by a dog.
What if a Dog Bite Occurred in Custody of Temporary Caretaker (possessor) in Michigan?
Proof of negligent handling of the animal under the circumstances is required.
Common law negligence theory is only theory allowed.
Can you File a Dog Bite Premises Liability Claim in Michigan?
Possessor of land knows or has reason to know of the dog's dangerousness and should realize that the dog poses an unreasonable risk of harm to licensees.
Possessor of land fails to exercise reasonable care to make the condition safe or to warn licensees.
higher duty may be owed to child.
Licensees do not know or have reason to know of the condition and the risk involved.
Click here to see the case.
What's Michigan's Dog Bite Statute of Limitations?
Three years. MCL 600.5805(10).
Tolling for minority and insanity, see - MCL 600.5851(1).
What are the Jury Instructions in a Dog Bite Case?
"We have a state statute that provides that the owner of a dog that without provocation bites a person while that person is [on public property / lawfully on private property] is liable for any damages suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the previous viciousness of the dog or whether the owner knew of that viciousness."
Who is a Proper Plaintiff in a Michigan Dog Bite Lawsuit?
One who suffers damage or is personally injured; spouse, child, parent, or legal representative of that individual.
For a wrongful death action, the personal representative of the estate of the decedent who would have been able to recover if he or she had lived.
How Do I Prove Ownership of a Dog in Michigan?
Individual is either the:
registered owner; or
represents himself or herself as owner.
If the individual is not the owner, it should be determined whether he or she is the keeper or the temporary caretaker of the animal. The distinction will often be a fact question for the jury, depending on the degree of dominion the individual has over the animal.
Possession of an animal that is sufficient to give rise to keeper status, however, “cannot be fairly construed as anything short of the exercise of dominion and control similar to and in substitution for that which ordinarily would be exerted by the owner in possession.” Trager v Thor, 445 Mich 95, 103, 516 NW2d 69 (1994) (citing Hancock v Finch, 126 Conn 121, 123, 9 A2d 811 (1939)).
Is There Landlord Liability for a Dog Bite in Michigan?
- “[T]he only possible way that [a landowner] could be held liable on a common law theory would be if he knew of the dog’s vicious nature.” Szkodzinski v Griffin, 171 Mich App 711, 714, 431 NW2d 51 (1988).
- Thus, if premises liability action, look to landlord's knowledge of dangerous propensity at time of initialing letting the premises.
- Must occur on the landlord's property.
What are Defenses to a Michigan Dog Bite Lawsuit?
- Provocation
- Responding or reacting to the dog's vicious nature does not constitute provocation because the dog is already in a provoked state
- Comparative negligence if common law action
- That a dog barks, growls, jumps, circles, or approaches strangers in a somewhat threatening way is common canine behavior, and such behavior will ordinarily be insufficient to show that a dog is abnormally dangerous or unusually vicious. See Hiner v Mojica, 271 Mich App 604, 722 NW2d 914 (2006); Kirkman v Ellis, No 318406, 2016 Mich App LEXIS 2536 (Dec 18, 2014) (unpublished).
More Defenses:
- Statutory:
- Dog was provoked;
- Defendant is not owner;
- Plaintiff was not lawfully on defendant's premises when attack occurred.
- Common-Law:
- Defendant did not have prior knowledge of the animal's propensity or temperament
- Plaintiff was comparatively negligent
- Dog was provoked
- Defendant is not owner, keeper, or possessor
- Plaintiff was not lawfully on defendant's premises when attack occurred.
BUYER BEWARE! Plaintiff may be entitled to a rebuttable presumption of negligence where the owner allows a dog off leash, in violation of MCL 287.262, and that dog causes injury.