Dogs may be man’s best friend by reputation, but anyone who has ever been attacked by someone else’s pet knows how unfriendly a domesticated dog can be under the wrong circumstances. Fortunately, Michigan state law accounts for that unfortunate reality by placing a duty of care on dog owners to ensure their pets do not get the opportunity to bite and injure any other person or animal.
If you or your child were injured recently because a dog owner failed to fulfill that duty of care toward you, you should reach out to our Michigan dog bite lawyers for help pursuing legal action. Even though state law is generous in terms of the rights it gives you to sue over a dog bite injury, you may run into many stumbling blocks during a claim of this nature, and an experienced personal injury attorney’s guidance can be crucial to navigating effectively around them.
Strict Liability for Dog Bite Injuries
As per Michigan Compiled Laws § 287.351, dog owners are usually strictly liable for injuries and subsequent losses their dog causes to another person by biting them. This means that regardless of whether a dog owner made a reasonable effort to keep their dog contained on their own property or whether they had any knowledge of their dog’s aggressive tendencies beforehand, they may be considered responsible for medical bills, lost work income, personal property damage, physical pain, and all other losses stemming from their dog biting and injuring someone else.
If a dog injures another person by jumping on them, knocking them over, scratching them, or making aggressive contact with them in any other way besides biting, the dog’s owner can be held liable for ensuing injuries under traditional negligence theory. As our Michigan dog attack attorneys can explain in more detail, succeeding with this sort of claim requires the injured person to show that a specific reckless or careless act was the main and direct cause of their injuries.
How Comparative Fault Could Affect Recovery Efforts
Strict liability for dog bite injuries does not apply if a dog bites someone who was attacking or otherwise provoking them or if a dog bites someone who was illegally trespassing on their owner’s property. Under those circumstances, it may still be possible to sue for traditional negligence on the part of the dog’s owner, but the injured person would likely be assigned at least a portion of comparative fault for causing their own injuries through their misconduct.
In accordance with Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2959, a court overseeing that claim could reduce the total amount of money available to that plaintiff by that same percentage or even throw their case out completely if their share of total fault exceeds 50 percent. Support from our lawyers is important when it comes to contesting allegations of comparative fault and maximizing available recovery in a Michigan dog bite claim.
Get Help from a Michigan Dog Bite Attorney Today
Being bitten and severely injured by someone else’s dog can leave both physical and psychological scars that last a lifetime, especially in young children. While civil restitution cannot erase that kind of trauma, it can still be vital to minimizing the long-term harm caused by this kind of incident and ensuring the right people are held financially accountable for that harm.
You have assistance available from a Michigan dog bite lawyer for any legal action you wish to pursue against someone who allowed you to be harmed through the mismanagement of their pet. Call Thurswell Law at 248-354-2222 today for a free consultation.
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