If you have a landlord and your landlord has a dog, you should know your rights in case the dog becomes violent and bites you.
Read this article to find out more.
General Rule: Dog Owners Are Liable For Their Dogs
The general rule is that dog owners are liable for their dogs. Hence, landlords can be held liable for bites inflicted by dogs belonging to tenants. This has been confirmed by the Michigan Court in the case of Szkodzinski v. Griffin, 171 Mich. App. 711, 431 N.W.2d 51 (1988). However, there is a catch: the homeowner must be aware of the viciousness of the dog in his possession.
Szkodzinski v. Griffin
In Szkodzinski v. Griffin, 171 Mich. App. 711, 713 (Mich. Ct. App. 1988), the Court cites MCL 287.351; MSA 12.544 which provides a remedy for a person who is bitten by a dog: “The owner of any dogs which shall without provocation bite any person shall be liable for such damages as may be suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of such a dog or the owner’s knowledge of such viciousness.” By its own terms, the statute applies to the dog’s owner.
In this case, the 6-year-old plaintiff was bitten when a vicious dog owned by the defendant’s residential tenant attacked him when he entered the premises to retrieve his ball.
Here, the Court rules that the landlord could be held liable for injuries suffered by a guest who was attacked by the tenant’s dog on premises where the landlord was aware of the dog’s vicious propensities.
In this case, Plaintiff failed to show that a genuine issue of material fact existed. In fact, at the hearing on the defendant’s motion, the plaintiff’s attorney explicitly agreed that the evidence submitted by the defendant showed that the defendant was not aware of the vicious nature of the dog and the plaintiff conceded such.
Nonetheless, if the case does not fall under the liability of the dog owner, it can still fall under another personal injury case. This is where your lawyer can help make your case.
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Disclaimer
The article that you have read is based on general applications of the law. It is not legal advice and it is not to be construed as any legal consultation with the firm. No client-attorney relationship is created when you read the articles we have provided.
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