Our Michigan dog bite lawyers settled an injury claim for a twelve year old child in Branch County, Michigan. The child was bitten by a dog and suffered a laceration in his forearm. He required stitches to repair the laceration and was left with a minor scar. The dog was owned by a neighbor.
Quite often, a person suffers injuries when they are bitten by a neighbor’s dog. This happens when an unleashed or unchained dog runs into the neighbor’s yard or attacks a person in the street or somewhere else in the neighborhood. It also occurs when one neighbor is visiting the other neighbor and the dog attacks at that time.
If you or your child suffers serious injuries from the neighbor’s dog, you can sue your neighbor. Michigan law holds the person who owns, keeps, or harbors the dog responsible for a dog bite or attack, regardless of prior knowledge (called, “strict liability” laws) of the viciousness of the animal.
Also, the negligence law is used to hold the owner responsible for the attack. This means that the dog owner, which could be your neighbor, is liable if the injury occurred because the dog owner was unreasonably careless in controlling the dog. The only defense to the dog owner in these cases is if the victim provoked the attacked or was a trespasser on the property. In these cases, the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance company usually pays a settlement to the dog bite victims.
This matter was settled pre-suit with State Farm Insurance Company. The homeowner’s insurance company for the dog owner paid a settlement of $24,000 to the child. His funds will be placed in a trust until he turns eighteen years old.