Michigan Dog Bite Law Compendium

Michigan Dog Bite Law

A complete guide to Michigan’s dog-bite and dog-attack law: every element of the dog-bite statute, the common-law claims that fill its gaps, and every Michigan appellate decision that interprets them. Written for people who have been bitten and for the lawyers who represent them.

Jonathon K. Homa JKH Law, PLC · Grand Rapids Updated October 2026 Last citation check: October 2026

14
chapters, one per legal issue
120+
Michigan appellate decisions, 1871–2026
2
statutes that decide most cases: MCL 287.351 and MCL 287.262
A chain-link gate standing open on a tree-lined Michigan sidewalk, a large dog watching from behind it

If you were bitten or attacked

Start with the short version

What the law says in plain terms, who pays, what to do now, and how long you have.

Read the short version

If you are researching the law

Go to the chapter index

Each chapter analyzes the published decisions, tables the unpublished ones, and states the rule the cases support.

Open the chapters

The short version

What Michigan law says when a dog bites

Michigan holds a dog’s owner responsible for a bite without asking whether the owner was careless or whether the dog had ever bitten before. The rule comes from a 1939 statute, and the Michigan Supreme Court has described it as creating “an almost absolute liability.” Four things have to be true.

A biteThe statute covers bites only. A knock-down, a chase, or a scratch is handled by the common law instead.Non-bite injuries →
No provocationProvocation is the owner’s only statutory defense, and it can be unintentional. Whether a given act was provocation is usually a jury question.Provocation →
Lawful presenceThe person was on public property or lawfully on private property, including a guest, a worker, or someone walking to the front door.Lawful presence →
The ownerThe statute reaches the dog’s owner. Dog-sitters, landlords and employers are reached, if at all, through separate common-law claims.Who is liable →
MCL 287.351(1)

“If a dog bites a person, without provocation while the person is on public property, or lawfully on private property, including the property of the owner of the dog, the owner of the dog shall be liable for any damages suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of such viciousness.”

MCL 287.351(2)

“A person is lawfully on the private property of the owner of the dog within the meaning of this act if the person is on the owner’s property in the performance of any duty imposed upon him or her by the laws of this state or by the laws or postal regulations of the United States, or if the person is on the owner’s property as an invitee or licensee of the person lawfully in possession of the property unless said person has gained lawful entry upon the premises for the purpose of an unlawful or criminal act.”

There is no “one free bite”

Under the statute the dog’s history does not matter, and evidence of it is not admissible on liability. Michigan did not have a one-bite rule even before the statute: at common law an owner who knew a dog was dangerous was liable for its first bite too. The dog’s history still matters in the common-law claims, where the owner’s knowledge of a dangerous propensity is an element.

If the dog did not bite

A dog that charges, jumps, trips a cyclist, or breaks a leash and knocks someone down causes a real injury that the statute does not cover. Those cases proceed in negligence, which asks whether the owner used reasonable control given everything known about the dog and the situation, or under the leash law, MCL 287.262, whose violation raises a presumption of negligence. They are harder cases than bite cases, and the chapter on non-bite injuries explains what evidence they turn on.

Who pays

Most dog-bite claims are paid by the owner’s homeowners or renters insurance, not by the owner personally. That is why a claim against a neighbor, a relative or a friend is usually a claim against an insurer. Coverage disputes have their own body of law, collected in the insurance chapter.

What to do now

Get medical careBites damage tissue beneath the skin and carry a serious infection risk. Treatment records also document the injury.
Report itReport the attack to animal control. Ask how to get the report and whether the dog has a bite history.
Identify the dog and ownerName, address, phone, and insurance if you can get it. Confirm vaccination status.
Photograph everythingThe injuries as they heal, and the gate, fence, leash or yard involved.
Keep witnesses and messagesTexts with the owner, names of anyone who saw it, damaged clothing.
Be careful with insurersA recorded statement about “what you did before the bite” is a statement about provocation.

How long you have

Michigan’s general limitations period for injury claims is three years. Minors and a few other situations get different treatment. The deadline is the last day to file suit, not the right time to start; video is overwritten, witnesses move, and the dog’s records disappear long before three years pass.

The compendium

Chapters

Each chapter states the rule, analyzes the published Michigan decisions that establish it, and lists the unpublished Court of Appeals decisions that apply it, labeled as non-binding. Chapters are updated as new opinions are released.

CHAPTER 1

How Michigan dog-bite law developed

Three statutory eras: the 1850 act, its 1929 repeal, and the 1939 act that governs today. Why cases must be dated before they are cited.

Key authority: Swift v. Applebone (1871); Bejger v. Zawadzki (1930); Trager v. Thor (1994)
CHAPTER 2

The dog-bite statute, MCL 287.351

The four elements, “almost absolute liability,” and what the plaintiff does not have to prove.

Key authority: Nicholes v. Lorenz (1976); Bradacs v. Jiacobone (2001); Hill v. Sacka (2003)
CHAPTER 3

Provocation

Intentional and unintentional acts, proportionality, children, defending yourself from an attacking dog, and the separate standard in dangerous-animal proceedings.

Key authority: Brans v. Extrom (2005); Koivisto v. Davis (2008); In re Chance (2026)
CHAPTER 4

Lawful presence

Public property, invitees, licensees, the implied license to walk to a front door, and the trespasser who is bitten.

Key authority: Cox v. Hayes (1971); Alvin v. Simpson (1992); Kelsey v. Lint (2017)
CHAPTER 5

Who is liable: owners, keepers and caretakers

Why the Dog Law’s definition of “owner” does not apply to the bite statute, and when a possessor, dog-sitter or employer is reached at common law.

Key authority: Trager v. Thor (1994); Szkodzinski v. Griffin (1988)
CHAPTER 6

Common-law strict liability

Possession, knowledge of an abnormally dangerous propensity, and harm from that propensity. What counts as ordinary dog behavior.

Key authority: Trager v. Thor (1994); Hiner v. Mojica (2006); Rickrode v. Wistinghausen (1983)
CHAPTER 7

Negligence, the leash law and local ordinances

The “total situation” standard, the presumption from violating MCL 287.262, and why an ordinance violation is only evidence.

Key authority: Trager v. Thor (1994); Cassibo v. Bodwin (1986); Hack v. Foster (1979)
CHAPTER 8

Injuries without a bite

Knock-downs, chases, falls and leash entanglements: what has to be proved when the statute does not apply.

Key authority: Hiner v. Mojica (2006); Cassibo v. Bodwin (1986)
CHAPTER 9

Landlords, property managers and premises liability

Knowledge plus control, the dog as a condition on the land, off-premises attacks, and pet rules that do and do not create a duty.

Key authority: Feister v. Bosack (1993); Braun v. York Properties (1998); Tripp v. Baker (2023)
CHAPTER 10

Police dogs, animal control and governmental immunity

Why the statute does not reach a city, when an individual handler can be sued, and the proprietary-function route against shelters.

Key authority: Tate v. City of Grand Rapids (2003); Norris v. Lincoln Park Police Officers (2011)
CHAPTER 11

Defenses, comparative fault and family immunity

No fault allocation under the statute, comparative negligence at common law, and a child’s claim against a parent.

Key authority: Hill v. Sacka (2003); Hill v. Hoig (2003); Thelen v. Thelen (1989)
CHAPTER 12

Damages, evidence and procedure

What is recoverable, why breed and prior behavior are excluded on the statutory claim, proving that a bite happened, and jury instructions.

Key authority: Nicholes v. Lorenz (1976); Taylor v. Mobley (2008)
CHAPTER 13

Insurance coverage

Homeowners versus auto policies, who is an “insured,” residence-premises disputes, animal exclusions and the duty to defend.

Key authority: Century Mutual v. League General (1995); Allstate v. Tomaszewski (1989)
Michigan dog-bite law timeline: 1850 owner-or-keeper act with double damages; 1929 repeal, common law only; 1939 PA 73, MCL 287.351, owner, bite, without provocation; 1994 Trager v. Thor, last Michigan Supreme Court dog-bite decision; 2023 Tripp v. Baker

For lawyers

How this compendium was built

ScopeEvery Michigan Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decision on injury by a dog, plus the insurance-coverage and governmental-immunity decisions that decide who pays. Located through citing references to MCL 287.351, 287.261 and 287.321, the West “Animals” key number, and terms searches, then cross-checked against secondary sources.
Published and unpublishedPublished decisions carry the analysis. Unpublished Court of Appeals opinions appear in a labeled table under each issue; they are persuasive only under MCR 7.215(C)(1), but on many recurring fact patterns they are the only authority.
CurrencyEach chapter states the date of its last citation check. Reversed, overruled and limited decisions are identified where cited. Chapters are revised when new opinions issue.
Pin citesHoldings are quoted from the opinions with pinpoint citations so a proposition can be verified without re-reading the case.

Common questions

Does it matter whether the dog was leashed or fenced?

Not under the statute. An owner is liable for an unprovoked bite of someone lawfully present whether or not the dog was restrained. Restraint matters in negligence claims, where a broken leash or an open gate is the evidence, and under the leash law, MCL 287.262.

Can a landlord be liable for a tenant’s dog?

Not under the statute, which reaches only the owner. A landlord can be liable at common law if the landlord knew the particular dog was dangerous and had the ability to have it removed, and in some circumstances for failing to enforce its own pet rules. See Chapter 9.

What if a child was bitten?

The statute has no separate standard for children, but provocation is judged by what the child did, and courts have sent cases involving a toddler’s hug or a child stepping on a tail to the jury. A child can also sue a parent or stepparent under the statute; parental immunity does not bar the claim.

Can I recover for scarring and emotional harm?

Yes. Damages include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, scarring and disfigurement, and the emotional effects tied to the physical injury. See Chapter 12.

What if the dog belonged to the police or a shelter?

Governmental agencies are immune from the statutory claim. Claims against individual officers require gross negligence, and an intentional deployment of a police dog is analyzed as an intentional tort. See Chapter 10.

Does a fatal attack become a wrongful-death claim?

Yes. A death caused by a dog attack proceeds under the Wrongful Death Act, MCL 600.2922, with the dog-bite statute or common law supplying the underlying liability.

Bitten or attacked by a dog in Michigan?

JKH Law represents people injured by dogs in Grand Rapids, across West Michigan and statewide. Consultations are free, and most claims are paid by the owner’s insurer rather than the owner.

Request a free consultation

This page is part of the Michigan Dog Bite Law Compendium published by JKH Law, PLC. It is legal information about Michigan law, not legal advice about any particular situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Citations were last checked in October 2026. Unpublished opinions are identified as such and are not binding under MCR 7.215(C)(1).