Personal Injury · Dog Bite Liability
Dog Bite Laws in Michigan
Whether Michigan holds a dog owner automatically liable, follows the one-bite rule, or takes a mixed approach — plus landlord liability and the main defenses.
How liability works in Michigan
What the rule is, and what you must show.
Note: Michigan’s strict-liability statute is bite-only. A scratch, knock-down, or chase injury is not covered by strict liability and would fall back to ordinary negligence.
Landlords & defenses
Who else can be liable, and what defeats a claim.
The full picture, with the source
Every field, and any recent development.
| Liability model | Strict liabilityBites only |
| Basis | Statute — Statute — MCL §287.351 |
| What it covers | It must be a bite — not a scratch or knock-down (the statute is bite-only) — and you must have been lawfully on public or private property, including the owner’s, without provoking the dog. |
| Landlord | Conditional — never automatic. A landlord faces only common-law negligence, and only where they knew or should have known the dog was dangerous, kept control, and responded unreasonably (Hamade v. Garza). |
| Main defenses | Provocation · Not lawfully present (trespass) · Injury was not a bite |
What Michigan dog-bite victims get wrong
Michigan is strict-liability but narrowly framed: MCL §287.351 makes an owner liable when a dog bites a lawfully present person without provocation, regardless of the dog’s history. The key limit is the word "bite." Michigan’s statute is bite-only, so a dog that scratches, knocks someone down, or chases them into harm does not trigger strict liability — those injuries fall back to ordinary negligence. Landlords are never automatically liable here; they can be reached only through common-law negligence when they knew or should have known a tenant’s dog was dangerous and could have acted, with the closeness of the attack to the premises mattering (Hamade v. Garza).
Common questions
Is Michigan a strict-liability dog-bite state?
Yes, for bites. Under MCL §287.351 an owner is liable when a dog bites a lawfully present person without provocation, regardless of the dog’s prior viciousness.
Does Michigan’s dog-bite law cover scratches or knock-downs?
No. The statute is bite-only. A scratch, knock-down, or chase injury must be pursued under ordinary negligence rather than strict liability.
Is provocation a defense in Michigan?
Yes. The statute applies only to an unprovoked bite, so provocation defeats the strict-liability claim, as does the victim not being lawfully present.
Can I sue a landlord for a tenant’s dog bite in Michigan?
Only through common-law negligence — where the landlord knew or should have known the dog was dangerous, kept control, and responded unreasonably.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.