DOG OWNER RESPONSIBLE FOR INJURY CAUSED BY DOG EVEN IF IT DID NOT BITE
Minnesota law holds a dog owner strictly liable for ANY injury caused by their dog. The law is found at Minnesota Statute § 347.22. The statute applies if the dog injures someone without provocation who is not trespassing and is acting peaceably. The dog owner is then liable in damages to the person so attacked or injured. This law not only protects against a dog bite, but also against ANY situation where a person is injured because of a dog.
Our lawyers have successfully represented many people injured by a dog in MN who were not bitten or attacked. For example, we have represented people injured by a dog when they were pushed down stairs. We have also had cases where a dog knocked someone off a bicycle. Likewise, where a dog tripped a runner. There have been many other cases where there was no direct attack or dog bite.
DOG DIRECT CAUSE OF INJURY ACCIDENT
Of course, the dog must still be the actual cause of the injury for the dog owner to be liable.Our injured by dog attorneys have taken calls about many situations where a dog contributes to a person being injured but is not really the cause of the injury.For example, there was a case where a puppy in the back seat of a car distracted the driver, who then ran over a pedestrian.The statute does not apply in that situation because the puppy’s actions were not directed to the pedestrian and the negligence of the driver was an intermediate cause. There is still a case against the driver. However, it is not based on the dog statute.
Likewise, when a driver swerved to avoid a dog loose on the street and hit a pedestrian, the dog’s owner might not be held legally responsible. A court dismissed a case where a dog was harnessed to a sled and a person was injured when the dog pulled the sled into a downed tree; the dog’s behavior of jumping over the downed tree would have been harmless if the dog was not harnessed to the sled.
The MN’injury caused by a dog’statute requires some sort of affirmative conduct by the dog that ‘proximately causes’ the injury. Otherwise, the dog owner is not responsible. Determining proximate cause requires an intensely fact specific inquiry.
LAWYERS FOR INJURED BY DOG CASES
Proximate cause is rarely a disputed issue under the statute. The statutory phrase, ‘attacks or injures’ contemplates action by a dog that directly and immediately produces injury to the person the dog attacks or injures.However, on occasion proximate cause will be disputed. For example, where one dog attacks another dog and a person is injured either by the attack itself, or when the person tries to stop the attack. Most cases are clear-cut, however, and the dog owner is responsible when the dog injures a person in some way.
If you have been injured by a dog or because of a dog in Minnesota you are welcome to call us for a free consultation. A lawyer from our office will discuss your case with you and advise you of your rights.Our attorneys will investigate the case and make sure you receive fair and complete compensation from the dog owner’s insurance. This includes getting your medical bills paid and reimbursement of your lost wages, plus additional compensation for your pain and suffering and any scarring.