DOG PROVOKED BY VICTIM STILL SUE? – LAWYERS MN
Our attorneys represent people who were bitten by a dog or injured by a dog. Minnesota’s dog bite statute applies when a dog, without provocation, attacks or injures any person who is acting peaceably in a place where the person may lawfully be. In those cases, the owner of the dog is liable to the person attacked. Our top Minnesota dog bite lawyers often hear the dog owner claim that the person injured provoked the dog. This is a defense we also hear from an insurance company as they try to avoid being sued.
Minnesota’s dog bite dog attack statute does not specifically define what “provoked the dog” means. However, MN’s appellate courts have interpreted the statute to mean that a victim who voluntarily and unnecessarily provokes a dog in a manner than invites a dog attack. Knowledge of the danger is an element of the voluntariness necessary to constitute provocation. This means the focus is on the victim’s conduct. It requires both the direct knowledge of the danger and that the victim voluntarily exposed herself to that danger.
EXAMPLES OF PROVOKED DOG
It is not necessary that the victim intended to provoke the dog. Rather, provocation involves voluntary conduct toward the dog where the person had knowledge of the risk at the time of the incident. For example, petting a growling dog after being warned that it had just had puppies. That can be considered having provoked the dog. But petting a dog that is in pain is not provocation where there is no warning. Similarly, accidentally stepping on the dog’s tail does not constitute provoking the dog.
Each case depends on its facts. Therefore, when you speak with a lawyer about your dog bite, we will go into your case in detail with you.
DOG BITE HOMEOWNERS COMPENSATION LAWYER MN
A dog bite attorney in our office is working on a MN case now where a young child was visiting a friend’s house. The homeowners insurance company denied the claim and we had to sue. The dog had been locked in another room. Unfortunately, when the dog owner went outside, another child let the dog out of the locked room. The dog then bit our young client in the face. The dog owner is claiming our client provoked the dog, even though the owner was outside at the time and there were no witnesses to the attack. We’ll see what the jury says about this one when our dog bite lawyer presents the actual facts of the case.
If you or a loved one are injured in a dog bite or dog attack in Minnesota, call us and speak with a top lawyer. The initial consultation is free. A dog bite dog attack attorney will discuss the situation with you and explain your rights. We make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to. You can meet a lawyer to discuss your dog bite or dog attack case at our offices in Minneapolis, Woodbury, St. Louis Park, and Edina. Our attorneys also make house calls and will come to the dog bite victim’s home anywhere in MN.