ZuppkeLaw is your Michigan dog bite specialist, follow these steps to get every last penny that you deserve.

1. Document, document, document: record everything that happened at the time of the injury and everything that follows. You want witnesses’ names and detailed hand-written statements of what they saw. Document your visit to an emergency room, hospital, or urgent care facility. Keep track of your symptoms and monitor your daily pain. Write everything down.

2. Contact animal control, call the police, and get the animal’s vaccination history immediately. You can’t trust the owner’s word that their animal has had all of their necessary shots. Be proactive.

3. Contact ZuppkeLaw. Don’t let an animal’s owner try and settle without having to “get the lawyers involved.” You’re doing an injustice to yourself, especially if your injuries are severe.

The state of Michigan has a civil dog bite law that puts strict liability on all dog owners. Strict liability means that you’re responsible for any damage that your dog causes, unless your dog was provoked or the person that was bitten was trespassing on your property.

Here, check out the statute:

287.351 Person bitten by dog; liability of owner.

Sec. 1.

(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.

(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.

If you’ve been bitten and are seeking compensation for injuries, ZuppkeLaw is here to help you. At our firm, winning is the only option. We’ll do the hard work on your behalf so you can focus on healing.

Call today or fill out one of our case evaluation forms. We’ll assess your claim for free.