Code of maryland section 3 1901 states that the owner of a dog is liable for any injury death or loss to person or property that is caused by the dog when the dog is running at large however an owner is not liable if the injured person was.
Maryland dog bite law euthanasia.
It is estimated that more than 4 7 million people in this country are bitten by dogs each year and that as many as 1 million per year seek medical attention for dog bites.
Dogs on school grounds and recreation areas montgomery county code sec.
5 203 a 7 an owner must not allow a dog to be on public school grounds on a day when school is in session or in a public recreation area during an organized activity unless the dog is controlled by a leash or similar restraining device.
But dog bite laws in maryland are actually a little more complex than that.
2 the governing body of howard county shall prepare and supply tags to the county tax collector each year.
Nevertheless in some cases one must prove the traditional elements required for dog bite liability.
2 a dog license expires as specified by local law.
Maryland s dog bite law.
Prior to 2014 maryland utilized the one bite rule meaning that an owner of a domesticated animal could only be held liable in the event of an attack if it was known before the attack that the animal had the inclination to do something harmful.
But dogs that have not been declared dangerous who cause a severe injury with one bite such as padi have no right to contest euthanasia based on the same grounds under current law.
The potential ramifications of an attack or bite when trying to decide if euthanasia is appropriate it s important to consider the consequences of caring for an aggressive dog.
This is a more common problem than you might know.
Read on for a summary of maryland dog bite law.
The common law requirements for suit have been modified and the modifications apply to the most common types of dog bites.
Under maryland dog bite law dog owners are only responsible under certain circumstances which i will discuss below.
The elements of the common law doctrine referred to as scienter or the one bite rule were stated as follows in herbert v.
This maryland statute outlines what is a dangerous dog as defined by statute it is a dog that without provocation has killed or inflicted severe injury on a person or it is a potentially dangerous dog that bites a person when not on its owner s real property kills or inflicts severe injury on a domestic animal or attacks without provocation.
Unless the dog has rabies a hearing is required before the dog is euthanized.
This hearing aims to determine whether the dog is a threat to public safety.
