Maryland Dog Bite Attorney|Pit Bulls are No Longer "Inherently Dangerous"

The two-year fight is finally over. Animal advocates sighed with relief when Governor Martin O'Malley negated the 2012 Court of Appeals ruling that found pit bulls to be inherently dangerous, and that they should be held to a strict liability standard.  This ruling infuriated dog lovers across the state and sparked a heated debate for two years. The court decision also opened the door for dog bite victims to sue landlords for injuries, causing difficulties for tenants who owned pit bulls. Many pit bull-owning tenants faced the hard decision between their homes and their pets.

The new legislation now applies the same legal standard to all dog breeds. The owner has the burden of proof to show that there was no previous reason to believe that a dog was dangerous. This allows for dog bite victims to seek the justice they deserve without singling out pit bulls as an inherently dangerous breed. Furthermore, the new legislation makes it more difficult for dog bite victims to pursue lawsuits against the landlords. 

Maryland Dog Bite Attorney|New Bill Seeks to Make All Dog Owners Liable For Bites

In 2012, the Court of Appeals made the controversial ruling that outraged dog lovers across the state: owners of pure bred pit bulls would be held strictly liable for all bites because pit bulls were deemed inherently dangerous. To top it off, landlords could be held liable as well. This court ruling caused many pit bulls to be put into shelters and many landlords to ban pit bulls from their property.

A new bill has been proposed to take another look at dog bites and liability. This bill would set a measure that applies to all dogs, no matter their breed, and would presume that all dog owners are liable for a dog bite, even if that dog has not bitten anyone before. In addition, the law would allow for owners to neutralize that presumption by showing that their dog had been docile before the bite occurred.

The previous breed-specific law caused uproar amongst dog lovers and made many disproportionately wary of pit bulls. This new proposed law holds all dog owners equally responsible for the actions of their dogs and is sure to gain favor in this respect, but some remain wary that the ability to neutralize the presumption would allow dog owners to escape responsibility entirely.  We will have to wait to see what a dog owner will actually have to show in order to prove that their dog was 'docile' before a fight. For the sake of dog bite victims, I hope that the standard is high.