The one bite rule does not apply in Maryland in the way people usually mean. When a dog causes injury, the law presumes the owner knew or should have known the dog was dangerous. The owner can try to rebut that presumption, but you are not required to show the dog had bitten someone before. If you were hurt, our Maryland dog bite claims page covers who pays and what to do next.
This article explains the Maryland dog bite statute, how it differs from the older "one free bite" idea, when the owner is liable even without the presumption, and what can still defeat a claim.
What the "one bite rule" means, and why Maryland moved away from it
Under the traditional one bite rule, an injured person had to prove the owner already knew the dog was dangerous, usually because it had bitten or attacked before. A dog with a clean history got, in effect, one free bite.
Maryland changed that for dog owners in 2014. The statute, Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-1901, followed a 2012 decision of the state's highest court, Tracey v. Solesky, that had applied a stricter rule to pit bulls alone. The 2014 law replaced that breed-based approach with one rule for all dogs.
The Maryland rule for dog owners
When a dog causes injury, the law presumes the owner knew or should have known the dog was dangerous. The owner can try to rebut that presumption. In practice this means:
- You do not have to find neighbors who saw the dog snap before, or records of an earlier bite.
- The owner carries the job of showing they had no reason to think the dog was dangerous.
- The rule applies to every breed, so the type of dog does not change the starting point.
The presumption is about knowledge. The claim still has to show the dog caused the injury, and the owner can still raise the defenses below.
When the dog was loose
A bite in a public place, or while the dog was loose, is treated differently from one that happens to someone who was somewhere they had no right to be. Under the statute, an owner is liable for injury caused while the dog was running at large, unless the person injured was trespassing on the owner's property, committing a crime, or teasing, tormenting, abusing or provoking the dog.
County leash and animal control rules can support a claim when they were being broken at the time, so the animal control report matters.
Landlords, dog walkers and other people who are not the owner
The presumption in § 3-1901 applies to owners. A claim against someone else, such as a landlord, a dog sitter or a kennel, generally follows the older common-law rules, which look at what that person actually knew about the dog and what control they had over it.
A landlord's policy can still be a source of payment in some situations where the landlord knew about a dangerous dog on the property. So can a business policy when a bite happens at a workplace, a store or a grooming or boarding facility.
What can still defeat a Maryland dog bite claim
- Provocation. Insurers frequently argue the dog was provoked, especially when the person bitten is a child.
- Trespass or a crime. Someone who was trespassing or committing a crime is in a much weaker position.
- Contributory negligence. Under Maryland's contributory negligence rule, a person found even slightly at fault can be barred from recovering anything. The account given to animal control and to doctors matters for that reason.
- Rebutting the presumption. The owner can offer evidence that they had no reason to know the dog was dangerous. That is a question of evidence, not an automatic defense.
Filing deadlines and claims for children
Most Maryland injury lawsuits must be filed within three years of the injury. Claims for children follow their own timing rules, and a court is involved in approving a settlement for a child, which protects the money until adulthood.
Maryland caps non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, and adjusts that cap over time. Scarring, especially facial scarring in a child, is often the largest part of a dog bite claim, so photographs from the first day onward matter.
Common questions
Is Maryland a strict liability state for dog bites?
Not fully. For owners, Maryland uses a presumption: the owner is presumed to have known the dog was dangerous and can try to rebut it. Where the dog was running at large, the owner is liable unless one of the statute's exceptions applies, such as provocation or trespass.
Does it matter what breed the dog was?
No. The 2014 law applies the same rule to every breed. It replaced a 2012 court decision that had treated pit bulls differently.
Can I bring a claim against the landlord instead of the owner?
Sometimes. A landlord is not covered by the owner presumption, so the claim depends on what the landlord knew about the dog and what control they had. It is one of the first things we look at when the owner rents.
Will the owner have to pay out of pocket?
Usually not. Most claims are paid by homeowners or renters insurance. Some policies exclude certain breeds or dogs with a bite history, which is why the policy is worth checking early.
What does it cost to have a lawyer look at my dog bite claim?
Nothing. The case review is free. If we take your case, we work on a contingency fee: no fee unless we recover money for you. We advance the case costs and are repaid only from a recovery, so if there is no recovery you owe us nothing.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This article is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice about your situation.