Montana Dog Bite Lawyer

Montana’s dog bite statute, Mont. Code § 27-1-715, imposes strict liability upon dog owners only under certain circumstances. Specifically, an owner can be held strictly liable for injuries caused by their dog if the bite occurred (1) in an incorporated city or town, and (2) while the victim was on public property or lawfully in a private place. The statute specifically states that whether an owner’s knew of the dog’s history of aggression or aggressive tendencies is irrelevant for purposes of determining liability. When a bite occurred in an unincorporated city or town of Montana, or when the dog caused non-bite injuries, victims must rely on a different theory of liability, such as negligence, in order to recover damages. A negligence claim requires the victim to prove that the owner owed them a duty (here, a duty to exercise reasonable care in controlling the dog), the owner breached that duty, and their injuries were proximately caused by this breach.