Maryland Dog Bite Legislation Debate Continues
A new Senate bill would hold dog owners liable when their dogs bite “innocent victims,” but would also relieve owners who prove they couldn’t know their dogs were dangerous.
This marks the General Assembly’s third consecutive attempt to revise its dog bite policy. It aims for a compromise between the strict liability bills favored by the Senate and more lenient ones approved by the House.
However, Sen. Robert Zirkin, a Baltimore County Democrat who litigates dog-bite cases on behalf of plaintiffs, argued Thursday that the new bill leaves the burden solely on victims to prove the dogs were violent. He said it amounts to a “one free bite” policy.
Zirkin has introduced a counter-proposal, Senate Bill 286, that closely resembles the bill the House of Delegates rejected last year.
- South Carolina Allows Out-of-State Adjusters After Massive Hail Storm
- EPA Designates PFAS Chemicals as Superfund Hazardous Substances
- Chubb CEO Greenberg: Some Financial Lines Underwriting Practices ‘Simply Dumb’
- Florida’s Home Insurance Industry May Be Worse Than Anyone Realizes
- California Chiropractor Sentenced to 54 Years for $150M Workers’ Comp Scheme
- Poll: Consumers OK with AI in P/C Insurance, but Not So Much for Claims and Underwriting
- Mother of 8-Year-Old ‘Violently Sucked’ into Houston Hotel Pool Files Wrongful Death Suit
- Ship Owner in Bridge Collapse Seeks to Limit Its Liability