Maryland Dog Bite Law: Liability, Dangerous Dogs, and Euthanasia

Maryland dog bite law combines a civil statute that makes it relatively easy for a bite victim to recover damages with a separate criminal statute that penalizes owners of dogs classified as dangerous. If a dog injures someone, the owner is presumed to have known the dog was dangerous and must rebut that presumption to avoid civil liability. If the dog was running loose, the owner is strictly liable with only three narrow defenses available. Criminal fines up to $2,500 apply when an owner fails to properly confine or muzzle a dog already classified as dangerous. The state statute itself does not order a biting dog euthanized, though quarantine is mandatory and local rules may go further.

Civil Liability When a Dog Injures Someone

Under Courts and Judicial Proceedings §3-1901, when a dog injures or kills a person, the law creates a rebuttable presumption that the owner knew or should have known the dog had dangerous tendencies. The victim does not have to prove any history of aggression. The owner carries the burden of showing they genuinely had no reason to believe the dog was dangerous.¹

In a jury trial, the judge cannot rule as a matter of law that the presumption has been rebutted before the jury returns its verdict. Even if the owner produces evidence of the dog’s gentle history, the question still goes to the jury.¹

A stricter rule applies when the dog is “running at large,” meaning off the owner’s property and not under the owner’s control. Then the owner faces true strict liability for any injury, death, or property loss the dog causes, with no option to rebut. The framework applies to all dogs regardless of breed.¹

The Three Statutory Defenses

Even under strict liability for an at-large dog, the owner is not liable if the injured person was doing one of three things at the time:¹

Trespassing or committing a crime on the owner’s property.
Committing a criminal offense against any person, even if unrelated to the owner.
Teasing, tormenting, abusing, or provoking the dog.

Maryland also follows contributory negligence, one of the last states to do so. If the victim’s own negligence contributed in any way to the bite, that can bar recovery entirely, not merely reduce it.

Damages and Deadline

An owner found liable can be required to compensate the victim for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage. Maryland does not cap compensatory damages in dog bite cases.

A victim has three years from the date of the injury to file a civil lawsuit. Missing that deadline almost always ends the case regardless of how strong the evidence is.²

When a Dog Is Classified as Dangerous

Criminal Law §10-619 sets a separate track. A dog is automatically “dangerous” if it kills or severely injures a person without provocation. “Severe injury” has a specific meaning: broken bones or disfiguring lacerations requiring multiple sutures or cosmetic surgery. A minor bite that does not meet that threshold will not trigger the label on its own.³

A dog can also reach the dangerous classification through a two-step path handled by county or municipal animal control. First, the unit declares the dog “potentially dangerous” based on a bite, an off-property attack on another domestic animal, or an unprovoked attack, with written notice to the owner. If the dog then commits another qualifying act, it is upgraded to dangerous.³

Confinement and Handling Requirements

Once a dog is classified as dangerous, the owner faces permanent restrictions. On the owner’s property, the dog cannot be left unattended unless confined indoors, in a securely enclosed and locked pen, or in another structure designed to restrain it. Off the owner’s property, the dog must be both leashed and muzzled, or otherwise securely restrained and muzzled.³

“Owner’s real property” is narrower than most people assume. It covers land the owner owns or leases, but not public rights-of-way or the common areas of condominiums, apartment complexes, or townhouse developments. Walking a dangerous dog through a shared courtyard counts as off-property, and the leash-and-muzzle rule applies.³

Selling or giving away a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog carries its own rules. The owner must notify the animal control authority that made the original determination in writing, with the new owner’s name and address, and must inform the new owner in writing about the dog’s dangerous behavior.³

Criminal Penalties

Violating any provision of the dangerous dog law is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500. That includes failing to confine or muzzle the dog, leaving it unattended without proper restraint, or skipping the written notices when transferring ownership.³

The criminal fine is separate from civil damages. A single incident can produce both a misdemeanor charge and a civil lawsuit. The fine is paid to the state; damages go to the victim.

Quarantine After a Bite

Every dog that bites a person, or has non-bite contact exposing a person to rabies, must be quarantined for at least 10 days. The quarantine location and conditions have to be approved by the local health officer or the state Public Health Veterinarian, and the health officer can order a veterinary examination at any point during the period. The owner pays for it.⁴

A quarantined animal cannot be moved without written permission from the local health officer or Public Health Veterinarian. If a licensed veterinarian determines during quarantine that the animal shows possible rabies symptoms, the vet may humanely euthanize the animal and submit its head for rabies testing.⁴

Can the Dog Be Ordered Euthanized

This is where Maryland law surprises most people. The state’s dangerous dog statute does not authorize courts or animal control to order euthanasia based on the dangerous classification alone. It imposes confinement requirements and criminal fines, and that is the extent of the state-level consequence for the dog itself.

Maryland Health-General §18-320 does allow immediate humane destruction of a biting animal, but only in three narrow situations: when necessary to preserve human health, when a licensed veterinarian determines the quarantined animal is suffering inhumanely, or when the animal is wild and unclaimed within 24 hours.⁵

Individual counties and municipalities may go further with their own ordinances. Some jurisdictions hold administrative hearings where euthanasia is a possible outcome. Others track the state framework closely. If a local authority is pursuing euthanasia after a dangerous dog determination, the specific county or municipal code controls what process the owner is entitled to.

Insurance for Dog Owners

Homeowners’ and renters’ policies in Maryland usually include liability coverage that extends to dog bite injuries, but coverage is not guaranteed. Some insurers exclude specific breeds. Others add surcharges or decline to renew after a bite. Once a dog has been classified as dangerous, affordable coverage becomes considerably harder to find.

Because the rebuttable presumption makes claims relatively easy to pursue, adequate liability coverage matters more here than in states that require a victim to first prove the owner knew the dog was aggressive. Reviewing the animal liability provisions of a policy before an incident is the practical step; where an insurer excludes a breed or has a bite-history exclusion, a standalone animal liability policy from a specialty insurer is worth looking into.

1
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Code Section 3-1901 – Liability for Injury or Death Caused by Dog
2
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 5-101 – Limitations Period
3
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code Section 10-619 – Dangerous Dog
4
Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 10.06.02.07 – Disposition of Animals Following Bite or Non-Bite Contact to Humans
5
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Health – General Code 18-320 – Animal Quarantine