Dog Bite Liability Measure Passed by Maryland Senate

The Maryland Senate has approved a compromise bill on liability for dog bites.

The House has already passed the bill, so it will go to the governor’s office for a signature.

The bill would hold dog owners liable for biting “innocent victims” unless they could prove they had no way to know their dogs were dangerous. It also overturns a 2012 court decision designating pit bulls as “inherently dangerous.”

The House and Senate reached a general agreement a month ago, but both chambers had to approve the same specific bill to make it law.

Sen. Delores G. Kelley, D-Baltimore County, was alone in voting against the bill Wednesday. She said she was bitten by a dog as a child and thinks the bill puts a burden on victims.