Billings Dog Bite Lawyer

Strict Liability

Yellowstone County Animal Shelter (406-256-2493) handles animal control services for Billings and Yellowstone County, including bite reports, mandatory quarantine, and animal-related investigations. The animal control file creates the official record of the incident and may contain prior complaints about the same dog or address — evidence useful for both the strict liability claim and any concurrent negligence theory.

Montana's § 27-1-715 imposes strict liability on dog owners for unprovoked bites — no prior bite history or knowledge requirement applies. Billings, as Montana's largest city, generates bite patterns across its diverse neighborhoods: the South Side, Heights, West End, Rimrock areas, and the significant agricultural fringe where dogs frequently range freely on larger properties with less formal containment than in denser urban settings.

Montana follows modified comparative fault with a 51% bar — a plaintiff found exactly 50% at fault still recovers half their damages, and the bar falls at more than 50%. Montana's three-year statute of limitations gives moderate time for evidence gathering, though animal control records and camera footage degrade faster than the legal deadline.

Report a Billings dog bite to the Yellowstone County Animal Shelter at (406) 256-2493. Request all prior animal control records for the dog's address in writing immediately. Montana's § 27-1-715 strict liability means no proof of prior knowledge is required — document the attack, the dog's identity, and your own conduct before the bite. Montana's modified 51% fault bar means that even with some pre-attack conduct attributed to you, recovery is not barred unless your fault exceeds 50% — document that you were acting peaceably and not provoking the dog.

Read the full statute breakdown: Montana Dog Bite Laws → · Typical payouts: Montana Settlement Amounts →