Barrie Dog Bite Lawyer

Dog bites and attacks are taken very seriously in the Province of Ontario. In nearly all situations, the dog owner will be held liable if their dog bites another person and causes injury. Such determinations can be made using a Barrie personal injury lawyer.

However, the courts will use the discretion of the judge or jury when determining compensation and that is where things can become a bit more complicated. As such, it is important that victims have a Barrie dog bite lawyer fighting for them.

Absolute Liability

Under the laws of the Province of Ontario, Barrie dog owners have absolute liability for their dogs. This means that all dog owners will be held responsible if their dog bites and/or attacks another person. Absolute liability means that carelessness or negligence on the part of the dog owner does not need to be proven, and that the dog owner will be held liable regardless of their own actions at the time.

There is only one exception to strict liability, and that is when the victim was bitten by the dog while on the owner’s property committing or intending to commit a criminal act. In these situations, trespassers might not be able to receive compensation if they were trespassing for such purposes at the time they were bitten. Such circumstances can be best explained using a Barrie dog bite lawyer.

Compensation for Dog Bites

In many cases, victims of dog bites can receive compensation for their injuries. However, compensation is not as clear-cut in these cases, as it lies within the judge’s discretion.

For example, if the Court takes the view that the victim of a dog bite caused or contributed to their own injuries in part, they may award a diminished compensation amount to the victim. However, if the Court regards the owner’s conduct as particularly reprehensible, such as in cases where the dog was trained to bite or attack, compensation amounts may actually be higher than average.

The dog owner’s defense team will work hard to prove that the victim was partly at fault for the bite in order to get a smaller compensation amount awarded. A qualified dog bite lawyer in Barrie will work just as hard to fight against those defenses.

Common Injuries

Most people think that dog bite injuries are generally quite minor, and in most cases they are. However, any time a dog breaks the skin of a person while biting them, it can do a great deal of tissue and nerve damage, as well as become prone to infection. This can lead to several other diseases and issues.

While a single dog bite to an adult might not present major injuries, a dog attack certainly could. In these cases, scarring to the face or other areas of the body is a real risk.

Children, in particular, are much more susceptible to being seriously injured from a dog bite than adults. This is in part because children are simply more curious, and sometimes lack the caution that should be used around animals, particularly unfamiliar ones. Because children are so much smaller, dogs can also do a greater deal of damage to their small bones and delicate tissues.

Both children and adults can also suffer emotional trauma from being bitten or attacked by a dog. This often presents itself in the form of a phobia that develops after the bite and remains with the person for the rest of their life in some cases. Because the range of injuries is so wide, an individual should not hesitate before contacting a dog bite lawyer in Barrie to help achieve compensation for any damage.

Contact a Lawyer

Even minor injuries from a dog bite can become more complicated than they may seem at first. If you or a loved one has been injured by a dog bite, contact a Barrie dog bite lawyer that can help.