Brockville Dog Bite Lawyer

Dog bites may generate serious injuries, including the potential for infection and disfiguring scars. Victims of these attacks may also endure emotional trauma that requires counselling or therapy.

If you experienced an injury from a dog bite in Brockville, you may be eligible to compensation to cover your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages resulting from the attack. Fortunately, Ontario’s Dog Owners’ Liability Act gives you the legal right to demand that the dog owner pay you for these damages.

The personal injury team at Preszler Injury Lawyers may be able to represent you in your effort to get compensation for your dog bite injuries. Call us today for a free initial case review at 1-800-JUSTICE.

Ontario’s Dog Owners’ Liability Act

Ontario created the Dog Owners’ Liability Act to, among other things, protect victims of dog bites and ensure that owners of dogs who attack individuals or other domestic animals compensate them for any damages.

Definition of “Owner”

Specifically, with regard to civil liability, the law defines an “owner” as someone who “possesses or harbours the dog and, where the owner is a minor, the person responsible for the custody of the minor.” If more than one person “owns” the dog, then the owners are “jointly and severally liable.”

Extent of Liability

The Act further states that the owner’s extent of liability does not decrease if the owner did not know about the dog’s propensity to attack, nor does this liability depend upon whether the owner acted in a negligent way or in any way caused the attack. The dog bite itself makes the owner liable for the damages.

However, if the dog bite victim demonstrated negligence or acted in a way that prompted the attack, the court may reduce the damages the victim receives, accordingly.

Finally, if a third party played some causal role in the dog attack, the dog owner may be able to seek compensation from that party.

Liability Exception

The Act’s final note about liability generally absolves a dog owner of any liability for damages from a bite or attack if the dog attacks a person who is on the owner’s property while committing, or intending to commit, a crime.

How Dog Bites Happen

Over 35% of dog bite attacks in Canada came from a dog belonging to someone the victim knew (a neighbor, acquaintance, relative, or friend), according to data compiled from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP).

No Interaction

Nearly 29% of these attacks occurred as the result of no interaction between the dog and the victim prior to the attack. The victim was passing by or, in some cases, making a service or delivery call.

Ordinary Interaction

Almost 20% of the dog bites happened while the victim interacted with the attacking dog in a normal way: petting, handling, feeding, or walking the dog or another dog.

Playing

In 17% of the dog attacks reported, the victim was playing or wrestling with the dog when it attacked.

Provoked

Nearly 8% of the dog bites happened when the victim teased, disturbed, hurt, or otherwise provoked the dog.

Disciplining

Almost 6% of the victims were scolding, restraining, retrieving, or taking something away from the dog that attacked them.

Types of Dog Bite Injuries

A dog may be able to cause multiple injuries in a single attack. Injury types range from mild to fatal. The following types of injuries appear in the CHIRPP’s report of injuries associated with dog bites and dog attacks:

Bites
Lacerations and cuts
Abrasions, bruises, and inflammation
Injury to the eye
Fractures
Nerve injuries
Amputation
Crushing injury

Additional injuries that may stem from a dog bite include:

Meningitis
Emotional trauma
Sepsis (blood infection)
Muscular damage
Endocarditis
Tetanus
Scarring
Rabies
And possibly others

Even the most seemingly benign dog bite injury merits immediate attention. A small wound may easily become infected, resulting in serious complications.

Whatever injury you sustained from your dog bite, a dog bite lawyer serving Brockville may be able to fight for your right to recover the resulting damages.

Call Preszler Injury Lawyers today for a free initial consultation at 1-800-JUSTICE.

Types of Damages You May Recover for a Dog Bite Injury

If you are eligible for recovery of damages, you may collect compensation for a wide range of losses, including:

Special Damages

This type of damage includes any out-of-pocket economic losses incurred up to the date of the trial. The below examples represent possible special damages you may receive as a result of your claim:

Medical expenses
Medication
Reconstructive surgery
Lost income
And more, if you qualify

General Damages

For some losses, calculating a monetary value poses more of a challenge. Pecuniary general damages refer to economic losses like loss of future earnings—they are associated with a value, but the value may not be readily apparent. Non-pecuniary general damages, on the other hand, account for non-economic losses for which no amount of money may be able to compensate. They include damages like pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and diminished quality of life.

The legal team at Preszler Injury Lawyers reviews all your expenses to date to calculate your special damages. We then consult with experts in the fields of economics, medicine, vocational therapy, and life-care planning to arrive at your pecuniary general damages.

Call a Dog Bite Lawyer Serving Brockville

A personal injury lawyer serving Brockville may be able to help.. If you qualify, we will work to get you the compensation you may be eligible to receive while you focus on getting better.

Call the Preszler Injury Lawyers today for a free initial case review: 1-800-JUSTICE.