Can Injury Lawyer Prove Liabilities In Dog Bite Claim?

If you have ever been outside walking and spotted a person walking his or her dog, you may have heard the all too common statement, “oh my dog is friendly, he or she won’t bite!” Well, if only that was really true. Did you know that approximately 1 million people are bitten by dogs every year in Canada? If you have ever been bitten by a dog and want to take legal action against the dog’s owner, hire a lawyer.

Many factors determine if you can sue the owner of the dog who bit you

Your personal injury lawyer in Hamilton will inform you of the many factors you must be aware of when you are crafting a lawsuit against the owner of the dog who bit (or attacked) you. The first factor you need to know about is the one-bite rule. According to that rule, the dog’s owner is not responsible for the medical bills you incurred after his or her dog bit you if that dog has never bitten anyone before. The story is different if the dog has a history of biting or attacking people. The one-bite rule applies to every Canadian province except for Ontario.

The second factor you must be aware of is the fact that the dog’s owner is not responsible for the doctors’ bills and other medical expenses you have incurred after his or her dog bit you if you provoked the dog into a defensive attacking mode. A good example would be if a person’s dog bit you after you threw a huge stick at it or kicked it.

Did you know that Ontario does it differently?

Your personal injury lawyer knows that these factors do not apply to the Ontario province because Ontario has implemented the Dog Owner’s Liability Act. This act would hold the dog’s owner responsible for your physical and mental/emotional injuries even if the two factors mentioned above occurred.

Don’t worry, the dog owner can give you a monetary settlement through his or her home owner’s insurance policy. Your lawyer will inform you that you are eligible for compensation from the dog owner for the attack you sustained from his or her dog. In this instance, the dog’s owner can pay you from the money from his or her homeowners’ insurance policy because of the third-policy-liability clause. According to this clause, the insurance policy will cover these types of dog bites.

You can hold a dog’s owner responsible. If you live in Ontario, Canada and are ever bitten by a dog, you and your personal injury lawyer can develop and argue a strong lawsuit in court which will get you the financial settlement that you want and need.