Liabilities of a Dog Owner | Preszler Law Toronto Injury Lawyer

In this informative segment from Preszler Injury Lawyers, personal injury lawyer John Phelps discusses the legal implications of dog ownership, particularly regarding liability for dog bites and injuries. Under Ontario's Dog Owners Liability Act, dog owners are strictly liable for any injuries their pets cause, regardless of the precautions taken. Phelps explains that even in situations like dog parks, where multiple dogs are present, the owner of the dog that causes harm remains responsible. He emphasizes the importance of home insurance for dog owners, as it can cover potential lawsuits related to dog-related injuries. For more insights or personal injury inquiries, viewers are encouraged to reach out to Preszler Injury Lawyers or visit their Facebook page.

This segment is brought to you by Preszler Injury Lawyers, helping accident victims since 1959.

Good morning, everybody. We are going up to a high of five today. It’s that time of year when people and their pets start to go outside after being cooped up for the winter months. However, with the warm weather also comes an increased risk of dog bites and other incidents when engaging with animals. So, what happens if you get attacked? Personal injury lawyer John Phelps from Preszler Injury Lawyers joins us now to explain.

Hello, good morning! It’s good to be back. It’s always good to have you here.

For pet owners, this is a tough one because you’re almost always liable, is that right?

Well, let’s differentiate between pets and dogs. Dogs are the area where you’re strictly liable. There’s a law called the Dog Owners Liability Act in Ontario that requires owners to be vigilant with respect to their dogs. No matter how vigilant you are, if your dog attacks someone or causes injury to a person, you’re going to be liable as that dog owner. That’s where the strict liability in this law comes into play.

Okay, so if I’m walking my dog, and the dog’s on the leash, doing everything I can, and somebody comes over and says, “Oh, cute dog,” and wants to give it a run and gets bitten, that’s my fault?

That is your fault as the owner of that dog. You’re responsible for ensuring the safety of other people. It’s a strict liability offense, meaning that no matter what you’ve done to try and prevent it—taking all reasonable steps, like having a gate up in your house or leashing your dog—if that dog gets out and attacks a person or causes injury to a person, you’re very likely going to be on the hook for it.

Let’s talk about dog parks, for example. There are lots of dogs of all different sizes running around. If a dog that’s not yours runs up, knocks you down, and you’re injured in some way, does it change anything being in a dog park?

It could; it depends on the circumstances. Even though you may not be found to be strictly liable, you can’t be found not strictly liable. What can happen is you could be found contributory negligent in the circumstances. This means that if you egged the dog on, or if kids were throwing things at dogs or pulling their hair, then you could be found partially responsible for your own misfortune. But at the end of the day, the dog owner is going to be the one who is responsible for your injury.

There are certain dogs that need to be muzzled at times as well. So, pretty much if you’re heading out the door with your animal, you need to know that if there’s any encounter, it’s on you.

Absolutely. I have a case recently where, as a dog owner, you don’t think of these things. A very big breed dog was being walked by its owner and saw my client, got excited, and jumped up on her as she was walking down the sidewalk. This young lady, who was training to be in police services, fell and shattered her knee. She’s no longer going to be able to go into police services because of that injury.

What happens now?

Well, we have to sue the dog owner, and the dog owner could potentially be on the hook for any of that lost income that this young lady has because she can no longer work in police services.

What’s important for dog owners to recognize, and for people generally, is that if you have home insurance, your home insurance will respond to any sort of lawsuit associated with your pet, your dog.

Absolutely, that is good to know.

Fantastic! Well, thank you so much, John Phelps from Preszler Injury Lawyers. It’s good to talk to you.

Thank you so much! If you have any personal injury questions for John and his team at Preszler Injury Lawyers, visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/MorningShowTL. We’ll be right back. That dog is mine.