Dog bites are not a cause to disregard. As a matter of fact, the number of dog bites that happen in Canada is absolutely staggering. With this in mind, it’s quite important to make sure that you take it into proper consideration. There are a lot of technicalities that have to be accounted for and as such, the presence and assistance of a personal injury lawyer in Lindsay is going to be of tremendous value to making your claim.
For this matter, the Canadian legislation has enacted the Dog Owner’s Liability Act back in 1990. Even though there have been more than 25 years since then, the act hasn’t been altered or amended – this speaks volumes for its convenience and accuracy.
Strict liability
In any case, there are quite a lot of different scenarios which might turn out in a situation of the kind. The aforementioned act sets forth the institute of strict liability. This means that regardless of whether you are there or not, if your dog attacks and causes damages to another person, you will be held liable for the attack. This is fair. If your animal isn’t safe, it should be muzzled and if it’s not – this is your fault.
Contributory negligence
However, in order to make matters accurate, the act has also set forth the institute of contributory negligence. This is particularly important. Animals attack when they are threatened. Of course, they get threatened by a range of different things. However, if you, the victim, have provoked the attack, your compensation is going to suffer as a result and that’s only fair. If you’ve been messing with the dog and cause him to attack on purpose, you are just as negligent as the owner, if not more. The law can’t tolerate behavior of the kind and that’s why it’s important to lower the compensation accordingly.
After the evaluation is through and the professionals determine how liable you are for the attack, your compensation is going to get reduced accordingly. For one reason or another, complete lack of liability on behalf of the owner is excluded. Therefore, even if the victim caused the attack entirely, the owner is still going to have to bear certain responsibility.
In any case, as you can see, the situation is far from being uncomplicated and straightforward. There are a lot of things which have to be proven and it’s important that you take them all under thorough consideration. Hiring a personal injury lawyer is going to help you out tremendously and it’s going to ensure that everything is handled as per the highest industry standards. This is also going to ensure that you get the necessary compensation. Thus, get referrals or talk with a few legal firms online before scheduling an appointment. Most of the injury lawyers work on contingency basis, so you don’t have to pay in advance.