Dog bite claims in Ontario: owner liability and your rights

A dog bite can leave more than a wound. Deep punctures, nerve damage, infection, facial scarring and a lasting fear of dogs are common, and children are often hurt worst. Ontario law is unusually favourable to people who are bitten: the owner is liable without you having to prove the owner did anything wrong. But the rules on who counts as an "owner", how your own conduct can reduce a claim and what happens when the victim is a child are less obvious. This guide explains how a dog bite claim works in Ontario, the deadlines that apply and what to do in the first days.

Ontario's dog bite law: strict liability

The Dog Owners' Liability Act makes the owner of a dog liable for damages resulting from a bite or attack by the dog on another person or a domestic animal (s. 2(1)). The owner's liability does not depend on knowing the dog was dangerous, or on any fault or negligence by the owner (s. 2(3)).

That matters because of how the law worked before. Under the old common law, an injured person usually had to prove the dog had shown a vicious tendency and that the owner knew about it. Under the Act, it does not matter that the dog "has never done this before" or that the owner was being careful. If the dog bit or attacked you, and you were not the owner yourself, the main questions are how badly you were hurt and whether your own conduct played a part.

The Act covers attacks as well as bites, and attacks on your pet as well as on you. You can also sue in ordinary negligence alongside the Act, for example where a person other than the owner was careless, though negligence requires proof of foreseeable harm and unreasonable conduct (Wilk v. Arbour, 2017 ONCA 21, at paras. 39-40).

Bites on the owner's property

If you are bitten on the owner's premises, the owner's liability is decided under the Dog Owners' Liability Act, not the Occupiers' Liability Act (s. 3(1)). That keeps the strict liability rule in place when a guest, delivery driver or contractor is bitten at someone's home. The one exception is a person on the premises intending to commit, or committing, a criminal act. The owner is not liable to that person unless keeping the dog there was unreasonable for protecting people or property (s. 3(2)).

Who counts as an "owner"

"Owner" under the Act is wider than the person who bought the dog. It includes anyone who possesses or harbours the dog, and, if the owner is a minor, the person responsible for that minor's custody (s. 1(1)). If there is more than one owner, they are jointly and severally liable (s. 2(2)), which means you can recover your full damages from any of them.

In Wilk v. Arbour, 2017 ONCA 21, the Court of Appeal for Ontario held that "possesses" includes a person who is in physical possession and control of a dog just before it bites or attacks (para. 36). The court explained that the legislature wanted to make people who can exercise a measure of control over a dog responsible for its behaviour (para. 33). Depending on the facts, that can include:

• the registered or legal owner;
• a family member or roommate the dog lives with;
• a friend, neighbour or relative looking after the dog;
• a dog walker or pet sitter;
• the parent or guardian of a child who owns the dog.

This cuts both ways. In Wilk, the injured person was walking her partner's dog when it bit her. Because she was the one in control of the dog at that moment, the court found she was herself an owner, and her claim under the Act against the dog's owner was dismissed. If you were bitten while minding or walking someone else's dog, get advice before assuming the Act helps you. A negligence claim may still be worth examining.

How your own conduct can reduce a claim

Strict liability does not mean automatic full compensation. The court must reduce the damages in proportion to the degree, if any, to which the injured person's own fault or negligence caused or contributed to them (Dog Owners' Liability Act, s. 2(3)). Owners and their insurers often argue that the injured person:

• reached over a fence, into a car or into a crate;
• tried to pet or feed a dog after being told not to;
• stepped in to break up a dog fight;
• teased or provoked the dog;
• ignored a posted warning or entered a fenced yard uninvited.

Each of these is a matter of degree, and the details matter: what you were told, what you could see and how quickly things happened. A young child's behaviour is judged very differently from an adult's.

An owner who pays damages can also seek contribution from anyone else whose fault contributed, such as a person who left a gate open or let the dog off its leash (s. 2(4)). That is a dispute between the defendants and does not reduce what you can recover from the owner.

When the person bitten is a child

A child's scarring and emotional recovery can change as they grow, which makes timing and approval of any settlement important. Ontario law has three special rules.

1. The limitation period is paused. The two-year limitation period does not run while the injured person is a minor and is not represented by a litigation guardian in the claim (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 6). The pause covers the child's own claim. Parents and other family members bringing their own claims should not assume it covers them.
2. A litigation guardian brings the claim. A lawsuit for a minor is started and carried on by a litigation guardian, usually a parent (Rules of Civil Procedure, r. 7.01(1)).
3. A judge must approve any settlement. No settlement of a claim by a person under disability, which includes a minor, binds them without a judge's approval, whether or not a lawsuit has been started (Rules of Civil Procedure, r. 7.08(1)). If a settlement is reached before a lawsuit, approval is sought by application (r. 7.08(3)). An insurer's cheque and release signed by a parent alone is not the end of a child's claim.

Waiting is not always wise even though the clock is paused. Witnesses move, photos are lost and the owner's insurance details become harder to find. It is often better to document the claim now, even if it is resolved later once the child's scarring and recovery are clearer.

Reporting the bite

Ontario treats animal bites as a public health matter because of rabies. Anyone with information about a bite from a mammal, including the injured person, a physician, a registered nurse in the extended class, a veterinarian or the police, must notify the local medical officer of health as soon as possible (R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 557, s. 2(1)). The dog's owner must give public health the information and help it requires (s. 2(2)). If public health thinks the dog may be rabid, it can order the dog confined and isolated for at least ten days (s. 3(2)).

In practice, the hospital or clinic that treats you will often make the report, but you can call your local public health unit directly. You can also report the dog to your municipality's animal services.

Separately, a proceeding can be brought in the Ontario Court of Justice against the owner of a dog that has bitten or attacked, or that behaves in a way that poses a menace (Dog Owners' Liability Act, s. 4(1)). The court can order measures such as keeping the dog on the owner's property, a leash, a muzzle or warning signs, and in serious cases it can order the dog destroyed (s. 4(3)-(4)). Those orders protect the public. They do not pay compensation, which comes through a civil claim.

Insurance and what compensation covers

Most people bitten by a dog are not looking to take money from a neighbour's pocket. In many cases, the owner's home or tenant insurance policy is where compensation comes from, if the policy includes personal liability coverage that responds to the bite. Ask the owner for the name of their insurer and the policy number, and give those details to your lawyer, who can put the insurer on notice and check the coverage.

Depending on the evidence, a claim can include:

• pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life;
• scarring and disfigurement, including the cost of scar revision or other treatment;
• psychological injury, such as anxiety, nightmares or a new fear of dogs, supported by medical evidence;
• past and future loss of income;
• treatment and expenses not covered by OHIP or a benefits plan, such as counselling, physiotherapy, medication and travel to appointments;
• veterinary costs, if your own pet was attacked.

Family members have their own claims. Under the Family Law Act, a spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters can recover expenses incurred for the injured person, travel to visit them during treatment, the value of care or housekeeping they provided and compensation for loss of guidance, care and companionship (s. 61(1)-(2)). For a bitten child, the parents' time off work and the care they provide often form part of the claim.

The deadline to sue

A lawsuit must generally be started within two years of the day the claim was discovered (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 4). For a dog bite, that is almost always the day of the bite, since you are presumed to know the key facts on the day it happened unless the contrary is proved (s. 5(2)). The period is paused for a minor without a litigation guardian (s. 6) and for a person who is incapable of starting a claim because of their physical, mental or psychological condition and has no litigation guardian (s. 7). Unlike a fall on a city sidewalk, there is no special short notice period under the Dog Owners' Liability Act, but insurers should be notified promptly.

First steps, common mistakes and what to bring

In the first days

1. Get medical care, even for a bite that looks small. A doctor can check for infection and assess whether you need rabies treatment, and the visit creates a record of the injury.
2. Identify the dog and the owner: names, address, phone number, and whether the dog's vaccinations are current.
3. Photograph the injuries right away and then every few days as they heal, plus torn or bloodied clothing and the place it happened.
4. Get witness details.
5. Write down what happened while it is fresh: where you were, what the dog did, what the owner said.
6. Keep every receipt and a diary of pain, sleep, missed work and changes in daily life.

Common mistakes

• Accepting the owner's apology and agreeing to "keep insurance out of it", then learning the scarring is permanent.
• Giving a recorded statement to the owner's insurer before getting advice.
• Settling a child's claim without court approval.
• Assuming you can sue when you were the one walking or minding the dog.
• Stopping treatment or counselling early, which makes the injury look less serious than it is.

What to bring to a lawyer

• The date, time and place of the bite, and the owner's details and insurer if you have them.
• Photos of the injuries over time and of the scene.
• Medical, public health and animal services records, and any letters from an insurer.
• Proof of income and receipts for expenses.
• For a child, the child's age and the names of everyone who has treated them.

Getting help

If you or your child has been bitten or attacked by a dog in Ontario, we can review what happened, identify everyone who may count as an owner, find and notify the insurer, and explain how your own conduct, the child's age or your role with the dog affects the claim. Your first video meeting with us is free. Learn more about our dog bite practice or contact us to talk it through.

Common questions

Sources

1. Dog Owners' Liability Act, ss. 1-5
2. Wilk v. Arbour, 2017 ONCA 21
3. Limitations Act, 2002, ss. 4-7
4. Rules of Civil Procedure, rr. 1.03, 7.01, 7.08
5. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 557 (Communicable Diseases - General), ss. 2-3
6. Family Law Act, s. 61

General information, not legal advice. Every situation is different, and the law can change. Reading this article doesn't create a lawyer-client relationship.