Dog Bite Lawyer in Ontario
Zayouna Law Firm acts for people bitten or attacked by dogs in Ontario, including children and delivery workers.
In Ontario, the owner is liable even for a first bite.
Ontario’s Dog Owners’ Liability Act places responsibility on the owner whether or not the dog had ever shown aggression, and whether or not the owner did anything careless. There is no free pass for a first incident, which is the single most useful thing to know if you have just been bitten.
What that means in practice is that you are not required to prove the owner did something wrong. You need to establish that the dog was theirs and that you were injured. From there the claim turns on the injury itself — the wound, the treatment, any permanent scarring, and the fear of dogs that frequently outlasts both. Those are the things worth documenting from day one.
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What a dog bite claim is actually worth
There is no fixed tariff for a dog bite. Value is built from the medical record, the permanence of any scarring, the cost of treatment still to come such as revision surgery, and the psychological effect — which in dog attack cases is often the part that lasts longest.
Claims involving children are assessed differently again. A scar on a growing child changes shape, so the claim is usually better valued once growth is complete rather than settled early for a number based on how the wound looks today.
The outcomes shown below come from other files with other facts. They are a record of what the firm has done, not a forecast of what your claim will do.
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Cause for Dog Bites Claims
Ontario’s Dog Owners’ Liability Act does something unusual: it makes the owner responsible for a bite or attack whether or not the dog had ever been aggressive before, and whether or not the owner was careless.
Why fault does not need proving
Most injury claims require you to show the other person was negligent. Dog bites work differently. Liability attaches to ownership, so you don’t have to establish that the owner knew the dog was dangerous, failed to restrain it, or ignored a warning sign. The practical effect is that the argument usually moves straight to the injury and its value, and sometimes to whether the person bitten was provoking the animal or trespassing at the time, which can reduce recovery.
Injuries these claims involve
Dog bite injuries are disproportionately facial and disproportionately to children, because of height. Puncture wounds and crush injuries frequently need surgical repair, and infection risk means the medical record starts at the emergency department. Scarring is often the largest part of the claim, especially where it is visible and permanent, and psychological injury including lasting fear of dogs is recoverable in its own right.
Our Dog Bites Claims Process
The first step is documenting the animal, the owner and the injury while all three are still traceable. Municipal animal services records, photographs of the wound as it heals, and the emergency department chart do most of the work.
Consultation
A first call costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Bring whatever you already have: photographs of the wound, the owner’s name if you got it, the hospital discharge paperwork, the animal services file number if a report was made. If you have none of that, the firm can obtain most of it. What you will get out of the conversation is an honest read on what your claim looks like, including if the answer is that it is not worth bringing.
File your Dog Bites claim
The first task is identifying the owner and the insurance standing behind them, which is usually a home or tenant policy carrying third party liability. In parallel the firm requests the municipal animal services file, the emergency department record and any follow-up treatment notes.
Photographs matter more here than people expect. A mature scar looks nothing like a fresh wound, and an assessment made from only one of those is an assessment made on half the evidence. Keep taking them as it heals.
Resolution
Most dog bite claims resolve without a trial, once the scarring has stabilized and the medical picture is complete. That timing is deliberate — settling before a scar has matured usually means settling for less than it was worth. Where an insurer will not move to a reasonable number, the file has been built to be tried. Whether to accept an offer is always your decision, and you will be told plainly what the evidence supports before you make it.
Service Areas
Dog Bites Toronto
Dog bite claims for Toronto residents, including attacks in parks, apartment buildings and on private property.
Dog Bites Burlington
Dog bite claims for Burlington and Halton residents, handled from the firm’s Ironstone Drive office.
Dog Bites Ontario
Claims taken across Ontario, including bites to children and to workers bitten while making deliveries or entering a property.
Our Dog Bites Claims Expertise
Zayouna Law Firm identifies the owner and the applicable insurance, obtains the animal services file, and values the injury including scarring and psychological harm. Book a free consultation.
Results
The firm has recovered more than $500 million for clients across its practice areas and has acted for Ontarians since 2003. Dog bite claims are taken on contingency: there are no fees up front, and no fees at all unless the claim succeeds.
Relationships
You deal with the lawyer handling your file, not a rotating intake desk. The firm serves clients in nine languages, and arranges an interpreter where it does not speak yours — which matters when you are describing an injury and its effects and need to get it exactly right.
Recovery
The measure that counts is whether the outcome funds what comes next: scar revision if it is needed, treatment for the fear of dogs that often follows an attack, and the income lost while you were off work. A number that does not cover those is not a good result, however large it sounds.
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Common Questions About Dog Bites Claims
Can I sue if the dog had never bitten anyone before?
Yes. Ontario’s Dog Owners’ Liability Act imposes liability on the owner regardless of whether the dog had shown aggression before, which is different from the “one bite” approach used in parts of the United States. You don’t have to prove the owner was careless or knew the dog was dangerous. What still has to be established is the injury and what it has cost you.
Who pays a dog bite claim?
Usually the owner’s home or tenant insurance, which commonly includes third party liability covering incidents involving pets. That’s why identifying the owner matters so much and why an animal services report is worth filing: it records ownership. Where an owner has no insurance, recovery depends on their own assets, which is a practical limit on some otherwise strong claims.
How long do I have to make a dog bite claim in Ontario?
Generally two years from the date of the attack. Where the person bitten is a child, the two years does not begin until they turn 18, which matters because scarring claims are often better assessed once growth is complete and the scar has matured. Report the bite to municipal animal services promptly either way, since that record is difficult to recreate later.
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If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, our personal injury lawyers help individuals and families across Ontario understand their legal options and pursue the compensation they deserve.