Are you suffering from injuries after a dog bite in Burlington, Ontario? The dog’s owner may be responsible for your damages. An experienced Burlington dog bite lawyer at Findlay Personal Injury Lawyers can help you fight to maximize your financial recovery. You may deserve money for medical bills, lost wages, and more. Our lawyers have over 92 years of experience in personal injury law between us. We’ve recovered over $100 million in settlements and verdicts since we started our law firm.
Dog bites can leave you struggling with severe wounds, infections, and other dangerous injuries. If you were injured, contact our law offices in Burlington, Ontario, at (289) 512-0829 to schedule a free consultation today.
Why Should I Call Findlay Personal Injury Lawyers for Help Navigating a Dog Bite Injury Claim in Burlington?
You can’t hold a dog liable for attacking you. Ultimately, it’s the dog’s owner who must step up and take responsibility. Unfortunately, many dog owners refuse to do that. They may even blame you for causing the dog to bite you.
It’s important to have an experienced Burlington personal injury attorney advocating on your behalf. Clients in Burlington, ON, have trusted Findlay Personal Injury Lawyers to fight for them since we opened our doors more than four decades ago. Our team has been recognized as The Hamilton Spectator 2016 Reader’s Choice Platinum Winner.
When you hire us, you’ll be gaining a team to:
- Investigate and gather evidence
- Locate all possible sources of compensation and insurance coverage
- Negotiate on your behalf for a full settlement
- Invest our own resources to hire experts to strengthen your case
- Defend against allegations that you provoked the dog bite
- Assess your losses and determine how much money you deserve
- Reject unfair settlement offers and proceed to trial if necessary
Are you ready to learn more about legal representation? Call our Burlington personal injury lawyers for a free consultation today.
How Much Money Is My Burlington Dog Bite Injury Case Worth?
The value of your personal injury case really depends on the facts. There is no standard value for dog bite injury claims. The specific details will drive valuation in your case.
Relevant factors that must be evaluated include:
- The types of injuries you have sustained
- The amount of money you’ve spent on medical care
- Your need for ongoing medical treatment, rehab, and assistance (and the cost)
- Whether you will suffer any permanent impairment or disfigurement
- How the trauma of the animal attack has impacted your life
- The value of any income you have lost during recovery
- Whether you can return to work in the same capacity
- Your age
- Whether you did anything to provoke the animal to attack
More serious injuries are likely to disrupt your life in the most significant ways. Serious injury cases, therefore, tend to be worth more than cases involving only minor inconvenience. Regardless of the facts, however, insurance companies always try to downplay a victim’s losses. To maximize your case value, it’s important to have an experienced lawyer negotiating on your behalf.
Our team is up to the challenge. Call us today to schedule a free case review and tell us what happened.
What Types of Compensatory Damages Are Available to Dog Bite Victims in Burlington, ON?
Your damages award should compensate you for all losses you have suffered due to the dog bite. That includes pecuniary damages and non-pecuniary damages.
Whether you pursue compensation via an insurance claim or lawsuit, you may deserve compensation for:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning potential
- Physical therapy
- Rehabilitation
- Nursing care
- Mental health counseling
- Other verifiable financial losses
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- PTSD and fear
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Physical disfigurement and scarring
You only have one chance to recover a compensation award that makes up for your losses. Our lawyers can help you identify your losses and prove their value to the insurance companies.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Lawyer to Handle a Dog Bite Injury Claim in Burlington?
Our team at Findlay Personal Injury Lawyers operates solely on a contingency fee model. When you hire us, we’ll discuss this fee structure in detail. As a basic matter, a contingency fee means that your lawyer’s fees depend on the amount of compensation they recover in your case. Our firm will take a set percentage of your settlement or verdict.
What Happens to My Right to Recover Financial Compensation If I’m Being Blamed for a Dog Bite in Ontario?
Ontario has a pure comparative negligence law. This comparative negligence law also applies in dog bite injury cases. If you share any blame for the dog bite, your compensation will be reduced based on your share of fault.
Most often, shared fault in dog bite cases is based on provocation. The owner will claim that the dog only bit you because you did something to provoke the attack. Your compensation will only be reduced if the owner actually has evidence to prove that you were partly responsible.
Getting blamed for your own injuries can be incredibly frustrating. Defending yourself can be the key to receiving a fair settlement amount. Our lawyers know these laws well, and we have the tools to develop a successful defense strategy. Give us a call today to learn more.
Our Trusted Lawyers in Burlington Will Fight to Recover Compensation for All of Your Dog Bite Injuries
Dog attacks have the potential to cause severe and debilitating injuries. That’s especially true if the victim is small or was pushed violently to the ground during the attack. Our lawyers represent clients in all types of dog bite injury cases, including those where a victim has suffered:
- Broken bones
- Concussions
- Dislocations
- Cuts and lacerations
- Nerve injuries
- Back injuries
- Soft tissue damage
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Head and neck injuries
- Eye and facial injuries
- Crushing injuries
- Internal bleeding
- Organ damage
- Sepsis and shock
- Amputations, most often caused by infection
- Catastrophic and fatal injuries
If you or a child were bitten by a dog, seek medical attention quickly. If it’s an emergency, call 911 to report the injury. You should also call the Halton Public Health Department to report the dog bite. If the dog is not properly vaccinated, it’s possible that your injuries can become more severe than you initially believed.
How Do I Prove I’m Entitled to Receive Compensation After a Dog Bite in Ontario?
The Dog Owner’s Liability Act (DOLA) governs dog bite injury claims in Ontario. Dog owners in Ontario are liable for any harm that their dog causes. This is a strict liability law. You can recover damages regardless of whether the dog owner was negligent and regardless of whether they knew the dog had vicious tendencies.
You can sue the dog’s owner for damages if:
- The dog bit or attacked you, or a domestic animal
- The dog behaved in a way that created a risk to your safety or that of a domestic animal
- The dog’s owner failed to take reasonable precautions to prevent the dog from attacking or biting
Again, you don’t have to prove the owner was negligent. However, it’s possible that someone other than the dog’s owner could be liable for your damages if they were negligent. For example, property owners or landlords can be held liable based on their general duty to keep others on the premises safe from reasonably foreseeable harm.
How Can I Prove a Third Party Owes Me Compensation for Dog Bite Injuries?
Claims against someone other than the dog’s owner are typically based on premises liability laws. All property owners have certain duties. They must keep their property reasonably safe for invited visitors and guests. That includes protecting them from known hazards, such as an aggressive dog.
To recover damages, you must prove:
- You were lawfully on the property, so the owner owed you a duty of care
- They breached their duty by failing to protect you from a dangerous dog
- That breach of duty directly allowed the dog to bite you
- You suffered damages as a result
If you have questions about your rights under Ontario law, call our lawyers in Burlington today. We’ll arrange a time to sit down, discuss your case and explore options.
How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit After a Dog Bite in Ontario?
The statute of limitations in most Ontario personal injury cases is two years. You must file your lawsuit within two years of the date the dog bit you. Wait longer than two years, and your case will be thrown out without providing any compensation. That said, there could be an exception that applies in your case. Don’t hesitate to reach out to learn more about your legal options today.
Contact an Experienced Burlington Dog Bite Lawyer for a Free Consultation
You shouldn’t have to bear the consequences alone if someone else’s dog attacked you in Burlington, ON. Our experienced Burlington dog bite lawyers can help you fight for every dollar you deserve. Call Findlay Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule your free consultation today.
