Every day, more than 300 dog bites are reported on minors in Quebec. If you have been attacked by a dog and have suffered serious sequelae as a result of this incident, you are entitled to compensation.
Let’s look at what the law provides in the event of a dog bite and in what situations you can file a civil lawsuit against the owner.
The responsibility of the owner or custodian
The Civil Code of Québec sets out liability for an animal as follows:
The owner of an animal is required to make good the damage that the animal has caused, whether it was in his custody or that of a third party, or whether it was lost or escaped.
In addition to the owner of the animal, the keeper may also be held liable for the harm caused by the animal during the time he keeps it.
It should be noted that the plaintiff of an action against the owner of an animal does not have to prove the fault of the latter. For example, it is not necessary to prove that the defendant was negligent in not leashing a dog or that the dog was raised aggressively. Therefore, the defendant will not be able to invoke the absence of fault as a defence.
Indeed, the law provides for a presumption of liability without regard to fault: the simple fact of being the owner of the animal that caused injuries is sufficient for the responsibility of the owner of the animal to be engaged.
The master will not be held liable only if he demonstrates that the fault is not related to him, but attributable to another person or to a foreign factor (force majeure). Therefore, it is necessary to look at whether something has interacted with the animal or whether it is the autonomous fact of the animal in order to assess the responsibility of the owner.
The responsibility of the victim
Often, the owner of the animal will try to exonerate his responsibility by alleging the lack of caution on the part of the victim.
If the evidence shows that the victim caused the behavior of the animal that caused injury, the owner cannot be held responsible for the accident.
As an example, let’s take the case of a lady approaching a dog despite numerous warnings from the owner that it could be dangerous. She tries to flatter the animal and gets bitten by it. In this case, there is fault of the victim, because she injured herself by ignoring the warnings of the owner.
In another case, the Court did not hold the defendant liable in an action where a man was severely injured while approaching a dog that was breastfeeding. The court ruled that the plaintiff had been negligent and was the architect of his own misfortune.
On the other hand, if the evidence reveals that the victim’s fault contributed to the damage suffered, there will be a sharing of responsibility.
Suing the owner of an animal for damages
Here are the elements necessary to be entitled to legal recourse against the owner of the animal:
- Establish who is the owner of the animal or the user of the animal;
- Demonstrate your harm ;
- Establish the causal link between the damage you have suffered and the autonomous fact of the animal.
To prove the damage suffered by the wrongful behavior of an animal, it is necessary to produce medical expertise, which can be neurological, orthopedic or other. The expertise is used in particular to demonstrate your anatomo-physiological deficit (DAP) and your aesthetic damage.
The various damages that can be claimed as damages may include:
- Lost wages;
- Permanent sequelae;
- Aesthetic damage;
- Loss of enjoyment of life;
- Pain, suffering, disorders and various inconveniences;
Please note that the amount of non-pecuniary loss that may be awarded to you as compensation for the damage can vary greatly from case to case.
For example, someone who suffers a dog bite on his right hand while he is right-handed suffers more damage than if he had been bitten on his left hand. Similarly, the harm will be greater for a manual worker who injures his arm because of an animal than for an employee who works in customer service.
This is on a case-by-case basis and each file must be analysed separately.
If you have suffered damage as a result of a dog attack, we advise you to contact our office so that we can evaluate your case and the chances of success.
