walk Tag Archives

Who’s Liable After a Dog Attack?

Dog attack playtime at the beach

Under Ontario’s Dog Owners’ Liability Act, the owner of a dog is liable for damages resulting from a bite or attack by the dog on another person or domestic animal. This may sound straightforward, but depends entirely on the definition of the dog’s “owner”.

Shaw v. Mkheyan, 2017 ONSC 851

This is a threshold motion in which the plaintiff had pre-existing osteoarthritis in his left knee. The plaintiff was successful in establishing the subject car accident caused his asymptomatic left knee to become symptomatic and thus his injuries met threshold.