The act of walking a dog does not seem like a risky action. Men and women have been walking their four-legged pet for many decades. Still, it does entail a decided amount of risk. All dog walkers must pay for the costs of any treatment to someone that has been bitten by their pet canine.
What victim must prove, in order to make a pet owner liable for an injury?
• Plaintiffs have to prove that the dog owner was negligent.
• Owner knew that the dog had a tendency to act in a vicious manner.
• In some states the pet owner does not have to be at the scene of a dog bite incident, in order to get charged with careless and neglectful behavior.
Times when a dog owner can escape the charge of negligence, following a dog bite incident
If the plaintiff provoked the canine in any way, then the defense lawyer can point to that fact, while seeking to free his or her client from a charge of liability.
If the plaintiff had been trespassing on the defendant’s property, then the plaintiff’s lawyer would not have much of a case. The role of a guard dog seems rather obvious. A plaintiff can showcase the dog’s role by posting warning signs on the guarded piece of property.
In contrast to the property owner that also owns a pet canine, dog walkers do not have a ready means of letting others know to be careful, when approaching the dog’s walking partner. In other words, a lover of dogs might be held liable for a biting injury that someone sustained at a spot well removed from the home of that same lover of canines.
The responsibility of the person that gets bitten by a dog
If possible, that particular victim should check to see if the vicious animal was wearing a license plate. If it was not wearing a license plate, then that fact should be reported. The victim’s report should be submitted to animal control authorities.
City governments do not want to be held responsible for the presence of unlicensed pets on the city’s streets. In the absence of a license, the government cannot locate the owner of the canine with the sharp teeth. By the same token, it cannot notify the owner if that particular animal gets taken to the pound.
Naturally, the victim of a dog bite should go to the nearest hospital emergency room or the nearest clinic. If the victim’s actions were to suggest an effort to mitigate the incident’s consequences, then that same victim would have trouble presenting a case as strong as the other party’s. Hence that same victim could get a rather small compensation, if they do not hire the services of an injury lawyer in Edmonton.