Dog Bite Settlement Calculator — Canada

Estimate your dog bite claim including scarring, psychological impact, and lost income — under Ontario's strict liability Dog Owners' Liability Act and other provincial regimes.

How Dog Bite Claims Work in Canada

Dog bite compensation in Canada depends first on the liability regime. Ontario's Dog Owners' Liability Act (DOLA) imposes strict liability: the owner is responsible for a bite or attack even if the dog had never shown aggression before — no 'one free bite.' Most other provinces rely on the common law scienter doctrine or negligence, where the victim must prove the owner knew or ought to have known the dog was dangerous. Practically, most claims are paid by the owner's homeowner or tenant liability insurance, which typically carries $1–2 million in coverage.

What Drives the Settlement Value

• Scarring severity and location: facial scarring is compensated far more heavily than scarring on a limb or torso. Permanent, visible scars drive general damages.
• Psychological injury: diagnosed PTSD, anxiety, or cynophobia adds a distinct head of damages, often supported by a psychologist's report.
• Child victims: children are bitten in the face more often, live with scars longer, and courts approve their settlements to ensure fairness — values run materially higher.
• Medical and future costs: plastic surgery consults, scar revision surgery ($5,000–$15,000 per revision), and counselling.
• Provocation: under DOLA s.2(3), damages are reduced for the victim's contributory fault.

Worked Example

A 9-year-old bitten on the cheek requiring 22 stitches, leaving a permanent 4 cm facial scar, with a psychologist-confirmed dog phobia and a plastic surgeon quoting $12,000 for future revision: medical costs $3,500 + future revision $12,000 + counselling $2,400, with general damages for permanent facial scarring on a child commonly in the $60,000–$110,000 range — a total claim around $78,000–$128,000, subject to court approval of any settlement for a minor. Canada's inflation-adjusted cap on general damages (~$450,000) is only relevant in catastrophic maulings.

When to Call a Lawyer

Retain a personal injury lawyer whenever there is permanent scarring, a child victim, psychological injury, or an insurer arguing provocation. Contingency retainers (25–35%) mean no upfront cost, and settlements for minors need court approval regardless.

Explore more free tools on our Personal Injury Calculators hub, walk through our interactive Personal Injury Wizards to understand your claim step by step, or contact LexScale.ai to build calculators like this for your own law firm website.

How This Calculator Works

The tool assigns a base value to your scarring severity, multiplies it by a location factor (facial and other visible scarring carries the highest multiplier), adds a value for the psychological-impact level you select, applies a child-victim uplift where applicable, and then adds your medical costs and lost income. The result is a low–high settlement range reflecting how widely dog bite outcomes vary with the quality of scarring and psychological evidence.

Evidence That Moves Dog Bite Settlements

• Photographs of the wounds on day one, at suture removal, and every month afterward — scars change, and juries and adjusters respond to the timeline.
• The animal control or public health report, which also surfaces any prior complaints about the same dog.
• A plastic surgeon's opinion on permanence and the quoted cost of future revision surgery.
• A psychologist's report where there is any fear response, nightmares, or avoidance behaviour — especially in children.
• Witness statements establishing the absence of provocation.
• Confirmation of the owner's homeowner or tenant liability policy, which is almost always the real source of payment.

Because scarring claims are valued on permanence, resist any early settlement offer made before a plastic surgeon has assessed the mature scar — typically 12 to 18 months after the injury for adults, and longer for growing children whose scars stretch and migrate as they grow. Insurers know that a fresh, red scar frequently fades, so they push for early releases; the corollary is that a scar which remains prominent at maturity is worth substantially more than any early offer will reflect. Patience, photographs, and a surgeon's permanence opinion are the three pillars of full value.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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