New Brunswick has no dog owners’ liability statute. That is the first thing to know about a dog bite claim in New Brunswick, and it changes everything that follows. In Ontario an owner is liable for a bite, full stop. Here, you have to prove either that the owner knew the dog was dangerous or that the owner was careless in controlling it. The claim is then paid, almost always, by the owner’s home or tenant insurance.
The steps below are in the order they matter. The first two protect your health. The rest protect the claim.
See a Doctor the Same Day, for the Wound and for the Record
See a doctor the same day. Dog teeth drive bacteria deep into tissue, and a puncture that looks trivial can be badly infected within 48 hours. A doctor will clean the wound properly, decide on antibiotics, and consider a tetanus booster or rabies treatment if the dog’s vaccination status is unknown.
The visit does a second job. The chart note records the injury, on that date, in a doctor’s words. Insurers dispute injuries that were never examined, and a bite that was treated at home with peroxide and a bandage is, on the insurer’s file, a bite that may not have happened.
Follow up. If the wound reddens, swells or starts to drain in the days after, go back. Each visit adds to the record and each record is evidence of how the injury actually ran.
Report the Attack to Animal Control So the Dog and the Owner Are Identified
Once you are treated, report the attack to animal control, the SPCA or the police, depending on your municipality. The report identifies the dog and the owner, and animal control can find out whether the dog has a history of complaints. That history is the evidence the claim will turn on.
Give the officer the breed, size, colour, any collar or tag, the time and place, and whether the dog was leashed. Ask for a copy of the final report.
The adjuster relies on the report for a plain reason. It was made by a neutral officer close to the time of the attack, before either side had a lawyer, and it fixes the date, the place and the dog’s identity in a document nobody can later rewrite.
Photographs, Witnesses and Unwashed Clothing Are the Evidence From the Scene
If you can, photograph the wounds before they are dressed, then the location, any missing fence or gate, torn clothing and damaged property. Ask anyone who saw the attack for a name and phone number. A witness who is not related to either party is worth a great deal when the owner tells a different story.
Keep the clothing and footwear you were wearing, unwashed, in a bag. Torn fabric shows the force of the bite, and blood and dirt on it corroborate where you were and what happened.
The Claim Needs a Named Owner, So Get Their Details Without Arguing
There is no claim without a defendant. If the owner is there, get a name, address and phone number, and ask for their home or tenant insurance details. Do not argue about fault. Anything you say at the scene can be repeated back later.
If the dog was loose and the owner absent, watch where it goes and ask the neighbours. If that fails, animal control’s investigation may find the owner.
The One-Bite Rule Means Proving the Owner Knew the Dog Was Dangerous
Liability for animals in this province is governed by the common law, and the main doctrine is scienter, known as the one-bite rule. The owner is liable if the owner knew, before the attack, that the dog had a propensity to bite or to be aggressive. The question is what the owner knew.
The name misleads people. The dog does not need a prior bite on its record. Evidence that it lunged at the mail carrier, snapped at a child, or had to be dragged back from the fence is evidence of a known propensity. Neighbours, prior complaints to animal control, and the owner’s own warnings (“don’t go near him”) all count.
Prove scienter and the owner’s home insurance responds. Gathering that proof is most of the work in a dog bite claim in New Brunswick, and it is what we do first.
The practical sources are these. Animal control records of prior complaints about the same address. Neighbours who have seen the dog behave aggressively and are prepared to say so. A veterinarian’s file noting that the dog had to be muzzled. The owner’s own posts and messages. Where the owner denies any knowledge, those are the documents that answer the denial.
Negligence Is the Second Route and Does Not Require a Known History
Scienter is not the only route. An owner is also liable in negligence for failing to take reasonable care to control the dog, whatever its history.
If a municipal bylaw requires dogs to be leashed and an unleashed dog attacks, the owner has breached the standard of care. The same applies to a broken fence the owner knew about, or a gate left open. In a negligence claim you do not have to prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous. You have to prove the owner was careless.
Most claims plead both. Which one succeeds depends on the facts, and the facts are usually obtained by asking the right people quickly.
A third possibility exists in principle. A dog is not, at common law, a dangerous animal in the way a wild animal is, so strict liability in the pure sense does not attach to keeping one. That is why the two routes above, scienter and negligence, are the ones a New Brunswick court will actually hear.
The Owner’s Home Insurance Pays, Subject to Breed Exclusions and Policy Limits
The owner’s home or tenant policy carries personal liability coverage, and that coverage pays dog bite claims. The insurer assigns an adjuster whose job is to pay as little as the file allows.
Two things to check early. Some policies exclude named breeds; if the dog is one of them, there may be no coverage. And every policy has a liability limit, which caps what the insurer will pay. We obtain the policy details and tell you what is actually available.
When coverage exists, the insurer takes over the defence. The owner stops being the person you deal with, and the file is handled by the adjuster and, later, by the insurer’s lawyer. We handle every communication with them so that nothing you say to an old neighbour ends up in the insurer’s file.
Give the Adjuster No Recorded Statement and No Medical Authorization
The adjuster will call you within days. They will be pleasant. Do not give a recorded statement. Do not sign a medical authorization; the standard form lets the insurer read your entire medical history in search of something to blame.
Questions will be framed to suggest you provoked the dog or ignored a warning. “I’m feeling okay” becomes evidence you were not hurt. Send the adjuster to your lawyer and let the conversation happen there.
A Dog Bite Claim in New Brunswick Recovers General Damages, Expenses, Lost Wages and Future Care
The law aims to put you back where you were before the attack, in money.
General damages compensate pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. There is no price list; the figure comes from what New Brunswick courts have awarded for comparable injuries.
Special damages repay what you spent: ambulance, prescriptions, dressings, mileage to appointments. Keep every receipt.
Lost wages are recoverable if the injury kept you off work. Future costs are recoverable too, and in dog attack cases they often include scar revision surgery and counselling.
Each head is proven separately. General damages come from the medical evidence and comparable decisions. Special damages come from receipts. Lost wages come from your employer’s records. Future care comes from a treating specialist’s opinion about what will be needed and what it will cost. A demand that covers each of these, with the proof attached, is what the insurer responds to.
Anxiety and PTSD After an Attack Are Compensable If Documented
Anxiety, sleep disturbance and a lasting fear of dogs are common after an attack, and some victims meet the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. Those are compensable injuries.
They have to be documented like any other. A diagnosis from a psychologist or physician, and clinical notes over time, are what turn “I’m scared of dogs now” into a proven head of damage. Tell your doctor about the nightmares as well as the wound.
Child Claims Need Court Approval and Are Valued Over Decades
Children are bitten more often than adults, and bitten on the face more often, because of their height. The scarring is permanent and the surgery is repeated as the child grows.
A settlement for a minor has to be approved by the court, and the money is held in trust until the child turns 19. The claim has to project medical and psychological needs decades ahead, which is why these files are valued differently from an adult’s.
An Uninsured Owner Can Be Sued Personally, and a Landlord May Also Be Liable
Some owners have no home or tenant policy. You can still sue the owner personally, but a judgment is worth only what the defendant can pay. We run an asset search before recommending that route.
Look for another defendant. A landlord who knew a tenant kept a dangerous dog and did nothing may be liable, and the landlord’s insurer may respond. A person who was walking or minding the dog at the time, and lost control of it, may also be liable in negligence, and may have coverage of their own.
Missed Appointments and Unreported Symptoms Reduce the Claim
The claim is built on medical records. Attend every appointment and follow the treatment plan. A missed appointment is argued as evidence you were not hurt, and as a failure to mitigate that reduces the award.
Tell your providers about every symptom, including the ones that seem minor. If it is not in the chart, the insurer will say it did not happen. A daily journal of pain, sleep and limitations fills the gaps between visits.
You Have Two Years From the Attack to Start the Action
New Brunswick’s Limitation of Actions Act gives two years to start an action, counted from the day the injury was known or ought to have been known. On most bites that is the day of the attack, but not on an infection or a scar that declares itself later. Miss it and the claim is gone. For a child, the clock generally does not start until the child reaches the age of majority. The Act is on the official provincial government website.
Two years sounds like plenty. Investigating scienter, obtaining records and waiting for injuries to stabilize takes most of it. Call early.
The Firm Litigates These Claims on a No Win, No Fee Basis
The firm has litigated personal injury claims in New Brunswick for decades and knows how scienter and negligence are argued in this province’s courts and how home insurers value these files.
Personal injury work is done on contingency. No win, no fee. Clients pay nothing unless the firm recovers money.
Read more about how the firm handles dog bite claims in New Brunswick, or read the firm’s history.
FAQ
What Happens If the Animal That Attacked Me Was a Stray?
If no owner can be found there is no defendant, and no civil claim. Report the attack anyway and get treated. A dog bite claim in New Brunswick needs an identified owner and, in practice, an insurance policy.
Can I Sue If the Animal Did Not Bite Me but Knocked Me Over?
Yes. A dog that knocks you down and breaks your wrist has caused an injury, and the owner is liable in negligence if the dog was not under control. The claim does not depend on teeth breaking skin.
Do I Have to Go to Court to Get a Settlement?
Usually not. Most claims settle with the insurer. If the insurer denies liability or the offer is too low, the action is started and prepared for trial. Files prepared for trial settle better.
Will the Animal Be Put Down If I File a Lawsuit?
A civil claim has nothing to do with that decision. Whether a dog is destroyed is decided by animal control under municipal bylaws, not by the court hearing your claim.
How Much Is My Dog Bite Claim Worth?
Nobody can say without the medical evidence. Value depends on the severity of the injury, the scarring, the psychological effect, lost income, the strength of the liability case and the prognosis. A free consultation is where that assessment starts.
The firm handles other claim types too, listed under injury law areas, and the Moncton office is where new clients start.