Legal Question in Personal Injury in Canada

Dog Bite : Bitten by my boss's dog at my place of employment
Hi,
I live in Vancouver, BC. My boss often brings his senior german shepard dog into work, and the dog has never been a problem to me before. However, today I was going into my boss's office to drop of some documents (my boss was out at lunch) when the dog lunged at me and bit my thigh.
I didn't think too much of it, but I was quite startled. Other employess, when they saw the bite mark, asked me to go to a walk-in clinic for a tetnis shot. I got the shot, but I am a bit concerned about future scarring of the bite marks. The area on my leg still hurts quite a lot(it has been about 7 hours); although, the wound does not appear to be too serious. The doctor said that I would need to monitor the bite over the next 3 day to make sure of no possible infection.
One concern that I do have is that I am not 100% sure of the dog's background (i.e. if it has been attacking other animals), but I do know that the dog has bitten others in our office.
I am an accountant, and I love dogs, so I am just wondering if anyone would have any advice regarding this situation.

Asked on 1/31/07, 9:43 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Donald McLeod Donald R. McLeod Law Corp.

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Re: Dog Bite : Bitten by my boss's dog at my place of employment

Seeking medical attention right away was absolutly the right thing to do. Make sure you document this incident thoroughly. Make notes about time date and chain of events and witnesses, and take photographs of your injuries and keep all of this documentation off-premises - that is not at your work site; make sure your family physician has thorough notes. If your company has an HR department or union, go immediately to the HR manager and/or union representative and report this incident. You should also report the incident to WorkSafeBC. In Vancouver the city animal control department should be notified. Last, consult a lawyer immediatley. You need to put into place a plan to safeguard yourself agains retaliation which could take the form of harassment or job loss. The behaviour of bringing an untrustworthy dog into work and then leaving it unsupervised may well be viewed by the Courts as negligent.

Answered on 2/01/07, 9:55 am

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