Nurse awarded $61K after dog attack in patient's Halifax-area home

A Halifax-area couple has found out the hard way that failing to keep control of their dog can be expensive.

They've been ordered to pay a woman nearly $61,000 in damages plus $4,000 in costs for an attack in their house. The cost award is contained in a recent decision by a Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice.

The case dates back to May 2016, when the woman attended the couple's Spryfield home in her capacity as a VON nurse. According to court documents, the nurse had called ahead to make sure the couple's dog was locked up. 

It was after she'd completed her work and was getting ready to leave the home when she said she was attacked by the defendants' Valley bulldog.

It happened on a landing as the nurse was heading downstairs.

"She threw herself back into the corner where the coat rack was, grabbed it, and began hitting the dog with it," Justice Christa Brothers wrote in her decision.

"At this point, the dog had a hold of the back of her right arm and elbow."

Brothers said the man who owned the dog yelled that he didn't know the nurse was still in the home. She suffered puncture wounds on her arm and abrasions on her back. She refused an offer of help from the homeowners.

Treated in hospital

The decision said the man told the nurse not to call 911, saying they could put his dog down. She called anyway and ended up in the hospital for treatment, including stitches for the puncture wounds.

While her physical wounds were described as relatively minor, the psychological damage from the attack was described as much more severe and has required ongoing treatment.

In April 2017, lawyers working on behalf of the nurse sent a registered letter to the couple, telling them an action had been started against them.

Since they failed to respond by May 2021, the protonotary issued a default judgment against them.

Couple said they couldn't pay

It wasn't until April of this year, when they were told that a judge would be assessing damages against them, that the couple showed up in court to request an adjournment. 

"Despite repeated attempts to have the defendants respond to the action, there was no communication from either defendant, nor were any defences filed," Brothers wrote.

"The defendants have had continuous opportunities to defend this claim. They have ignored all opportunities to defend the claim until this motion for an assessment of damages."

They ended up representing themselves at the hearing to assess damages. They disputed the nurse's version, saying she could not possibly have wielded the heavy coat rack she said she used to fend off the dog. They also said her neck and back pain was the result of a previous traffic accident and that she was partially responsible for her injuries because she had screamed and startled the animal.

The judge rejected the arguments, saying their negligence was in failing to control the dog. She also said she didn't believe their claims that they weren't aware of the lawsuit against them.

The defendants told the judge they don't have the money to pay the awards against them.