Judge awards nurse nearly $61,000 after she was attacked by dog in N.S. home

Nova Scotia's provincial flag flies in Ottawa, Friday July 3, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

HALIFAX -

A Halifax-area couple has been ordered to pay nearly $61,000 in damages and $4,000 in court costs after their dog attacked and injured a homecare nurse at their residence in 2016.

In a written decision dated Sept. 19, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Christa Brothers ruled that Harvey Hayden and Susan Forrest were negligent in failing to control their dog when they knew the nurse would be in their Spryfield, N.S., home.

Lynn Patterson was attacked by the couple's valley bulldog during a visit to their home in May 2016 while she was working as a licensed practical nurse for the Victorian Order of Nurses. Patterson sustained a "significant" bite to her right arm and a bite to her back, the judge said.

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"I am satisfied that the attack also caused her to suffer ongoing pain to her neck and back and ongoing anxiety and panic attacks," Brothers wrote, noting the medical and psychological reports filed with the court.

Brothers said Patterson, who now lives in Bruno, Sask., was scheduled to care for Forrest and had been to the home before and was aware the couple had a dog. The judge says the nurse called ahead to advise the patient that she was coming and ensure the dog was tied up or put away during her visit.

After caring for Forrest, the nurse was attacked on a landing near the door as she was about to leave. The screaming nurse grabbed a coat rack and hit the dog with it.

"At this point the dog had a hold of the back of her right arm and elbow," the ruling said. "The owner (Hayden) was able to get the dog off of Ms. Patterson."

The nurse staggered to her car and the man who owned the dog yelled at her to come back inside the house so he could bandage her arm. Then he said, "Don't call 911, they'll put my dog down."

The defendants argued that it wasn't credible for Patterson to claim that she had picked up the coat rack to hit the dog, because the couple said the rack was "far too heavy to use in that manner."

But the judge said she accepted that the plaintiff used the rack to defend herself. "The defendants' descriptions of the coat rack have changed over time," the judge said. "They have described the coat rack being both 100 pounds and 60-75 pounds."

The judgment says the couple didn't appear in court until April of this year despite being sent a registered letter in 2017 informing them about the legal action. Brothers rejected the couple's arguments that they didn't know about the lawsuit against them, saying there were repeated attempts to get them to respond.

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

The judge noted in her ruling that the couple has informed the court that they don't have the money to pay the nurse the amount awarded to her.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.

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