It’s a pet owner's worst nightmare:
You bring your animal to your veterinarian for a routine procedure and something goes horribly wrong.
When your doctor commits medical malpractice, you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit to recover damages. But what happens when your veterinarian injures your pet? Can they be sued?
Veterinary statistics
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are roughly 70,000 veterinarians in the country.
Statistics from the American Veterinary Medical Association indicate that pet owners spend more than $40 million taking their pets to the vet. Costs for many veterinary procedures rival those of medical procedures for humans.
Can I sue my veterinarian?
Yes! If your veterinarian commits malpractice, you can sue them for damages related to the injury of your pet. Veterinary malpractice is a lot like medical malpractice. To establish a successful claim, you have to prove 4 things:
- Duty of care. You have to prove that your vet accepted the responsibility to treat your pet. This is usually easy to prove, as treatment is generally scheduled ahead of time.
- Breach. You have to prove that the actions or inactions of your vet fell below the professional standard of care.
- Proximate cause. You have to prove that the deviation from the professional standard of care was the cause of your pet’s injury.
- Damages. You must prove that there was some damage to YOU (not just your pet).
In most veterinary malpractice cases, the most difficult element to prove is “breach.” That is, that the vet deviated from the professional standard of care.
Most states define “professional standard of care” as “the exercise of the care and diligence as is ordinarily exercised by skilled veterinarians.” While some states compare the behavior in question to that of skilled veterinarians in the local community, others compare it to that of skilled veterinarians in the nation.
The bottom line is that to establish a successful veterinary malpractice claim, you’ll need to consult other veterinarians to provide expert testimony that your vet’s actions departed from what the average vet would do in the same situation.
In rare cases, your vet’s actions might be so bad that you won’t need to hire expert witnesses to establish a breach of the professional standard of care. The fancy name for this legal principle is “res ipsa loquitur,” which simply means that the act is so bad that negligence is presumed.
For example, if you bring your dog in for surgery on his right paw and the veterinarian amputates his left paw, res ipsa loquitur would likely apply.
Defenses to veterinary malpractice
If you sue your veterinarian, you may reach a quick settlement (most likely with the vet’s insurer) or the vet might put up a fight. The most common defenses to a veterinary malpractice lawsuit are:
- Statute of limitations defense. The statute of limitations refers to the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit. If you don’t file your lawsuit within the statute of limitations, your case will be dismissed. The statute of limitations in veterinary malpractice cases is generally 2 or 3 years, but the exact time varies from state-to-state.
- Good Samaritan defense. Most states have Good Samaritan laws. Under these laws, if a vet renders care in an emergency situation, they’ll only be liable for gross negligence. Gross negligence is a more egregious form of negligence. It won’t be sufficient that the vet deviated from the professional standard of care. Rather, you’ll have to show that the vet deviated substantially from the standard of care (such as in the case of the vet amputating the wrong paw).
Veterinarian negligence damages
The traditional computation of damages for the loss of a pet is the market value of the pet. In other words, the amount of money someone else would pay for a pet of the same age, breed, condition, etc.
Understanding that pets are more valuable to their owners than their “market value” reflects, some states have broken away from the traditional computation of damages and have allowed damages for:
- Emotional distress (the mental anguish suffered by the pet owner)
- Loss of companionship
- Intrinsic value (the “true value,” rather than how much the pet can be sold for)
In addition, a veterinarian who commits malpractice may face disciplinary action (such as the suspension or loss of their license).
In California, a dog owner sued 2 veterinarians after the death of his 3-year old Labrador retriever. The owner alleged that the veterinarians, over a 4-month period, misdiagnosed the dog’s illness, lied about the dog’s condition, and failed to advise the owner of the treatment risks.
After the trial, the jury awarded the owner $39,000. Importantly, the jury chose to award the owner the intrinsic value of the dog ($39,000), rather than the dog’s fair market value, which was determined to be $10.
Do I need a lawyer?
You’ll need to weigh the cost of an attorney with the potential cost of litigation to determine whether hiring an attorney to pursue a veterinary malpractice claim makes sense for you.
When it comes to veterinary malpractice cases, attorneys generally work on a contingency fee basis. This means the attorney won’t charge you anything unless they recover damages. Before making a decision, it’s always good to meet with an attorney. Most initial consultations are free and the attorney can help you decide whether your claim is worth pursuing.
If you need help finding an attorney in your area, consult our free online directory.
Have you ever had a bad experience with a vet? Share your story below.
Can You Sue if Your Pet Is Hurt at a Boarding Facility?
Learn your legal options if your pet is injured at a boarding facility. Understand what damages you can claim and steps to take if something goes wrong.
kimmy says
my cat died yesterday morning and I think he got in the trash and bit into a sharp broken chicken bone because my fat dog keeps knocking over trash, The vet was a liar because he said he would be healthy and up and eating in 2 weeks and gave him a diagonosis of absess in mouth and I have written proof, I called him to tell him he died after he was already paid and he said ”oh he had mouth cancer” and to bury him in my backyard…when we took him in he also gave him convenia antibiotic and abscess fistula surg grade 1 and then billed me before asking me if I wanted it done first…and when I called him about him dying he said ”oh he had mouth cancer” I did’nt do tests for that because I did’nt think you people can’t afford over $400 dollars in tests and if you can’t afford cremations or a burial…”It’s a nice day outside so just bury him in the backyard” I would like to sue him for malpractice because not only did he let my cat die,he also stereotyped us on top of charging us without permission…so do I have a case? thank you
kelly says
my cat died on saturday march 7th 2020 and I think he got in the trash and bit into a sharp broken chicken bone because my dog keeps knocking over trash, The vet was a liar because he said he would be healthy and up and eating in 2 weeks and gave him a diagonosis of absess in mouth and I have written proof, I called him to tell him he died after he was already paid and he said ”oh he had mouth cancer” and to bury him in my backyard…when we took him in he also gave him convenia antibiotic and abscess fistula surg grade 1 and then billed me before asking me if I wanted it done first…and when I called him about him dying he said ”oh he had mouth cancer” I did’nt do tests for that because I did’nt think you people can’t afford over $400 dollars in tests and if you can’t afford cremations or a burial…”It’s a nice day outside so just bury him in the backyard” I would like to sue him for malpractice because not only did he let my cat die,he also stereotyped us on top of charging us without permission…so do I have a case? thank you
Ian Pisarcik says
Kelly,
You can sue the vet if his actions fell below the applicable standard (i.e., what a reasonable vet would do in the same situation). If the vet diagnosed your cat with cancer but failed to notify you, his actions likely fell below the standard of care.
The challenge with your case is that, while litigating a medical malpractice case is costly, the damages you could receive aren’t likely to be very high. Though our pets are invaluable to us, the courts generally don’t award much money for the loss of a pet (generally, it’s the fair market value of the animal plus – in some cases – damages for mental anguish). Nevertheless, you may want to contact the “referral department” of your local bar association. Sometimes, the bar can put you in touch with a lawyer willing to do the work at a reduced cost.
Spencer says
My cat went to a spay clinic and when we got her back her sutures were bumpy which if they sent her home that way I assumed they were normal. Cut to three days later and the bump never changed in size but she fell ill. I brought her to the emergency vet and turns out she has a hernia because they assume they didn’t suture her abdominal wall properly. I spoke to them to try to make it right and they want no responsibility. Can I sue for malpractice?
Ian Pisarcik says
Spencer,
Yes, you can sue for malpractice assuming the vet’s actions fell below the standard of care. With that being said, medical malpractice cases are expensive to litigate and, in this case, the damages you could collect would likely be limited to the cost of the hernia treatment. So, you may want to try to settle the matter with a formal letter first.
Brittany says
I took my puppy to the vet for vaccines (which they didn’t let me know of the risks) and 15 minutes later his eyes were swollen and he was lethargic. I called them back they said don’t bring him in give Benadryl. They closed 10 minutes later,as he was getting drastically worse so I couldn’t get ahold of anyone. Took him to emergency care,almost died., when I asked for reimbursement for emergency service they said there’s nothing they can do. Can I sue to recuperate fees or malpractice for not accepting him back into their care as we are going through the COVID-19 crisis and the emergency vet COULD have been closed
Melissa Gold says
Hi, Brittany. I’m sorry your puppy had a bad reaction, but glad he’s doing better. The vet probably should’ve notified you of the risks associated with the vaccines. The first vet probably doesn’t bear liability for being closed; their treatment hours are what they are and they’re not obligated to stay open late if there’s another option available. Also, if the vaccine caused the injury to your dog, that might be an issue with the vaccine and not the fault of the vet. That the emergency vet could have been closed isn’t going to be a claim because it wasn’t closed and you were able to get treatment for your dog. Without knowing the specifics of how it was handled, I can’t advise as to whether you have a claim. You could seek consultation from an attorney who can better suggest a strategy based on the specifics of what happened.
Steve says
My cat was given a medication that was supposed to go to a dog that had just been discharged. My fiancée found the error after we had already given him the dose. The vet called poison control and said that our cat could get liver or kidney damage and said that they would take care of all the treatment. Do I need to do anything else? This has been a wreck for my fiancée and I, especially since she and I have raised this abandoned day old kitten to a healthy 3 year old cat. He initially went in for vomiting which set us back $1,300, to find out he’ll poop out whatever the sonogram saw in his colon. Any suggestions?
Ian Pisarcik says
Steve,
Medical malpractice cases are often based on a wrong prescription. From what you told me, this is a pretty clear case of liability. The damages you can recover include the cost of treatment. It sounds like your vet is willing to provide this treatment voluntarily. As such, there’s no need to file a lawsuit at this point. Just in case the vet fails to provide the proper treatment (or fails to restore your pet to full health), be sure to save a copy of the medical record showing that the wrong medication was prescribed. It would also be ideal if you could get a copy of a medical record in which the vet indicates that the wrong medication was prescribed (i.e., essentially admitting error).
D Flores says
My horse went in for treatment of colic with enteritis on a monday night. Was told if everything progressed as it should she’d be able to go home Friday. Wednesday of that week I was told she could go home which I questioned multiple times but they reiterated she could go.. We took her home Wednesday night and by Thursday morning she relapsed. We took her to a second vet for treatment (additional 5 days of treatment) who confirmed she had been released too early. When I contacted first vet for records to provide to second vet they told me they had to review her records before they could send them. When I finally received them I saw they had been falsified as they put at the very top “discharged against medical advice, owner could not afford additional treatment”… neither of those things were true. On top of that, every medication listed in the records that they administered to her shows an expiration date of 2-4 YEARS past expiration.
I can show my ability to pay, I have a witness that nothing was provided at the time we took her home stating the doctor advised against discharge, and I have the vets own records showing the expired medication. What remedies do I have? I am having trouble finding applicable guidelines regarding the medication but am certain it can’t be ok to administer meds that far expired.
Isabella says
I took my cat to the vet because he had broken his leg. The vet took x-rays and told us they could splint it for now to see how it heals, and if it hadn’t healed within a certain amount of time, he would require surgery. So we agreed for them to splint his leg and we took him home. As soon as we got home he started acting strange but just figured he wanted the splint off. That day he stopped eating and drinking and we had to force feed him. We called the vet which told us just to keep force feeding him until the office was open again on Monday. We take him in that following Monday and they tell us that he needed to stay for a few days because he had developed an infection and was very dehydrated. (The vet bills start raking up here even though this was a “low cost” vet.) He was there for a few days, and because we were out of town for his pickup date, another family member picked him up and instantly realized something was much worse. It turned out that the splint they had applied completely cut off the circulation to his leg and it died. Did they tell us this? Nope. Instead gave us back our cat worse than he was when we took him there. At this point we took him to another vet who said the only option was to amputate his leg or euthanize him, and since we couldn’t afford the surgery we had to euthanize our kitty Sparta. This was nearly 3 years ago. Is it too late to sue? And would this be considered negligence or malpractice?
Jen king says
My dog died yesterday and me and my husband are heartbroken thinking about what happened and how it could have been prevented. 3 days ago I noticed my dog was hurt and crying out in pain, it seems she had a fever and we couldn’t quite put our finger on what was wrong with her. the next day when she was still moping around and acting out of f sorts we decided it would be a good idea to take her to the vet. money is tight right now so I got on the computer and got a coupon for a free consultation ,the first one is free only. I called them that evening and told them what was going on with my dog and they told me as long as she’s eating wait till the next day .watch her overnight and go ahead and bring her in and we’ll check her out so the next morning. we got up and we took her in they checked her out and said that they think she sprained her neck. but they we unsure about why her neck was swollen they said that she let them look into your mouth and check her out so they said just to make sure she was still eating and keep and just to keep an eye on her but overall she was fine .I didn’t get to go into the exam room with her because of the covid-19 but obviously they did not check her out like they were supposed to but said if she he gets worse to bring her back and get X-rays they wanted to write a prescription for anti-inflammatories and antibiotics but didn’t think it was necessaryon the paperwork they gave me it said that she had gingivitis I noticed when we got home and I thought to myself how weird she’s only two years old. Thee next day my dog was unchanged and stayed in her cage and slept she was stilland I noticed that there was blood in her drool I told my husband and all ll of a sudden she started vomiting blood everywhere it just kept coming out of her mouth so we threw in the van and drove to the emergency veterinary clinic in Huntsville she bled all the way there and by the time we got there she was almost unconscious they immediately took her back and we’re waiting for any update they said that she was in critical critical condition. We paid them went home waiting to hear from them or if not we were supposed to pick them up the next morning before 6 to take her to another vet if she made it through the night because they did not I have a clinic to do continue treatment with only for the emergency treatment an hour after we got home we have received a phone call she was hemorrhaging and bleeding out of every out of every orifice so she was being treated for poisoning. we weren’t sure what it was but it could be that and the first the first vet sent us home with a sheet of paper that said my dog has gingivitis while she was only two years old ,she was like my daughter and she didn’t have anything wrong with her gums so obviously her gums were a different color pertaining to rat poisoning or poisoning and this could have all been taking care of if she was diagnosed correctly or even looked at closer I don’t think that veterinarian should have a job if he doesn’t know what the symptoms of a poisoned dog AR e.do you think that I can get Justice for my dog by a malpractice lawsuit? do you think I have a case to sue?
Mary says
I have a five year old Doberman. I called the vet on March 23 and told them she was vomiting and very lathargic. I suspected she was blocked. In the past she had swallowed rocks. They x-rayed her gave her fluids and sent her home with meds. Over the next 4 weeks she continued to go down hill. They did exploratory surgery and said it was scar tissue. Every time I called they prescribed more meds. She went from 80 lbs to 67. April 24 I took her to an emergency hospital where she had emergency surgery for a blockage. I spent over $6,000 at the first Vets. This morning I am waiting to hear how my girl is doing. She is lying in the hospital at this moment. My heart is broken. Do I have a case?
Ian Pisarcik says
Mary,
In order to have a malpractice case, you would need to prove that your vet’s actions fell below the professional standard of care. In other words, your vet did something (whether it was a misdiagnosis or bad advice) that no other prudent vet would do. I don’t see any obvious action that would fall below the professional standard of care in your message, but I would obviously need more information to make an accurate assessment of your case. If you wish to pursue this matter, I would recommend reaching out to an attorney in your area. Most initial consultations are free and the lawyer will be able to tell you (based on all the facts you provide to them) whether or not you have a good case.
Ian Pisarcik says
Kimmy,
I’m so sorry this happened to you. Malpractice is appropriate when the vet’s actions fall below the professional standard of care. In this case, failing to inform you that your cat had cancer almost certainly falls below the professional standard of care. The challenge with this case will be the relatively small amount of damages. Though the loss of your cat is devastating, the law generally only compensates you for “replacement value.” As such, a lawsuit will likely cost significantly more money than you would recover. Nevertheless, if you wish to pursue the matter, you should speak with a personal injury attorney in your area to discuss your options. You may even be able to find free or reduced-cost legal help through your state bar organization.
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m so sorry this happened to you. It sounds like you may have a valid medical malpractice claim based on the early discharge, false records, and administration of expired medicine. Whether or not any of these actions were the cause of further damages is something that will need to be supported with expert testimony.
I would recommend meeting with an experienced personal injury attorney in your area. You can locate one using our free directory. Most attorneys offer free initial consultations and will be able to tell you whether you have a valid claim and what damages may be available.
kevin glenzinski says
All vets should know to never give meds to a dog without a blood test…Malpractice…
I brought my dog to the vet. She was supposed to treat Azul, but because of her carelessness, incompetence, and poor judgement she failed to perform a routine blood test, the average vet would have done under the circumstances. Azul symptoms were she had not eaten for 3 full days, and had a fever. The average vet would have done a blood test to test the health of my dog, since she can’t talk to tell you how she feels, but the vet assumed, took guesses, Azul hurt her back with no blood test done she did not know this.. , and…
misdiagnosed my dog, If the vet had followed guidelines and done blood test like she was supposed to, and like the average vet would have done, she would never have prescribed Deramaxx, furthermore, Deramaxx is not intended for use in dogs with appitite loss( The vet knew Azul had not eaten for over 3 days and had a fever.)…so she should have never have considered Deramaxx…because If a pet has a related problem that could be made worse through Deramaxx use…. All vets should know to never give meds to a dog without a blood test…Malpractice…
A vet is never supposed to prescribe Deramaxx without first performing a blood test to check the health of the dogs kidney and liver.it is recommended dogs undergo kidney and liver screenings prior to taking Deramaxx because deramaxx is hard on kidneys and can result in death. …… and never be given to a dog with apetite loss…The vet made Azul condition worse through Deramaxx use, and killed my beloved dog, because she did not follow the guide lines for the drug… If she did, she never would have gave Azul Deramaxx and
Azul never would not have died of kidney failure. The vet caused kidney failure and the death of my beloved dog by prescribing a drug she should never have gave her.
This drug Deramaxx should N-E-V-E-R be dispensed nonchalantly by your Vet. because . It is suggested by many scientists and animal medical experts that the inhibiting effects of the enzyme may have adverse effects on the kidneys. and fatalities among dogs taking Deramaxx
If the vet had done blood test like she were supposed to, and like the average vet would have done, she would never have prescribed Deramaxx, The vet should have never prescribed it to begin with because Azul was not eating.. and . Azul never would have never died of kidney failure. Malpractice.
The vet thought Azul hurt back but she did not know this, and she did not do blood the work to make sure it is not something more serious. …..Instead she prescribed Deramaxx without doing a blood test, and gave it to a dog who is not eating… causing liver failure..There was warnings by manufacturer on both..Mal practice.
The vet prescribed Azul a big dosage of Deramaxx 37.5 mg tablet a day, without a blood test which is gross negligence. .To a dog that is not eating.. Gross Negligence.
Once Azul started taking she went down hill. and became critical. And it was fast.
the Deramaxx caused her kidneys to shut down and she died within THREE days of receiving the first of three doses of 37.5 mg of Deramaxx.
Azul would have been better off if I had not brought her to the vet, because all she did for Azul is give her medicine, she should not have, that was toxic to her liver and kidneys, and made the situation worse by presribing Deramaxx, and killed my beloved dog. azul died of kidney failure, because The vet failed to perform a blood test, but instead took a guess on her condition, and then gave her Deramaxx that was toxic to her liver and kidneys without doing a blood test before prescribing it, and gave it to a dog that was not eating… other dogs have died from kidney failure from this drug and a blood test should have been given before prescribing.
Dermaxx side effects”
kidney damage or failure –
liver damage or failure – jaundice
Kevin Glenzinski says
I brought my dog Azul a beautiful siberian Husky to the vet for help on Saturday March 28, 2020 because Azul had a temperature and had not ate for 3 full days. and the vet failed to perform a routine blood test the average vet would have performed under these circumstances. Instead the vet took guesses that Azul ghad hurt her back. ..She furthermore, made Azul condition worse, causing her to die of kidney failure, by prescribing Azul Deramaxx. without first performing a blood test. and the manufacturer warns that a vet is never supposed to prescribe Deramaxx without first performing a blood test to check the health of the dogs kidney and liver, by undergoing kidney and liver screenings prior to taking Deramaxx because deramaxx is hard on kidneys and can result in kidney failure and death. …… and it is never be given to a dog with apetite loss…because . It is suggested by many scientists and animal medical experts that the inhibiting effects of the enzyme may have adverse effects on the kidneys. and fatalities among dogs taking Deramaxx, and If a pet has a related problem, it could be made worse through Deramaxx use….
Those were the warnings by the manufacturer. and the vet failed to listen to. Gross Negligence. The vet should have never considered Deramaxx to begin with because Azul was not eating.. Gross Negligence.the vet had a duty to perform a blood test and treat Azul. Gross Negligence.
Once Azul started taking Deramaxx, she went down hill. and became critical. And it was fast.
the Deramaxx caused her kidneys to shut down and she died within THREE days of receiving the first of three doses of 37.5 mg of Deramaxx.
Azul would have been better off if I had not brought her to the vet because all she did for Azul is give her medicine, she should not have, that was toxic to her liver and kidneys, and made the situation worse by prescribing Deramaxx, and killed my beloved dog. azul of kidney failure,
Lex says
Hey guys,
Last week I took my 4 year old chihuahua to the vet for a routine checkup.
Due to Covid-19, we are only allowed to do curbside exchange of pets, basically meaning the vet person needs to come out and get the animal.
The man came out and had a clipboard with some paperwork that I needed to fill out because I wanted them to trim her nails. I gave the clipboard back to him and we placed the collar around her neck. I asked him if he needed me to get out of the car with her while he grabs her to take her inside. He said no.
I then give her to him, keep in mind he had no handle on the leash or name tag on her just her body and the clipboard. She apparently twisted her head back to nip at his hand ( but I haven’t seen proof of it)
And he let her go. She fell to the ground, and she ran from him.
The clinic was next to a busy intersection and she ran into the middle of it, because he was chasing after her.
She was hit by a car almost immediately.
He went into the street, picked her up, and brought her back to me.
Not only did he not take her into the hospital immediately as I assume most people would, he placed her in front of me as I watched her take her last breathe.
As the shock of the incident finally allowed me to speak, which was about 3-5 minutes later, I asked if he could cover her up because I felt sick to my stomach. The fact that I had to ask him to cover her up makes me angry, the fact that he placed her in front of me instead of taking her inside the pet hospital makes me even more angry
No pet owner should see what I witnessed.
I want to know if there is something I can do about this so that it will never happen to another family.
Melinda Simmons says
I took my 2 year old female cat into the vets Thursday morning to have her spayed. When I picked her up from the vets and let her out of her cat carrier she had blood all underneath her and was acting like she had just woke up from surgery. Her surgery was at 8:00 am. It was 3:30pm when I Picked her up, plenty of time for the anesthesia to wear off. I called the vet p let them know and the lady at the front desk told me the bleeding was normal and sometimes they act drunk when they have anesthesia. I called the other vet that works at the same vet practice after letting her lay still and rest for about an hour to see if she would settle in and she did not. She started mouth breathing and crying out in pain as time went on. When I spoke to him he told me to bring her right in. It was now after hours, 5:30pm and he took me and the cat right in. He put her under and cut her open to find out what was going on. He didn’t really explain anything other then she looked like she was bleeding out, and may have had a bleeding disorder. He gave her some fluids, cleaned her up and stitched her back up, then sent us on our way. The cat was dead with-in 10 minutes after leaving the Veterinarian clinic.
Brittany, GA says
My vet did bladder surgery on my dog and after surgery stated he had to squeeze the bladder in order to get the stone out, prior to the surgery my dogs bladder was completed blocked and we did not know she had bladder stones. Since the surgery she has had constant bladder infections and now is having incontinence. Is this malpractice or considered complications of a surgery?
Rebecca says
I believe our dog passed at the vet due to negligence. Many details to this nightmare.
Her body 3 hours after supposedly cardiac arrest her body was bloated, legs bloated, lesions on belly drown blood stained sheet, and completely wet, not to mention already stiff. She was ill and fighting many things. She was there for 5 days, refused to let me see her always persuaded me to leave her. Even in my gut something wasn’t right. Dr never was available to communicate. Receptionist always said she’s fine she’s resting. Day before she past I went down to get her again My decision forced by persuasion. Asked for a video something. 3 hours later a 5 second video. Her laying covered up to head, dogs bark in background no flinch from her at all. Something is just not right. Got the horrible call an hour before I was to pick her up. Funny thing he said she was up walking and pooped a half hour before the Cardiac arrest. Would her body look like it did if she was walking? She went in unable to walk with fever, so video with blanket on and she walked. Many other details. We wonder did she drown? Did she die earlier maybe during night because no one checked on her. Pure negligence. He robbed my sister from a heartwarming goodbye at home with love. We believe she was neglected, locked in cage with no movement maybe bedsores developed. She had skin condition that was managed at home with baths ever two days. Did their negligence feed the bacteria on her skin to worsen. Just don’t know where to begin. My sister has all records and took pictures of her body afterwards. This has totally affected my sisters health and well-being as well. Where do we start. It’s not money it’s the way he manipulated my sisters decision to take Lucy home to forbid you see her, to not communicate and appears to be covering something up. Not to mention it’s all about the money for the vet. Yelp reviews prove that. Unfortunately at the time my sister was so distressed and trusted him. Max 48-72 hours turned into 4 nights plus!!! Thank you
Helen says
Our cat was diagnosed with bladder blockage on arrival at the vet, a life threatening condition. I was there for an hour and emergency treatment was not started. I requested treatment plan and timeline of events twice to no avail after I was called 2.5 hours after I left the clinic that our cat had died. His sister and our family are in pieces.
Cdingess says
My large dog had a surgery to remove a mass in back leg. The Dr. put the wound back together to tight Essentially creating a tourniquet for the foot. The next day went back to same vet, they gave Xanax for my dog. The next day the foot was 2.5 times it size and weeping! Immediately went to the emergency ER vet. They opened the wound and let drain. The foot went down. My dog had to stay their for 4 days. Then after being home, dog scratched off the scab. Back to (another) vet. I had asked the first vet to fax over all records. Of the 26 page fax, not one was about the surgery, biopsy, or post surgery visit. My dog has a very long road of healing due to what she created.
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m so sorry for your loss.
Without more information, it’s impossible to tell whether the veterinarian’s actions (or inaction in this case) fell below the professional standard of care. Vet malpractice cases are challenging because they are typically costly to litigate (expert witnesses are generally needed to testify as to the appropriate level of care) and the damages that you can collect are generally small (usually the “fair market value” of the pet).
Nevertheless, most attorneys offer free initial consultations and it may be worth meeting with an attorney in your area to discuss your options. Sometimes a letter from a lawyer can result in a quick settlement.
Ian Pisarcik says
Without more information, it’s difficult to tell whether the veterinarian’s actions fell below the professional standard of care. Vet malpractice cases are challenging because they are typically costly to litigate (expert witnesses are generally needed to testify as to the appropriate level of care) and the damages that you can collect are relatively small (in this case, the cost of medical expenses).
I would recommend meeting with an attorney in your area. Most initial consultations are free and the attorney will be able to tell you whether your case is worth pursuing from a financial perspective. Be sure to bring along any documents (medical records, etc.) you have related to the treatment.
Ian Pisarcik says
Brittany,
Without more information, it’s impossible for me to tell whether the veterinarian’s actions were inappropriate or whether your dog is simply experiencing normal complications due to the surgery. Vet malpractice cases are challenging for this very reason. Expert witnesses (other vets) are generally needed to testify as to whether the vet acted appropriately. This can get expensive and the payoff (the amount of damages you could recover if you win) is generally pretty small (in this case, the medical costs associated with the complications).
Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt to meet with an attorney in your area. Most initial consultations are free and the attorney can tell you whether your case is worth pursuing. If you need help tracking down an experienced attorney, you can use our free online directory.
Cris says
I found stray kittens from different litters and we couldn’t find the mamas. So I took them in and went to see our vet. He is great, but is not seeing owners right now, only pets , so his staff talks to you then tells him what’s wrong and he examines your pet. The staff then brings you back your pet and explains what doctor said. Well I told them all kittens were sleeping together but one had diarrhea, they came back and told me the youngest kitten with diarrhea had a bacterial infection but it was not contagious. I asked if they were sure it was safe to keep them together and they said yes, the infection is non communicable. Well a week later my kitten is not better and I decide to take her back in. The next morning. We wake up to take her and she’s lethargic and won’t move. We rush her to vet explain what’s happening and show them the kitten. They tell me to wait and proceed to make me wait 4 hours. I try to ask them if she can be taken back quickly because I think she’s dying and they told me I was problematic and I can’t demand for them to see her . Long story short they saw her 4 hrs later and she died the same night. Turns out she had coccidia which is HIGHLY contagious. Well sure enough two more kittens died the same way after getting the same infection. Again the staff make me wait hours each time I went in. My question is if i can do anything to hold the staff responsible for their actions. For refusing to accept my pet had an emergency and for giving me incorrect informatuon that led to two healthy kittens getting sick and dying.
Syed says
I took my cat to vet for blockage, they gave us estimate of 11,00 dollars. They asked for 700 down payment. I tried credit care but refused. I asked the vet to give me the cat back so we can take it some where else, vet refused to give the cat back and told us the option that if you don’t have money we will euthanize him,
They don’t me and my son left the clinic togather, so I left my son in clinic and borrow 700 dollars and gave to them to unblock him.
We still have to pay 400 dollars and get the cat back on Monday.
Melissa Gold says
Thank you for sharing this story, Syed. Like any industry, veterinary practices have their own ways of doing things and some are more ethical than others. Without knowing the facts of your situation and what was wrong with your cat, it’s hard for me to know if they acted ethically. However, I’m glad your cat will be able to come home on Monday and I hope it’s doing better.
mary carriere says
I took my 8 month old puppy in to get neutered all went well 4 days later he had swelling around the surgery cite we took him back to the vet and they said he pulled a muscle give him pain meds and put hot and cold compress’s for the next 5 days 4 days later we had to rush him back because the swelling was worse and down his leg he was not moving eating or drinking. They said it was a massive infection and he needed surgery or take him home with 4 different medicines. we ended up taking him to another vet he has had the surgery and has to be boarded for 7 days. this has coast us over 1000.00 even the second vet said if they would have given him antibiotics when it first started swelling this never would have gotten this bad. can I go after the first vet for all the money this has cost
Ian Pisarcik says
Mary,
You can sue your veterinarian for the medical expenses associated with the infection, assuming that the veterinarian’s care fell below the level of care expected of a reasonable veterinarian. Unfortunately, medical malpractice cases can be very expensive to litigate because experts are generally needed to testify as to the appropriate level of care.
Due to the cost of litigation, you might consider reaching out to an attorney to have the attorney draft a formal demand for the $1,000. Something like this would be relatively inexpensive and might resolve the matter. Of course, if the vet refuses to settle, you’ll have to decide whether it’s financially worth it to file a lawsuit.
Ian Pisarcik says
You can sue your vet for malpractice if their actions fell below the professional standard of care. The damages that can be recovered generally include the fair market value of the pet. Unfortunately, malpractice cases are generally expensive to litigate because experts are needed to testify as to whether the vet met the professional standard of care.
With that being said, vet’s have insurance, and sometimes the insurance companies settle relatively small claims quickly. I would recommend meeting with an attorney in your area to discuss your options.
Betsy says
My dog went in for a ‘routine’ neutering procedure. He had one testicle that had not descended, but the vet assured us it was still a fairly simple procedure. When we go him home he acted off. We took him to the vet the next day and were sent home with the explanation being the anesthesia was still wearing off. His condition worsened and we took him back to the vet the following day. The vet seemed more concerned but sent us home yet again. Our poor dog was in so much pain, his sutures were leaking fluid and he had not used the bathroom and would not eat. We took him to the emergency vet clinic where they kept him overnight and attempted to stabilize him so he could go in for emergency surgery with the assumption being the vet punctured his bladder. When they went in to try to repair what had been done they saw that our vet mistakenly removed our poor dog’s prostate as opposed to his testicle. There was no saving him and he had to be put down immediately. Due to Covid we did not even get to see him or say goodbye. Our hearts are broken and our poor dog had to suffer for 72 hours. He was a dead dog walking the second the vet to his scalpel to our dog, but rather than listening to us and examining our dog he sent us home twice. Our poor boy should not be dead and more than anything should not have had to suffer.
Kay Dee says
My dog went to vet for check up and he had an ear infection in both ears. They prescribed ear drops once a day 5 drops in each ear. After receiving 2 doses, one in Thursday and one on Friday my dog is now completely deaf. He was not deaf before this occurred. Went to vet Saturday morning they flushed his ears 4x and he’s still completely deaf. He’s 12.5 and was fine before medicine. They said this is a rare side effect of his medicine but didn’t tell me that till after he went deaf. Do I have any recourse ?
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m so sorry this happened to you. Many states, including New York, have found that doctor’s can be held liable for failing to warn patient’s about the side effects of the drugs they prescribe. Without more information, it’s impossible for me to know whether your state follows this law or whether the medication you’re describing would be included.
I would recommend scheduling a free initial consultation with an attorney in your area to discuss your options. The attorney can tell you whether you have a legitimate case and whether it would be cost effective for you to pursue the case. To this end, vet medical malpractice cases are generally costly to litigate and the damages tend to be small. With that being said, a formal demand from an attorney might be sufficient to settle the case.
Kelly says
My mom’s miniature dauchaund was having seizures so they took him in the vet to find out. The vet did bloodwork the whole 9 yards. Afterwards the vet stated that the puppy probably had epilepsy and it could be maintained by medications but than discharged puppy with clean bill of health and no meds. A week later the 10 week old puppy started having seizures at 12 nnon on a sunday and by 4 am monday was found passed away in his cage. I can’t help but think that this little guy could be alive today if the vet would’ve prescribed meds in first place. the vet also failed to inforn us that dauchaunds are more prone to seizure disorders than any canine. My mom is heartbroken, can i sue for damages, medical fees and pain and suffering?
Barbara Trapp says
9 yr old australian Shepard taken for yearly exam, immunizations. Discovered a epulis(small growth) in front of canine tooth and upper gum overgrowth. Suggested surgery. Did bloodwork
Everything good. June 8th a Monday took her in early a.m. for procedure. A perfectly healthy energetic beautiful dog. I was told to call at 1:00. Called at 1 told call back at 3. At 3 I was told she was heavily sedated and not to pick her up until after 545 p.m. when I went to get her she was still very sedated, had a difficult time walking. For days she was very tired, very mopey and lethargic. I called the following monday to ask why she is like this. She was given no pain meds or antibiotics and I questioned this as she seems in pain, ears always pinned back. 2 days later I took her back. She got extremely nervous at vet and drooled excessive, she was scared. Vet said everything normal, perhaps this is start of seizures or maybe brain cancer. Vet was also very rude. Called next day to ask for antibiotics, given. Now told vet only removed epulis, no gum surgery. But we clearly see her gum was cut whole upper.
Took her to emergency vet next day. Blood was normal, slight elevation in a liver #
Urine normal. Decided she was in pain. Gabapentin. Wait few more days, no better
She is disoriented sleeps alot, hasn’t been up on couch since surgery, her normal place. Extremely good watchdog. Take back to emergency vet. Blood, urine normal
Normal short neuro exam. Because reg vet suggested brain cancer they did chest xray and abdominal cat scan. All clear. They’re busy soonest can get complete neuro exam is July 30. 1300.00 for emergency vet Bill’s. Called reg vet today, my husband and I want to talk to her. 5 hours later no call yet. No one called, like normal, after surgery to inquire about her. I think they either over sedate her or lack of oxygen or they dropped her on her head. I believe she has brain damage of some kind. No stroke signs however. Just a pathetic dog who is not herself in any way. I am mystified and worried.
RobinRene says
I recently had a very bad experience with a vet.WE took our little baby kitten 11 weeks old O B 1 to the vet after I accidentally hurt his front right leg as he darted behind me out of the back door as I was closing it. With such sorrow in my heart I felt so very bad and we bagan to call places tyat we could immeditly take him in to be seen. With the covid 19 thing going on there were not many places open and this happened at 6:45 am. Be being someone that sleeps in normally got up early todo school work and I wish now tat I could only turn back time and not get out of bed that morning. friday June 19th,2020 I called and found only one place open that i could take him. Vetinary Emergency Hospital located about 50 miles away from me. We took him in and was taken to a room to be seen. The younger girl that brought us to the room after telling her what we had thought happened to his leg ( thinking it may be broken ) she stated that it would probably need to be amputated. Horrified and in shock that she would say such a thing the tears began again. To make such a statement when no facts were known about his little leg I was just totally shocked.
After filling out the paperwork. They finally came into the room to take his weight and to let us know they would be with us soon. not understanding that they had noone in the place but us and it was taking so long.They then came in and got him to take an xray I assume. WE went outside to calm down a bit and get some fresh air. We returned inside and went into the room there was an xray on the board. And after thinking about things I am not even sure ut was of our kitten. The had a younger guy that came into the room and stated that our baby’s leg needed to be amputated and that was no way possible it could be fixed. ( ive seen diffrently since then ) I looked at my wife and could not belivev that this man was talking about amupating his little leg, when just a lite bit ago the younger girl taking us to the room said the same thing without even knowing anything on the little guy. He proceeded to go out and returned a little bit later with paperwork showing how much this would cost the whole breakdown 670.00 if nothing else was needed. Not knowing where this money would come from I would have to do my best to get it. Well they let us know there was a place that could help us with the money we just had to sign up. So I did but in order to get thier help we would have to pay $50.00. down. Anyway I called them after we left to ask how the little guy was doing and they said fine. Then a couple hours later I called yet again to ask about him and was told then that the surgery prbably would take place that day as was planned and I was not good with that cause t hat would mean more days in hospital meaning more money. I asked them while on the phone if they coud plase send me a recieot of what I pad for and they told me I could not get one i stated i needed this for my school since I wasnt able to attend that day. They finally agreed and sent me an email with sorta of an itemiezed sheet. I didnt open the email until the following morning. But i was called at 3 am and told they were about to do surgery about 20 mins later they caled said it was done and he was sleeping.
Calling the next day to see how he was doing I was told he was just fine and that we could come see him that day at about 730 pmbefore he went to sleep for the night. WE agreed ofcourse after showing upwe waited about 10 mins and they brought us into a room. and then brought little O B 1 to us. He looked so confused. and so very sad. The woman told us tat we could take him home now. WE were kind of stunned it had only been hrs and your letting him come home? Not thinking that was a good idea. she insisted. So we said okay and we brought him home. the only day the little guy was okay was that night when we returned home Starting the next day he bagan sleeping and whinning of sorts. trying to figyure out what may have been wrong we wee giving him pain meds and antibiotics. and we were noticing nothing was helping. I called tuesday after noon and told them how he was doing and was told that it was normal after such a surgery that just keep giving him his meds and they would see me next week. OB1 just didnt want to do anything anymore not even cuddle.
I called Monday and told them that all he is doing is constintly meowing and not wanting to move , and coud i please bring him in, They said give him 3 more days then he could come in get his staples out and they would look at him them. well by the wed.. he began what seemed to have a ghard time breathing. and i tried calling and left message. with no answer we brought hi i after getting no sleep worring aout his so. WE took him in and let them know how he was feeling. she took him and said ill go get his staples out ad let you know. While waiting we went outside again and soon they brought him to us , stating he wud be fine and asked if they were sure they said yes and so we left. about 3 hrs later Icalled and told them he was not doing really good that could he have a stomach ache or maybe constipation from the antibiotics maybe , the nurse put me on hold and told me that the meds could be causeing his stomach to bother him that we needed to give him Olive oil to help him. not knowing any better we got olive oil and gave him some. that by no means helped within the hour he could barley breath. so we rushe dhim in again. They saw us and saw him and rushed him to the back room. They called us to the back through my tears asked how he was doing. the girl said that he was in an oxygen box because his blood oxygen was so so very low. that he needed treatment. an help to breath.In shock yet again, within 10 mins this dr. that we had never met before.came to the door just opening it up and leaning against the door frame and door. And not even coming into the room. swaying a bit ( we both thinking to ourselves is this man drunk or something?) he prceeds to tell us that ou kitten is enimic due to fleas . Now him being there those other days and over night. not once were we ever told he was enimic r that he had a flea problem. and that this is what was making him sick. telling this man we do whatever posbble to fight the fleas and that the little gy has a flea collar but with his staples there was no way for him to have it on. He looked at us with accusing eyes, as if we were the problem for him being sick. and stated that we just were not doing a good enough job with whatebver t was we were doing. we being very upset started talking about how long of a stay he would have to be in there this time. When they brought hi to us said he was okay and that we could take him home. By then i had enough of this hospital and the way that they did thier job I was going to a different vet in the morning to get this lil guy better help. when he begain gaging while tring to breath died in my arms just mins after returning home. WE feel evefrything that was donewa all done incorrectly . from the amputation, to seeing the night of surgery at 830 pm they sen an itimezed statement of sorts which i saw that showed he had already had surgery. even though they called me at 3 am and stated that surgery was about to start. I wouldnt think to much of this, but duri g that phne call it was asked of me if i wanted him nuetured fpran additional 10.00 I said yes. But the email that was sent had already showed him nuetured. and that was done 6.5 hours before the surgery call. I need help please. for our little special guys passing
Josh says
Took our dog in for routine checkup. It was her regular vet that had been seeing the dog for years. The dog was only scheduled to get a physical exam, along with blood draw to determine if adjustments to her prescriptions were needed. The vet wouldnt let us into the building to be with the dog during the exam as usual (due to covid-19), so we stayed right out front incase we were needed. Vet called us to ask the typical questions at the beginning of every exam, and said they would bring the dog back out when finished. Vet called us a while later and said she had pulled 2 of the dogs teeth that were loose, but that she wouldn’t charge us for it, which was odd given how expensive that typically is. The vet said the dog was in good health, with everything checking out fine, and the dog would be out shortly. The vet did not inform us the teeth needed to be pulled at any point before she did so, we were not consulted about the procedure, so we could weigh the benefits vs the risks. The teeth were pulled without anesthesia, and no antibiotics or painkillers were prescribed afterward. The teeth pulling wasnt listed on her receipt, while everything else was itemized as usual, including other things she did for free, and no follow-up exam to check on the pulling was mentioned. The vet emailed a picture of 2 pulled teeth afterward. Took the dog home and immediately she started showing signs of severe pain. We called the vet and told her the dogs condition, and asked if any meds were needed to help her heal since she wasn’t doing well, the vet said no, and said the dog would be fine. After a couple hours with no improvement we called again and told them she was still in pain and asked for painkillers, which they prescribed and we immediately gave to the dog. A short while later, still no improvement so called the vet again and told them the painkillers weren’t working, the vet told us to double the dose, and again said the dog would be fine. We followed the vets directions, trusting her advice, that she’d be ok. The dog was in pain for 2 days, and eventually died in my moms arms after a seizure and violent heart attack, convulsing and snarling like she was being attacked, all as my mom was holding her sobbing and traumatized beyond belief. It was an awful way to go, and horrific to watch. After the dog died we looked in her mouth and noticed the dogs lower mandibles had been broken off along with the teeth, and were missing, something the vet never mentioned, and was not shown in the picture she sent us of just 2 teeth. We now believe the vet botched the teeth pulling, breaking the dogs jaw, and tried to cover it up in a deceiful way, causing the dog to suffer horribly, all the while saying everything would be fine and not to worry. Can we sue the vet for malpractice in CA?
Melissa Gold says
Hello, Josh. I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. It does sound as though perhaps something went awry during the vet appointment. Yes, you can sue a veterinarian if malpractice occurred. The first thing you should do is consult with a second vet (in a different practice), provide the facts of what happened, and allow them to examine your dog’s body if possible. You’ll need an expert to testify that your vet was negligent and that their actions caused your dog’s death. Second, you’ll need a lawyer. You can use the Enjuris lawyer directory to find a California attorney who can help.
If your lawyer can prove that the vet caused your dog’s death, you can recover damages for emotional distress (your mental anguish), loss of companionship, and intrinsic value (the “true value,” rather than how much the dog could be sold for). Again, I’m so sorry for your loss and I hope you’re able to find resolution.
Jessica m says
I have a similar problem to one of the cases above. On 7/1 my dog who sleeps on the bed with me was on the floor, he was lethargic and ‘meek’ very out of sorts. We took him to the vet who insisted on a parvo test (negative) and did a blood panel and x-rays. The verdict was pancreatitis and he must be kept for a couple of nights. On 7/3 we were called to pick him up because he wasn’t eating due to stress but was otherwise doing fine. Happily picked him up and took him home. Over the weekend he continued to eat or drinkvery little, we returned to the vet where they did more x-rays and sent him home with more medication advising it was the pancreatitis. By wed 7/9 we were panicking because he was looking for small dark spaces to lay and avoiding us ( very needy loving guy) we took him to another vet and within a short time more x-rays were taken and a mass discovered requiring exploritory surgery. The mass turned out to be a stuffed squeeky dog toy he swallowed whole. It’s was just a little smaller than a tennis ball. We wasted a week and lived with anxiety and fear due to the negligence of the first vet. Can we sue?
Ian Pisarcik says
Jessica,
I’m so sorry this happened to you. If the vet took x-rays and should have seen the mass, then you can sue the vet for their failure to do so. You would, of course, have to prove that your dog didn’t swallow the object AFTER the initial x-rays were taken. Proving that your vet committed medical malpractice can be costly and time-consuming. Unfortunately, the recoverable damages tend to be relatively small. In your case, you may be able to recover damages for the unnecessary hospital visits and, possibly, a small amount for your anxiety. If you want to find out, more specifically, how much your claim might be worth, I would recommend meeting with a personal injury attorney in your area. Initial consultations are generally free and you can find out whether the claim is worth pursuing.
Carol says
I need help and I don’t know where to turn.
I lost my cat suddenly two days ago and it has destroyed me and my daughters because he wasn’t just a cat he was a family member. And I’m still in shock. I took Thomas to a vet it was a first visit so I asked for him to be neutered and all shots were needed and I got him microchiped and I asked if there was a all in one preventive for a cat like they have for dogs and there was so I asked for a heartworm test to be done and if he didn’t have them I wanted the preventive. And she quoted me a ball park on everything so when I paid it was right at what she said and he had the preventive on so I thought great he didn’t have them until two days ago
I called and couldn’t get answer till right at 5 pm and I am explaining what happened and asking for help and all she said was” you are being rude”. I was speechless so my daughter talked to her and I told her to ask what the results were from the heartworm test so we held on while she looked and she says he didn’t get tested but they gave him the medicine anyway we could not believe what we had just heard so my daughter asked a second time to be sure and she confirmed no test was given I said y’all killed my cat and my daughter tried to tell her that its mandatory to test before and mid sentence she hangs up on us. We felt abandoned and running out of time to have an autopsy done so I put him in my freezer to preserve him and started the next morning trying again we call and get a different person to answer we explained what happened and asked for a Dr. Was told one was in surgery and the other was in an exam room and one would call me back hours went by so we gave up and called and set up final arrangements. When we finally get the call he tell me he doesn’t test for heartworms. And argues with me saying it wasn’t necessary. And my daughter takes the phone and tells him we were at a pet cremation place taking care of our loved one and that we would be contacting a lawyer and haven’t heard nothing else from him. The preventive he used clearly states that it will kill if given to a cat that is already infected. And it will kill exactly like it did …I’m sorry this is so long but I am on disability for a mental illness and my emotional support companion has been taken from me. And all because they refused to do the test I asked for and once it was on him it was to late that is why those drugs are prescription only. I want him to take responsibility for his actions
Steve Hicks says
I took our dog Rosie 10 to the vet for her “wellness checkup,” she receive all the normal yearly vaccines and I asked about alternative heart worm treatments because Teiflexis pills they are very expensive. The vet recommend a new vaccine ProHeart 12 a shot good for a year. It’s my understanding they had a ProHeart 6 that was removed from the market because dogs had died. The literature on the ProHeart 12 warned about giving it with other vaccines at the same time. I was not told about that, I should have researched it myself but I trusted the vet he said it was safe.. When we got home I could tell Rosie didn’t feel well and over the next week her conditioned worsened she lost bladder control was listless and had breathing issues but at times would appear fine so we hoped she would be fine in another day. We should have called the vet back and we didn’t she had a stroke and a heart attack lost control of her bowels as I held her in my arms from convulsing she died in a few moments of the attack on the 7th day after getting the ProHeart 12 vaccine. She survived 2 bouts of cancer surgery and died because I wanted to save a buck and the vet never read the information supplied with this new medication. He told us yes he had never heard of any issues. I feel he should have been aware of the warning about giving this medication along with others am I wrong?
Irene Kelley says
My dog had a benign growth on her lip which was surgically removed. That same day she was sent home with medications and wearing a hard cone. We closely followed the post-op instructions given, including administering medications, providing a strictly soft food diet, and ensuring 24/7 cone wearing.
Seven days later (with stitch removal time three days away) my dog had a massive and life-threatening bleed – from the surgery site — on my bedroom floor and carpet. Fortunately, I found her in time before she totally bled out and rushed her back to the vet/surgeon. Upon arrival I was informed that whatever was causing this massive bleed was “un-related” to the surgery and that this problem would be treated as a new case. I was quite frankly stunned at this response, but given the dire condition my dog was in I authorized the “new” treatment. Later that day, I was advised that the source of the bleeding had been found and corrected. My dog was released late that afternoon.
The following afternoon my dog had another massive bleed from the surgery site. I found her collapsed on floor, unable to move. There was blood all over the house — everywhere. My husband carried her up to our car and we again rushed back to the vet/surgeon. The following morning a transfusion was recommended due to significant blood loss. The treatment was authorized, the transfusion was given and my dog was released at approximately 10:30 PM that same night.
No sooner than arriving home, maybe 30 minutes later, the bleeding started again. I was beyond distraught as we immediately rushed back to the vet/surgeon. Emergency surgery was performed a few hours later. Three open blood vessels were discovered and a different stitching technique was used this time to close the wound. This surgery redo finally corrected the hemorrhaging problem.
I am deeply concerned by the poor judgement exercised by the vet/surgeon which resulted in this horrid course of events. I have written a letter to the vet/surgeon requesting that the fees totaling over $7,400 be refunded. His reply is that essentially they did nothing wrong. I understand that surgical complications do happen, but it seems that the initial surgery was botched, suturing was improperly performed and diagnosis of the resulting complications were not properly made nor professionally repaired. Do I have a case?
Thank you in advance for your input.
Eliza says
My dog had spiked hair so we took him into the vet to see why because it was random, they weren’t sure what it was so they shaved his back where it was and took 3 skin patches to send into the lab and stitched him up. about a week later the skin on the shaved part starts to peel up and bleed everywhere. the labs come back and say he is burned which was weird because his fur is white and it was perfectly clean. A few weeks before this he went in for mouth surgery and when he came out the problem started. We told the vet this and the only possible explanation he had was that his staff burnt my dog with a heating rice pack causing horrible burns. what should we do in this situation?
Cristina says
Our cat had been presumed with lung cancer, after they preformed an x ray and found a mass in her lungs. She had been having trouble breathing, and she seemed better after a few weeks after taking prednisone for almost a month, but then her symptoms got worse again. The vet said a true diagnosis would have to be done by a fine needle aspiration, so we proceeded with it. The day we took her for the procedure, the technician mentioned when they tried taking her out of her carrier she got cut. Well when they brought her back before putting her under for the procedure we saw how bad it was, it was a large abrasion that practically went around her neck, it looked like she had been scalped, she was literally wailing in pain. The vet then realized how bad it was, and had to give her 15 stitches and insert 2 penrose drains. She was already terminally ill, and now we had to deal with this on her on her final days. We didnt know one of the side effects of prednisone was that it made their skin fragile, either way I feel as if they handled her more with care this would’ve never happened.
A.L.M says
My partner and I took our cat to the vet on the 26/06/2020, our cat was going to get cancer cut out of his nose and getting his ears cleaned due to having quite some residue in his ears. The vet told us as he gets older he will possibly loose some of his hearing but not for years. Our cat is 10 years old and he could hear perfectly fine the morning of us taking him to the vet,that afternoon he came home and couldn’t hear. We went back a few days later and the vet said there was nothing there and that he should just eventually hear again and the vet kept saying that we got told he would go deaf but we corrected them and say that it was meant to be over years not over 8hours of him being in your care they were also saying he was only slightly deaf but he could not hear at all he doesn’t come to his food, we’ve clapped behind him when he has been asleep nothing his whole body movements have changed, so we went back to the vet again and they looked in his ears again and said the couldn’t see anything so maybe it was internal so the gave him more antibiotics and they said if he can start to hear within 10 days he will do another antibiotics shot but if not that he will stay deaf. We do not understand how this happened in the span of 8hours while he was at the vet. Ive read that anaesthesia can make cats go deaf shouldn’t we have been told about the side effects and the possibility as it’s more likely for older cats? What can we do legal wise? If there is anything.
What he got at the for his surgery:
Anaesthesia- Ace/Alfaxan/isoflurane
Surgery- Theatre Preparation And Sterile Instrument pack
Medication- Meloxicam Injection 20ml
Consumables- Vilet 4/0 Suture Material
Grooming- Ear clean
Gilligans Mom says
I suspected my dog was gravely ill. I knew he was dehydrated and so I took him to an emergency vet and asked their medical opinions on his condition. My previous vet had advised he had liver failure. I advised them of this at the time of surrender. Instead of recommending humanely putting the animal down, the vet assured me his condition was treatable. I was advised at the time of surrender he was critical. After speaking with the Dr she stated she would need to determine the underlying cause to treat. By the end of that night she stated his condition had improved and was now gaurded. The next morning, they advised they were unable to determine the underlying cause and went back and forth between an infection and cancer. When consulted about his condition I was advised that he was less responsive than the previous day but they would continue to look at clotting factors so more tests could be done to determine the underlying cause of his liver disease. I was advised the animal was not stable enough due to decreased clotting factor to complete the suggested testing in his plan of care. At this point, instead of euthanasia, the dr recommended a plasma transplant! I decided his treatment had become excessive at this point and set up an in home Euthanasia the following day. When I advised this was my intent, the dr stated this would be ill advised bc he wasnt stable enough and should not leave the facility. We arrived to take the dog anyway. A dog who less than 24 hours earlier could walk on his own and was alert, was now in a coma and rattling, struggling to breathe. At no point did the dr make his true condition available to me. When I confronted her with this her comment was ‘He has been like this all day, it is why I was in frequent contact with you’ but at NO POINT DID SHE EVER MENTION HE WAS COMATOSE AND STRUGGLING TO BREATHE. I asked her to complete the euthanasia on the spot immediately and left. $5000 later My animal suffered a traumatic transition, and the Dr offered few answered when I questioned her ethics. Instead of arguing with her, I find myself looking for accountability. I cannot simply leave a scathing Yelp review and move on. This is a classic example of an opportunistic dr taking advantage of someone with the money to pay for extras, and running with it at the animals expense.
Bev Mini says
My dog was scheduled to have a dental cleaning and 8 teeth pulled including 1 fang. That was last week. Today is the first day my dog allowed me to look inside her mouth. I have now found out that the fang they told me that needed to be pulled (and which the medical records said WAS pulled) was not the fang that was pulled. Now I am scared that the remaining one is the bad one. I have called the vet and his response was Oh someone just wrote it down wrong!
Edna R says
I brought my old cat Elliot to get euthanized because his quality of life was very low. My daughter brought him in the vet alone only because of covid and immediately was told he is healthy and gave her a hard time until another vet came in and apologized. Realized we weren’t putting down a healthy pet. The current vet apologized and said the other vet had a bad day. Was foreign and comes across aggressively. They proceed with the process for only the vet to be crying instead of allowing my daughter to mourn while Elliot passed. We had checked a box for a print to. be done. After I followed up I get a phone call saying because it was such a hectic day they missed the print. Refunded me the $250 and said I am so sorry. Is there any recourse? .
Megan says
I was adopted by a beautiful (maybe calico, she’s a mix) cat about 2yrs ago that had been abandoned by her owners that moved out of my complex a few years before I moved in. I took her to the vet for the first time Jan 2019 for a work up and UTI. About a month ago she went in for a quick vaccines update appointment, as I was also in the final stages of adopting a kitten.
The tech checked on my cat the following Monday as she’d been throwing up since her visit. The vet also called that day to tell me my cat had tested positive for FIV, she’s been fixed and strictly an inside cat since March 2019. I got the run around as to why this wasn’t discovered on her first visit n what to do now. The vet said “her records say..” only trying to say I hadn’t asked for the test. I continued to ask for treatment options with no answer. I called the next night leaving a message asking to be sent my cats treatment options via email, because I was still too upset to talk to the vet at the moment. Vet called anyways, and once again refused to give me treatment options, talking over me while I kept asking for treatments and repeating “her records say..” over and over. I finally got annoyed after 10min of no answer to my one question and told her I didn’t care what her file said, I just needed the damn treatment options so my cat can live a longer life. She proceeded to tell me to find a new vet, and I’d be getting my cats records sent to me.
It’s been almost a month, haven’t gotten any records OR treatment options. I sought out help online and have my cat on something that is hopefully helping. I’ve been respectful in the fact I haven’t called them or shown up to demand the records, but I can’t wait forever and am about ready to have the police do a civil standby just so I can get my cats records!
Melissa Gold says
Hello, Edna. I’m so sorry about the loss of your cat and that you had a difficult experience with your vet. It sounds like you’re asking about recourse for the vet’s failure to make a paw print keepsake from your cat before he was put down. Unfortunately, if they refunded you the money for the print, there’s not too much more recourse available. It’s definitely a sad situation, and it sounds like these veterinarians acted unprofessionally in a variety of ways, but absence of a keepsake like this likely wouldn’t give rise to a legal claim. Again, I’m so sorry about your cat’s passing.
Amelia Miller says
I took my cat in for skin problems I was worried were from mange. They did a skin scraping, said she was negative, and gave her a “DEPO MEDROL INJECTION”. I just realized I did not ask for the injection and they did not ask me beforethey gave it, but did pay for. Now she had an abscess on the back of her neck. Are they liable for this? I didn’t get to go in with her because of Covid and dont know how to prove anything or how to proceed. Can I get them to cover the expenses of treating it?
Agnes says
My 11 yr old doxie pin was falling over, stumbling, and urinating in my house. Took him to a vet close by cause my vet was booked. My vet sent his records over. He had x ray done and blood work done. His red blood showed critical levels of 10. Was told typical dogs count is around 40-50. With a blood smear vet said it’s autoimmune related. Prescribed mycophenalate 500mg twice a day and 5 mg twice a day. Checked blood work on the following Monday and count went up to 18 but he vomited. Our vet prescribed cerenia. Gave it when we came home. He started throwing up a few hours later. Our vet suggested emergency vet. Emergency vet kept him overnight. Administered nausea med and iv fluids. I was instructed to continue the meds that he was prescribed initially. He was prescribed with IMHA. Joined Fb group and posted my story the next day and a guy asked how much my dog weighed. I said 13lbs. He said that was too much. He should of been getting 10mg/kg daily so like 120mg total daily. I was giving him 1000mg a day! The next day we got confirmation that it was a med error and causes gi irritation and gi toxicity. We stopped the meds. He passed away a few days later. Been dealing with the vet since beginning of July and been told the insurance is still processing it. Called about 15 times. Today insurance called and said they got a claim. And could take 30 days. I asked when they got the claim because we have been calling about it over a months! She said they received the claim a couple days ago! I’m beyond pissed! The vet strung us along and lied! My husband had just called Monday to let them know if we didn’t hear from them that we would be going further! I miss my dog so much. The overdose took his life when there might of been a chance to fight it! So I guess my question is with insurance can I negotiate what I feel is right for what Casper and my family went through??? We want to be reimbursed for everything related to the vomiting and gi issues. Thank you!!
Ian Pisarcik says
Amelia,
In general, if your vet committed medical malpractice, you can sue the vet to recover the medical expenses associated with the malpractice.
Without more information it’s impossible for me to know whether your vet committed malpractice. You may find our article on veterinarian malpractice helpful. If after reading the article, you wish to pursue a legal claim, you can reach out to an attorney in your area. During the initial consultation, the attorney will be able to tell you whether or not you have a strong case.
Amy S says
I took my cat in after a week of vomiting, diarrhea, reduced appetite, crying and reclusiveness. We could not get an appointment at our vet for three days so we took him to a 24 hour animal hospital. An X-ray was taken that showed a linear obstruction at the exit of the stomach to the intestines and more air pockets in his intestines. Three vets could not be sure what the object was and ultrasound was not available at their facility. Exploratory surgery was highly recommended to know the source of the problem. The vet who did the surgery told us she found no obstruction. His stomach had some fluid and his pancreas was inflamed(Most likely pancreatitis). Then she proceeded to tell me the sonographer was on vacation. Wait! We were told ultrasound was not available at their facility. I find this below standard of care to not have another sonographer available when one goes on vacation. A $200-300 ultrasound we could have had if the sonographer were there turned into a $5000 surgery that showed nothing. Can we sue?
Alexander Kominikakis says
Hi,
3ish years ago I got a new puppy. He was 2 weeks old and we thought just to be safe we should get him checked by the local vet just in case. When we go there they put him on a very high table with no safety barriers and told us to wait outside the room whilst they checked him out. We addressed our concern of the table not having any safety barriers so he didn’t walk off and they said he would be fine. A few moments later we witnessed our dog walk right off the table and he began barking and screaming. We waited outside and it turns out he had very badly broken his left leg and couldn’t walk. The vet clinic offered free care for the dog but charged us for the casts they put on him. They didn’t give a formal report of what had happened and told us to keep quiet. My puppy was only 2 weeks old. He suffers everyday because he can’t walk or run smoothly, still has PTSD of high ledges and he was being treated in the vet clinic for a full month or two meaning we didn’t get to bond and introduce ourselves properly because he was stuck in the vet clinic.
Anonymous says
My dog died from a misdiagnosis yesterday after a emergency vet did the wrong thing from a x-ray there were two issues and they missed one the owner of the company is already trying to offer me money and said that it is their fault and it was malpractice my vet said my dog would be alive if I brought her to her but because I am still distrust to this emergency vet and sold $10,000 of my personal property as well as being devastated because I am have agoraphobia anxiety and she was my emotional support dog if anybody sees this and knows what direction I should go please let me know the vet responsible has already paid for my dog to stay overnight 24 hours for 2 days and have a surgery and want to cremate it but I did not let them I want to bury her so now he’s contacting me trying to get right and I don’t know what direction to go
Jason Brewer says
Hello,
My cat all of a sudden started urinating everywhere in the house but his litter box. Took him to the vet because wife thought he might have urine problems. Vet told us he had traumatic experience with litter box at some point and that if we locked him in bathroom with litter box he should start using it again. A few days later we found him in bathtub with little to no response to anything. My wife thought he had passed until I reached down to grab him and he tried looking up at me. We took him into vet on Sunday ( outside of hrs) and vet put an iv in him and he had to stay for 7 days until he was nursed back to health. Vet’s diagnosis was UTI. We put him on special diet. 6 months went by and he was acting same way again so we took him to vet on Wednesday and they sent him home with antibiotics and special food telling us he had UTI again. He wasn’t getting any better only worse so my wife took him back to vet Friday morning. Vet tells us he is going through kidney failure and put an iv in him. We went and talked to vet Friday evening and we decided to keep iv in him over night ( $100 is the cost of doing that). My wife got a call telling her that he is getting worse that they were going to stop the iv and see how he is in the morning. Wife was called this morning and the vet said that he hasn’t got any better. Wife had to go to work so my daughter and I went to see him and we were just going to put him down. When they took us in his room he didn’t have any response and I brought to ladies attention that I believe he has already passed. Her response was ohhhh! I am sorry I will leave you guys alone (my daughter was completely devastated). When we walked out Dr greeted us and I informed him that he had passed (no response). Well anyways to sum things up. All the vet was worried about was collecting money. We had just giving him $400+ on Wednesday as I mentioned this to him and he said yea but you still have a bill of $300 and some change. I told him the wife would have to come in as she had check book. This is all going on while my daughter is just bawling her eyes out. I informed him once again that there was nothing I could do at this moment as I had no cash or anything on me. He then walked out of the room as we were standing there. About 10 minutes went by and a guy came up to us and asked how it was going, I told him the dr wants money that I don’t have right now. He shrugged shoulders and walked away. I went up to him a couple minutes later and asked where the Dr was. He called him on the phone in the other room. He came up to us a few minutes later and handed us a box and told us he was sorry for our loss and handed me our cat. I asked where the Dr went and he told me he had to leave.
Sorry about long explanation but what can I do about this? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thank You,
Jason Brewer
Melissa Gold says
Hi, Bev. It sounds like you might wish to visit another vet for a second opinion. If the second vet can tell that the wrong tooth was pulled, the first one (who did the initial procedure) should cover the costs of any resulting treatment necessary to correct the situation. I hope everything works out okay for you and your dog!
Trina M. says
I took my dog in a few weeks ago to a holistic vet in Charlotte NC for a second opinion on his grand mal seizures. He has had about one a month since last Oct. He turned 4 in Oct. Before increasing his meds, I informed his regular vet I was also consulting with the holistic vet. He said no problem but to have them keep him in the loop so he knows what all he is on.
The holistic vet did an exam and recommended Chinese herbs (Mansion of the Mind), Melatonin and Acupuncture. I told her I didn’t want to introduce too much but more one thing at a time to see if one worked before added more to his daily routine. She said he needed all 3 to make a difference. After a two days of giving the Chinese herbs, I looked them up online and discovered they are given to dogs with tumors basically work like blood thinners. She never mentioned a tumor and stated his neurological exam looked great and didn’t even feel the need for him to go for an MRI. Four days later he had 2 seizures in 12 hours. I called her the next day and she said to bring him in for an acupuncture treatment which I did. I could not go in with him because of Covid 19 in NC. Afterwards, she said she would be very surprised if he had another seizure that night. I also asked about the Chinese Herbs for tumors when he has seizures. All she said was I had the correct herbs but the printed label showing the dosing and drug info was incorrect. It was for a different herb which I had not noticed. She said she would give me a corrected label. She never did and I took my dog home after the acupuncture. He had a seizure 3 hrs after his acupuncuture (8:40pm) and another at 5:00am the next morning. I called her practice at 7:30am to tell her and left a voice mail msg. The front desk staff said she came in at 9:00am and they would make sure she checked her msgs. I also called my dog’s regular vet as I was really concerned for the cluster activity he never had before. The holistic vet never called back. Her reg vet called and wanted to add Phenobarbital. I waited to get the Rx filled until I heard from the holistic vet so to get her thoughts and coordinate care. I still didn’t hear from her the next day so I called again at 12:45 and no one answered the phone at the vet’s ofc. It went to voicemail and I left another msg. She finally called back after 5:00pm. She blamed the front desk staff and said she didn’t know which voicemail to check but never apologized. She said to do whatever the regular vet recommends. While I was on the phone with her, my husband found an acupuncture needle in our car. I was so upset. I asked her how that could happen. She said when a dog has long hair they try to find them all but sometimes that happens. No apology. Never asked if it was still intact as a broken needle could mean it is still in my dog and could cause a serious infection. I told her it has to be standard protocol to count the needles going in to make sure you get the same number out. She simply didn’t care. I told her we were done with her and she hung up. Turns out she never sent my regular vet her notes either.
I looked her up online and found out she just graduated in May 2020. I reached out to the practice mgr and the owner. The practice mgr apologized and said someone was overseeing her patient care and said that never should have happened. The owner finally called me back a week later (they are certainly not punctual on returning phone calls) but also admitted that the labels for the herbs are right next to each other and she has often printed the wrong one and that they do try to get all the needles afterwards but sometimes that happens. I was never informed of the risks nor was I ever asked to sign anything. I still have the needle. It has a red tip and my dog has orange hair. Wouldn’t you use a color needle that you can easily identify??? I’m just at such a loss of the stupidity of this practice. We did start my dog on the pheno and he is doing great. Not being able to go in with your pet right now is scary. They should be extra precautious not less.
Shari says
My 1 & 1/2 year old german shepard lab had a reaction to a flea pill. a day later I thought she maybe had heat exhaustion, I took her to a local animal hospital this past Tuesday explained everything to the Dr and it was almost like he knew what was going on, But he says I think she has kennel cough, That’s not possible, She and her yard partner are in a 5 acre fenced yard, No outsiders. Back and forth I explain to him her reactions to this flea pill the third time, she collapsed on me, had a seizure , regurgitating everything she takes in. So he test her for heartworm, its negative, I told him to run whatever test he needed. he takes her to the back and runs a iv on her, which was dexamethasone 2mg/mL which is a very potent and aggressive steroid, not usually for kennel cough that is known to go away in 2 weeks. Its way stronger then prednisone that he prescribed her to start taking that night along with 300,000 untis of penicillin and he prescribed doxycycline 300mg a day to start that evening and some kind of cough pill 110 mg., To me that is a lot of junk,,, And to top it off another flea pill.
Well she showed little improvement come Thursday she was almost her happy self. By Friday morning she is lethargic all over again having focal seizures. as the day progressed so did her seizures. they turned extremely violent. What is going on with my girl. I am so heart broken , Lost for words, Saturday her Dr tells me she looks like she is overdosed. what was she into that was toxic. Only thing toxic was the meds they give her and I cut them in half. So she is in the hospital and the Dr calls and ask if he can test her for rabies….? Not just no but hell no. She not due for her shots another 6 months. Then he changes it up to distemper .. Why the anxiousness? Needless to say my baby died about 6 this past Saturday evening, If anybody can help me with my grief and heart break please feel free to send me in the right direction
Mona says
I brought my 1 year old puppy to get neutered and she died from it. For what the doctor told me, they did the surgery and when they checked on her later they discovered that she had internal hemorrhage. They opened her again to clean her up and see where the blood was coming from but they couldn’t find the source of blood and they close her wound again. When they checked on her again later they saw that she was still bleeding internally so they examined her again opening her up again but once again they couldn’t find the source of blood so they called me to let me know what happened and brought her to the emergency room. They offered to pay all the emergency expenses. The emergency called me and asked for authorization to do blood transfusion, which I did. They were giving her fluids to stabilize her but her body shut down and she wasn’t responding any more. So they called me to explain the situation and inform me that there was an options. To put her under a long blood transfusion treatment that wasn’t guaranteed to help her and she was going to suffer too much, or put her down. Therefore, since we didn’t want her to suffer anymore, we had to put her down. This was the worst that happened to me. I didn’t expect her to die from this since the statistics shows that 0.03% of dogs die from this procedure of castration. I don’t know if something was wrongly done since I’m not a veterinarian. I’m just heartbroken. The doctors were nice and kept me inform as much as they could but my doggie still died being 1 year old. Is this a lawsuit case?
MD says
Hi,
Our 10 year old Pomeranian had cervical surgery for a herniated disc in his neck. After two days in the hospital he was sent home. A day and a half later my wife noticed large blisters on his hind leg. Long story short, the heating blanket used to keep him warm during surgery malfunctioned and gave him 2nd to 3rd degree burns. They admitted their fault and re admitted him and he has now been there another week on meds and waiting for a skin graft. This is obvious negligence, but we don’t necessarily fault the surgeon, more likely the support staff and the faulty warming device. We definitely want to proceed with litigation, but not until we get our boy back and are sure he is free of infection. Who and how should we proceed legally?
Thank you
Michelle says
My cat was take in for a urine sample and bloodwork. She was behaving normally prior to going in. I dropped her off and about 30 min later I received a call that she collapsed, was breathing heavy, had pale gums and low blood pressure. They gave her oxygen and a steroid to stabilize her. I was told to take her to the emergency room because it could be due to an enlarged heart. The hospital said her heart is fine, her pressure was normal and the reaction was probably due to the vet accidentally sticking her aorta while trying to retrieve the sample. She said that reaction is common in those instances. Now I am out $1400. Do I have any recourse?
Chris says
I believe I have a good case not just malpractice billing fraud and negligence; I brought my 5.5 yr old female Yorkie to vet she was not acting normal weak would not stand nor she would not eat. Being he only weighed exactly 3 pounds I was worried. Took her in on may 3 ,2020 and the girl tech took all info was she fixed no any litters no last heat. 4-6 weeks. And she took her temp 105! She then takes her in the back to work on temp. Dr come right in and says blood panel IV and overnight for observation. Would be about 4 hours as the close at 7am. I agreed. The Dr leaves and the girl comes back in and asks how is the bill. To be paid $661! I explained due to covid I was almost broke but that my unemployment was approved I would have it on Monday. But the most I had tonight was 300- 400 tops. She was rude and said we don’t do payment plans. I said ok she went to talk to Dr and she returns $220 no overnight hospital no blood work just meds and subcutaneously give fluid to reduce fever. . I had not a choice but agree that’s when I realized I had left my bank card home I told her I would be right back. But as I left I saw a care credit app and took it with me. As I drove I applied and was approved for 500! So I turned around without going home. I return and explained to the girl who was preparing the paperwork. I asked her now I had like 280 left could they run at least the blood work since I knew it was important. She said no estimate stands as is! I wanted to cry and did. I take her home she is dying. I beg for help on Facebook and a stranger offered to pay and met me back again at the clinic. And she pays for it. Oh when I left the clinic fever was 102.9! But they get IV blood work liver filing give rx for motion sickness and arthritis she had neither. They called and asked if she had sugar-free gum? No
At 7 am I go pick her up IV Port in and she can’t lift her little head. Straight to different hospital she was diagnosed in 10 min with pyometra. She died on the to able her uterus was ruptured and she was septic . The Dr gave me back money paid to them but won’t pay for my dog said it was a very unfortunate situation! I have proof they never did the initial exam althought they charged me $90 for it! My sweet sweet angel is gone because of them. I want to sue can I I think he should loose his lic
Terry M says
Took our dog in for intestinal surgery. Spoke to Vet on phone while dog was in hospital overnight due to her not eating, drinking, lethargic. X-rays had been taken previously a day or two before for this issue. She was brought home then returned because she got worse. Vet kept her overnight to take more x-rays and called to said she either needed surgery now for object in intestines or put her down since she is almost 15 years old, difficulty seeing due to cataracts. It was our decision. So we asked how much surgery would be and she gave us a verbal quote of $1600 – $2000 if any intestine needed to be cut away. So we agreed. The next day we were told that she needed to remain in hospital because she was receiving intravenous meds and that the bill was now $3200 . We are not questioning the Vet’s expertise, but are questioning the change in the amount of the bill. Do we have any legal rights or recourse? We did not pick up the dog yet.
Rob says
Last week we dropped out 12 week old toy poodle to get a standard shot and get microchipped.
Immediately our dog would not use his leg (we thought maybe he was sore from the shot). We called the vet an and he said if he doesn’t get better in the next hour to call or bring him in well he refused to eat or drink or hold himself up using his legs.
We brought him back in and they immediately took him into the ER.
They let him overnight and states that he must have had a reaction form the shot.
We reaseached this and questioned if the microchip could have caused the issue with his legs.
We picked him up and took him to a neurological vet doctor.
Tests confirmed that the vet has placed the microchip up against his spine and that caused paralysis.
The vet paid the $2K bill for the surgery to remove the microchip.
Our dog now needs rehab.
My daughter has had to give up her day job taking care of him. The dog is a service dog for her due to anxiety
Crystal Nimmer says
We took our 8 month old French Bulldog in to have bump on his head lanced by Dr. Pate in Hayneville, Al . When we went to pick him up the vet told us he had died. We are devastated . This vet performed 9 surgeries that day. No office personnel or vet techs to assist him at all. He did not explain to us what happened. We got no paperwork. We have no clue if blood work was even performed before surgery. We are out of pocket about 4k for the cost of our puppy. But we feel it was due to carelessness and negligence. We never even received a card from the vet telling us he was sorry or a phone call..
Wanda Gonzalez says
I have a boxer for 10 years , i have been taking him to Banfield all this time. Trinidad (my dog) started eating different and very thirsty so i looked online and thought he might have cusshings disease so we took him to the vet. they did blood work and told me in 2 weeks we will have the results well it took 6 weeks to get his medicine and i called them every other day and i would be told the vet is not in today or the vet will call you when she has time. Well my dog got worse so i decided to go to another vet, while all this is going on Trinidad got injured and i called Banfield because he needed staples , they would not take him , they said they were booked and i stressed that he had an open wound and they still would not take him. so my husband and i tried to heal it ourselves but that did not work . the new yet saw my dog , stapled him up gave him meds in just 15 min. sept 11 i took him back to check his wound and sept 10th i finally received his cusshings medication.. I told the doc my concerns and he did an ultra sound, xray took blood gave him a b12 shot , i was just amazed.
hi tyriod levels were so low that we had to put him on tyroid medicine and his bladder was extended and he has a bad case of artrist on top of it all. since sept 13 my dog has gotten worse since hes not eating or drinking water i have to force him to at least drink water.so this means i cannot give him the medicine because he wont eat the pills even if i wrap them in cheese that he loves.im taking him to the vet today because i think hes at the end and he doesnt even want to walk. my question is do you think if i would have gotten his meds ealier from Banfield maybe he would have gotten better. my heart is breaking thinking i might have to put my dog down.
Paula says
Almost a year ago I took my dog in for surgery, shortly after I picked her up she started scratching at her sides and whining. When I called the vet I was told it was probably the medicine wearing off. The scratching continued and we ended up putting a onesie on her to stop her from rubbing her sides. Patches began thickening on each side and eventually started to lift (think a layer of beef jerky) and the vet said she was apparently burned by the warming blanket. I was told her skin was health and the fur would grow back but it’s just short of a year and she now has a bald spot on each of her sides. The vet apologized but I am concerned this could happen to someone else.
Hailey says
My 4 month old lab went in for her second round of vaccines and deworming. The first time she went to the vet she had a reaction an hour later and was vomiting consistently and wouldn’t eat or drink water. We had to take her to emergency and she got fluids and ended up slowly recovering. The vet (not emergency) told me it was normal for dogs to react like that. So Saturday at 4:30pm my puppy had an appointment for her second round of vaccines, she also got a deworming med but was negative for roundworm this round. They had her out in less than 20 minutes and didn’t keep her for 45 mins like you are supposed to to make sure she doesn’t react bad to the vaccines or meds. I took her home and within an hour and a half she started dry heaving and nothing would come up. She continued this for 2 hours and ended up in anaphylactic shock. She stopped breathing. We rushed her to the emergency vet and they tried cpr but it was too late. We contacted the vet and got her records and in the records it had stated from her last visit that I reported to them she had a bad reaction the first time and had to go to emergency. They didn’t look at the records before giving her her second round of the same vaccines and dewormer. We are doing an autopsy but would really like to take action and possibly sue the vet. Could we?
Andy says
My 2.8lb yorkie was 9 months old and in for a sceduled spay. The vet that operated had and still has an expired DEA license. (we found this out after the fact) I was told the procedure would take 45-50 minutes, but after reviewing the charts, she was under for 2 hours and 35 minutes. The office said they had the pre-op blood work, which they never took. They also did not monitor her O2 levels during surgery. In the end we lost her. She remained in the hospital for 5 days and eventually lost the battle. I believe the vet is responsible at minimum for operating and administering controlled substances with an expired license. How can I find help to get justice and make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else?
Alivia woodson says
Okay, we took my Boston terrier to the vet because she was sick, they ran test and all they said was she had cushion disease they gave us medicine and everything was fine, the next 3 months ahead she starts going downhill, we took her to a different vet. They ran test and said that she was diabetic and that the monitor couldn’t even read the levels, they said she had liver and kidney failure, and they was no need to let her suffer so we put her down.. could we sue the first vet for never telling us that she was diabetic? Cause that’s the reason she died from organ failure. Is there a case here or not?
Rachel says
We took our dog in for an elective laprascopic spay surgery. After multiple conversations with the vet, it was very clear this is what we requested to reduce the trauma on her body and ensure a quicker recovery. Despite the paperwork, and even the cost, reflecting laprascopic, she clearly received a traditional spay and has a 3 inch incision down the center of her abdomen. We’re wondering what our options are for this type of malpractice.
Pj says
I took my 6 month old yorki poo to be spayed. She was a healthy, happy, normal pup. After her surgery the vet called and said she had trouble waking up from the anesthesia and was in distress. We picked her up and willow was screaming in pain, unable to walk and later we found out she was blind. Do we have a case for malpractice? I believe we do. We were basically kicked out of the clinic because they were closing at noon and given the number of a hospital to take willow to if we had problems with her when we got her home. What a freakin joke!
Connie Vestal says
I Purchased a baby kitten on craigslist for $300 got her on Saturday and she was dead yesterday morning after taking her to the emergency vet hospital in La Mesa for $749 in vet services which were excessive she had infections throughout her whole body and couldn’t fight it any longer please please please before you look for a pet don’t look on craigslist they used to be honest but they aren’t any longer with animal control and the emergency vet hospital warning me against ever purchasing another animal on craigslist
I’ve set up an animal fundraiser to pay back the vet bill I borrowed the money from a friend thank you for your kindness the lady I purchase the cat from will not pay me back only gave me her sympathy please help me make this right I’ve already called the Turco file and the bank and I put in a complaint with the consumer fraud division
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m so sorry this happened to you. Thank you for sharing your story.
The law protects customers who purchase sick pets from merchants (such as pet stores), but unfortunately there are not a lot of protections for customers who purchase pets from casual sellers. Nevertheless, you might consider filing a small claims suit to recover the veterinary expenses.
Lily says
I brought my dog in for a routine check up and the vet ripped out one of his toenails when taking him out of the kennel. It seems like they just tried to wrap it and gave us topical antibiotic ointment. It has been two days and it is still oozing and looks like there is a concerning clot forming. I’m not sure I want to take him back to the same vet but I don’t want to be stuck with a huge vet bill from an emergency vet either. What should I do here?
LOIS BROOME says
My cat was misdiagnosed for diabetes by a vet. My cat had two seizures. Another dr did test on him and concluded he didn’t have diabetes. My cat is ok but I spent a lot of money.Am I in the right to be at least credit my account?
AJ says
We took our 8 yr old beagle to the vet when we noted that he wasn’t jumping up to his favorite window seat and yelped a few times when on his leash. Due to Covid. We were not able to go in with him. We were told he had a pulled muscle and were given some pain meds for him. He seemed to improve for a while but then symptoms came back. We called vet and they said they would give another dose of the pain medication… again he improved for a bit but after meds ran out he seemed to be in pain again. We again called and they said they would do an xray at this visit. At the visit, they decided on only did a physical exam and again prescribed pain medication but said that he can’t be on medication endlessly. All this occurred over a 3.5 month span. We noted a change in his behavior, some coughing and lisrlessness so made another appointment a few days ago. They finally did the xray this time and now we are told he has cancer and may not even make it til winter. Nothing that they could do. We wasted 3 months…believing them that it was just a pulled muscle. From what I have found on the internet about cancer in dogs, 60% of cancer is treatable if found early. Had they done the xray earlier the cancer would have been found rather than just continuing to just medicate. Do we have any recorded. We are just so upset that something could have been done earlier…
Martha Andrews says
I went to a well known university animal clinic. My dog had diabetes and Cushings disease. After all the necessary tests they advised me to drop his insulin from 18 units to 2.5 units. I questioned them and they said that was the correct dose. Within 36 hours our dog was in crisis and he died 8 days after the clinic saw him. I am devastated. I wish I would have followed my instincts that said this was too much of a drop.
Kristina says
I took my 3 dogs in for their yearly exams. One of my dogs was in there three times as long as the other dogs. I was not given a reason. A few days later he started having neurological issues. I took him into another vet to see what was wrong with my previously healthy dog. It is currently suspected that he has a slipped disc in his neck from some sort of trauma. I firmly believe he suffered trauma at the original vet I took him to and I was not informed. My dog was perfectly healthy before and is now having massive pain. What can I do?
Todd says
two days ago, my 15 year old Boston Terrier had 2 seizures in a 12 period. she was able to get up and walk around but brought her into a Mass Vet Hospital ER – the same general facility I had taken her to for almost a decade so they had her records. They took her in around 2 pm saw her around 3:00 and the doctor called me in the car (can’t go inside because of covid) and said they would do a blood test and electrolyte test to determine which anti-seizure medication to give her. they never gave her an iv or fluids which she needed some hydration which they alluded to in the notes, i called around 5 pm to find out her status, they said the doctor was busy with other cases, then i go the call at 6;00 that my dog passed and they were attempting cpr. they couldn’t tell me when or what happened they never triaged her properly or gave her what she needed to stabilize her. she was left to die in a cage all alone while they were busy with other pets. in fact, the dr and the technician both had said that they had too many animals to care for (from other vets because of covid limiting services of these other vets) and not enough technicians. my heart is broken i based on what i have seen my dog did not receive the standard of emergency level care …in fact, she got no care and died. the hospital which is part of ETHOS is conducting a medical review now which i am not sure how unbiased it will be. I took care of my baby for over 15 years and they couldn’t take care of her for 4 hours. What is my recourse?
Liz says
My dog had a dental appointment earlier this year. After that, she started developing a mass on her gums. I thought it was an abscess. I took my dog to the vet to look at it. She said it looked benign. My dogs mouth began to smell like death and there was definitely rotting skin. Took her to the vet again and they cleaned it up a little and gave me antibiotics for her. She now has a tumor in her mouth and we are waiting for results to say it is cancer. Did the vet misdiagnosed the mass without proper evidence of it not being cancerous? I feel like my dog would be in a lot less pain, with a lot less dead tissue in her mouth, and less risk of it spreading to her heart or her jaw bone which can result in surgery to remove part of her jaw. Could my vet have prevented how much this has progressed or was she right in procedure?
Jennifer says
Lost and confused. I am in Collage for Veterinary assistant. I just want to help pets live good lives and so everything I can to save them from dying. So here is my story. On Oct. 4the my father in law came to me saying his cat lost weight and quick. It was his cat and he has depression so this is horrible. We watched if she ate every day and if she hadn’t I forced broth or kitty milk. Well she didnt eat after the 4th. She wouldn’t. On Monday Oct. 12th she was not responsive or alert. She was just there. We took her to the vet closest to home. We told him she refused to eat on her own, she wasn’t voiding like normal, and she was weak. He took a stool sample and urine sample. But no Xray. But I trusted the vet totally. Everything came back normal and they said she had a sinus infection. They provided antibiotic and sent her home. She still refused to eat on her own all week. On Oct. 18th she was again unresponsive or alert. But now she couldn’t even lift her head without help. It was horrible. We called the vet we went to 6 days prior and he wasn’t the on call vet for our area this weekend and sent us 14 miles up the road. Not a big deal we just wanted our baby to be ok. (I am from a very small town.) We walk in with her and from the start the vet seemed rushed and very impolite. But I wasn’t mad I just wanted our cat to be ok. He took her temp which was normal. Listen to everything and felt her tummy. He said she was constipated but not too bad. And he also checked her mouth and skin for dehydration. She was dehydrated so he gave her 5 under the skin shots of water and an enema and said she was going to be ok. He said try yogurt if she wouldn’t eat. And to keep her warm. When we got home we got here comfy and let her sleep. Checking on here constantly. Within 3 hours she was alert and responsive. And she ate some yogurt. My father in law check on her at 7 PM (6 hours after vet) and she was holding her head up and meowing at him. 1 hour later she had voided and there was blood in it. But she died. 7 hours after telling EVERYTHING that was occurring to the vet. 7 hours later she’s dead? No extensive care, no passion, NOTHING. These 2 vets are not linked in any way except the on call changes between 10 different small towns on weekends. So why did vet 1 not do anything really big into her issue when she hadn’t ate for a week unless force fed and that wasn’t much we could get down. And what about vet 2? He was even less than vet 1. Why did both vets say she would be fine? I was told her behavior both times even for emergency visits calls for more extensive work. That is what the teacher is teaching out of books in school. Yet neither vet did extensive testing. Neither vet diagnosed her properly. Had they done and Xray or maybe blood work they would have seen she had blood in her intestines, especially vet 2 that said she had bowel stuck. Neither really helped her in true aspects. Now my father in law is severely depressed and we cant console him for anything. I have totally decided I can not and will not continue with collage as a Veterinary assistant because I want to save animals as much as possible. But after seeing 2 vets totally disregard symptoms and proper testing, then have the pet die anyway. I just can not stand next to someone and help them knowing they are not helping the animal all the way. I wouldn’t want a doctor to tell me my husband is ok and send him home. And have him die shortly after. No rdd my kids and my animals are like my kids. Sorry had to vent and it hurts so much right now. We want to sue but don’t even know if we can. But this website helped a lot. Thank you
Mary E. says
To make a long and painful story short: Took my 11 year old yorkie-chichhuahua to the vet hospital for constipation as he was experiencing irregularity bowel movements for about a week and half. After the exam the technician brought my dog to me with an ice pack and said to let the dog lay on it to reduce the swelling. The next morning I called the vet because my dog was motionless and unable to stand. Took the dog back to the vet and within an hour he was pronounced dead. Had a Necropsy performed and the diagnosis read as follows:
:Cause of Death: Septic Shock due to Rectal Tear. This lead to feces spilling into the pelvic canal and bacteria entering into the bloodstream The process lead to septic shock and death within 24 hours. Not sure if this is strong enough for small claims, civil or malpractice
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m so sorry this happened to you.
Without more information, it’s impossible for me to know whether the veterinarian should have discovered the rectal tear issue prior to sending your dog home. If you want to pursue a medical malpractice claim, I would recommend meeting with an attorney in your area. It’s important to keep in mind that you’ll likely only be able to recover the “fair market value” of your lost pet. Additionally, medical malpractice cases tend to be very expensive to litigate. For these reasons, finding an attorney willing to take your case can be challenging. If you’re unsuccessful, you might consider reaching out to the California Animal Legal Defense Fund.
Devon says
I took my vet in for an ear infection. The vet mixed up his information with another puppy and mistakenly gave my puppy vaccinations he did not need. In fact, the vet gave my puppy the same vaccination, in the same spot, my puppy had received a vaccination the day before. The vet admitted the error and said it happens all the time to shelter dogs. My dog is a Bichon Frise and Poodle mix. My puppy is lethargic and not eating and cries when I pick him up. I have to take him to another vet. I am distraught. I made the vet put in writing the mistake they made. Do I have a case?
Indie vet in Indianapolis Indiana says
Our dog was acting week and didn’t eat for 4 days so we rushed her an hour and 45 minutes away to a emergency vet hospital where when we checked her gums they were pail and spotted. We let them take her back to check on her we waited for around 6 hours to be told by the doctor on duty that he listened to her lungs and heart and she seemed fine so to just take her home. Two days later she collapsed and we rushed her to a veteran hospital in our town who took a blood test and with in 20 minutes told us that her body was acting herself and she needed a blood transformation so bad they didn’t know if she would make it the hour and 45 minutes it takes to get back to the same vet hospital. We just got her there and she made it and they are telling us it is going to run us $5,000 to $7,000 and she doesn’t have the best chance to make it. We were there just a night before that and in 6 to 7 hours all the doctor did was listen to her heart and lungs and charged us $500 for that as bad as she was doing a simple blood test would have shown us everything and we could have started treatment that night. Is there anything we can do we feel like for as long as we were there and everything we told him he did nothing and now our baby girl might not make it.
GiGi says
Hello, I took my cat to an emergency clinic because he had a life threatening emergency. They treated him for 3 days and I was charged for 24 hour care $3,400. When he came home I noticed matting in his fur and took him to his regular vet for a check. He has 3 degree burns on the whole right side of his body. His regular vet shaved him and preformed a lazer treatment. It’s just awful. He is literally burned on 1/3 of his body. His regular vet said when pets are in emergency care a heating pad is used and it must have been set too high.
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m so sorry this happened to you.
It sounds like there’s a possibility that the emergency clinic committed malpractice. Accordingly, you can certainly pursue a lawsuit against the clinic. Keep in mind that medical malpractice lawsuits are expensive to litigate and the damages awarded are generally limited to the cost of the medical treatment (i.e., the cost of the laser treatment). For this reason, you might consider writing a demand letter to the emergency clinic instead. If your veterinarian is willing to write a statement that you can include, this could be helpful.
justin says
My 10 year old dog was diagnosed with an infection of her uterus. Paid 2800$ for emergency surgery for removal, 5hrs of after care, medication needed during recovery. Took her home and about 3 days later noticed she was getting worse, behaving as she did initially. Called vet brought her in they said it was hernia not related to surgery claimed it would be another 3000$. can’t afford it so paid the 60$ for stoole softeners in hopes of buying time to save money. She kept getting worse we shopped around found a vet the charged 300$ for hernia brought her in and they discovered it wasn’t hernia that a piece of uterus was most likely left because an abscess had formed again and causing same symptoms as with original diagnoses from first vet. now it will cost another 3000 for emergency surgery becasue she has been malnutricianed during this whole period. We are taking her to the first vet with all documents from second vet who claimed the misdiagnoses. IF the vet does not take responsibility do we have a case for a law suite for the cost of the second surgery when we take her to another surgene?
Missing my best friend says
My wife brought our 12 week old cane corso to the vet to have his ears cropped. It was scheduled Wednesday 11 am. He went to 2 different vets and was deemed in perfect health nothing wrong. Im sorry if im all over the place. I cant see to hardly write ive been crying so much its affected my work and all. About 1 hour after the procedure i gotten a call that he was dead. So please im begging if anyone out there can help me let me know.. I am so tore to pieces right now i dont know what to do. PLEASE HELP. She cant give a reason on what happened.
Karen Hines says
I took my 3 month old puppy to the Vet where they administered 3 vaccines at the same time. On the way home my puppy’s face begin to swell, his body broke out into a rash, and he passed out. I took him to an emergency Vet because the Vet who gave vaccines had closed. I question why the Vet did no err on the side of caution and administered one vaccine vs three at the same time. My puppy received costly treatment and was admitted to the Vet overnight. Can I sue for malpractice and the cost of his medical bills.
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m so sorry this happened to you.
If your veterinarian’s actions fell below the standards of what a reasonable veterinarian would have done under the circumstances, then you can sue for malpractice. If you’re successful, you can recover medical expenses. I don’t know enough about the situation to know whether administering three vaccines at once was unreasonable. However, most initial consultations with an attorney are free, and the attorney can help you determine whether you have a legitimate case.
Amy says
I brought my bunny in because she had an accident and hurt her leg. The vet told me that the leg was broken and her hip shattered. I had two choices. Amputation or euthanasia. Her leg was amputated on Wednesday and I picked her up on Friday. On Saturday morning she was barely eating and not moving at all. I also noticed some bleeding. I called first thing when they opened and was told by a vet tech there were no doctors in the office (even though on their website they post they are open Saturdays from 8-12) The tech told me she would reach out to the doctor and call me back. I told her I would take a picture of the wound and email it to her. An hour later she called me and said the doctor said to keep syringe feeding her and monitor her poop and some bleeding is normal. She said if I wasn’t comfortable with that I could drop her off to be syringe fed but there were no doctors in the office, She also told me if she wasn’t better later I should bring her to a emergency vet clinic an hour away. My bunny passed a few hours later. I am heartbroken. When I contacted the office on Monday, the vet lied and told me I was told to bring her in. I also found out that she didn’t even do the surgery, it was another doctor. Is there anything I can do? I feel they committed post surgical negligence. I just don’t want anyone else to have to see their animal suffer unnecessarily.
Trisha Armbrust says
Hello , I took my 1.5 year old dog in for lexating patella surgery on her left leg today , they call and tell me all went well and when she wakes I can come get her and the surgery went smoothly they reinforced her ligament, great all excited to go get our baby girl , we show up she comes out and we noticed they did surgery on the wrong leg that no injury , she is in pain , crying , I cry when she does i feel so bad for her , he said surgery would be free and bring her back for the correct leg like it wasn’t a big deal Help something has to be done what are my options?? Thank you Beulha Mom!!
Donna says
I took two cats to my vet yesterday. To have one scanned fur a chip. The momma was an outdoor cat I have been feeding for several months, the black kitten was baby. I had trapped them and had them indoors with me. The vet tech came to the car, opened the back door to the kennel, and instead of taking them induce, opened the kennel door to try and scan the cat. They both escaped -I am devastated and the vet office is not offering any help to try and find. Do they have any liability? I feel they have responsibility.
Eliza says
Recently I took my chichuahua to the dentist because his face had swollen on the right side. The dentist explained to me that 2 of the teeth on the right side may need to be extracted. He explained periodontitis disease to me in a way that I understood as life or death and not common in dogs. I agreed to the extraction only to get home and receive a phone call from the dentist stating that they want to remove 14 teeth. I told them no and then the dentist called me back and encouraged me to do, nothing was wrong with them,he said to get them out the way before they cause problems in the future. I was very uncomfortable but I trusted the professional. I’ve asked several other dental veterinarians and they all say that it was excessive and what was the need to remove that many if they hadn’t reached a stage of seriousness. I am weighing hard on seeking legal help against this.
Ian Pisarcik says
Thank you for the comment.
It’s possible that your veterinarian’s conduct was unreasonable. With that being said, your case is complicated because: (a) you consented to surgery, and (b) the dog was not “injured” as a result of the surgery.
If you were to sue your veterinarian and are successful, you would likely only recover the medical expenses associated with the surgery. For this reason, a lawyer might try to reach a settlement with the vet before filing a lawsuit. If you want reach out to a lawyer, you can use our free online directory.
Ian Pisarcik says
Thank you for your comment.
The relevant question is whether the veterinarian failed to exercise the degree of care and skill expected of a reasonable healthcare professional in the same position when he opened the kennel without first bringing the kennel inside. It’s certainly possible that this is the case.
In Texas, you are only allowed to sue for the “loss of value” of your pet. In other words, for the fair market value of a cat. Unfortunately, you can’t recover damages for things like the emotional distress caused by the loss of your pet. For this reason, your best bet is to settle privately with the veterinarian, sue the veterinarian in small claims court, or reach out to your local legal aid organization.
Ian Pisarcik says
Trisha,
I’m so sorry this happened to you. It sounds like the veterinarian clearly committed malpractice. What’s more, this should be a pretty easy case of malpractice to prove. I would recommend meeting with a personal injury attorney in your area. Most initial consultations are free and then attorney will be able to discuss your options. If you don’t know where to start, you can find an attorney using our free online directory.
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m so sorry that this happened to you.
Without more information, it’s difficult to say whether or not the healthcare professional committed negligence. A lawyer would need to retain a medical expert to help establish that the healthcare professional’s actions fell below the standard of care (i.e, that a reasonable healthcare professional would have demanded that you bring your bunny in for evaluation immediately). As you might imagine, this can be costly. What’s more, the damages awarded in veterinarian malpractice cases are often not enough to cover the lawyer’s expenses.
Nevertheless, if you wish to pursue a claim, I would recommend meeting with a personal injury attorney in your area. Most initial consultations are free.
Haley says
I got a puppy. I found a vet that I thought had a good reputation. I needed to get her fixed so they recommended that I get her fixed before her first heat. I had the surgery done. Ever since then she has been incontinent. I called the vet the first time and they told me to keep an eye on it and work on training, The second time I called I really felt like something was wrong. They took her in for a urine test. They said the urine was diluted but seemed fine. The vet that I spoke to also said that I should work on my training with her and also that my dogs breed was not really that bright. Needless to say, I was very unhappy with this person. Right after that conversation… my dog was sitting relaxed on her bed. There was liquid pouring out of her, she was trying to clean herself because she did not understand what was happening to her. I called the vet back and left a message. They never responded or called me back.
At that point I made an appointment with a wonderful vet that I know and have used for many years. The only reason I did not go to her in the first place was because she is a bit further away from where I live now. She did another urine test and found a little blood in the urine. She suggested a change of food and estrogen supplements. That has not worked yet so I will have to have more testing done to see what is wrong. That means that I am still spending more and more money to fix this problem. My question is… this all started from when my dog got fixed. I am concerned that the original vet made an error when they did her surgery. With that being said, if I find out that this is true… can I sue the original vet? At least for the money that I payed for the surgery? What should I do now?
Pam Priver says
My dog was diagnosed with a nerve compression of the neck, in March 2020. I took him, initially, to my regular vet and they did x-rays, then referred me to an emergency vet. They did further x-rays, and MRI and later, physical therapy. His pain and discomfort went on for months but I did all they suggested. I spent almost 5k for all of this. Fast forward to November 6, 2020. I took him in for a Cytopoint injection, because of his recurring itchy skin. No known side effects. When I turned him over to the vet tech, she yanked him by the neck, because he was resisting, trying to take him to the treatment area. I immediately told her to stop, telling her he had previous neck trauma. Within days of being home, he lost his appetite and started showing weakness in his right rear leg. He also seemed to be in pain. I called the vet many times, referring to this incident as the cause. I had him there today and they agreed that he did, indeed, show symptoms of nerve damage to his neck. They prescribed several meds for him but did acknowledge fault. My question is this: Can I get recourse for their actions? They did not charge me for the visit or the meds, I think, hoping this will all go away. If he doesn’t recover, can I sue? He’s 13 and should not have to go through this trauma because of their negligence.
Consuelo J Gaines says
want dr Curry and his entire staff to know they completely destroyed my family today. I had brought my almost 3 year old dog in for what turned out to be kidney failure. After 4 days of trying to get them to work he calls me and tells me my options. Euthanize her or bring her home. I specifically told him I wanted to bring her home. We get to the clinic to say our goodbyes. Me, my mom, my husband, son and daughter. After waiting for 20 minutes we ask if we can see her only to be told he ALREADY EUTHANIZED HER. Never once confirmed that that’s what we wanted. Then the tech who told me it was already done said, “I can totally you out when you’re ready.” $700+ and they bring her out in a black trash bag.. the dr made no apologies just tried to excuse it away that it was a misunderstanding. I’m still in disbelief. Completely robbed of our final moments w her.
Rick says
Hi Ian, thank you for your article and advice on these matters.
Our 11 year old mix-breed medim-sized dog was diagnosed in April by a vet we’ve used before for osteoporosis sarcoma on her right front leg, and we were advised for leg removal and chemo as the “gold standard”. But since it didn’t appear that it would extend her life, and due to the high cost, we chose to wait. In September her leg had become a serious issue and we took her back from another evaluation. At that time the vet inspected and x-rayed her and stated that the cancer was localized to only her leg, that her lungs looked great, and that she was “very healthy….like a puppy”, and that she would be a very good candidate for leg removal with years of life left. We bit the bullet and had them do the surgery, then only one week after her stitches were removed (about a month total after the surgery) her back legs went out. We took her there in the evening under emergency situation and they said she had total hip failure and we were forced to put her down.. so we spent $2,500 for the surgery and over $3,500 all expenses included over time. I have sent a letter to the vet asking to be refunded for the cost of the surgery ($2,500) and of course haven’t heard back yet. Could this be eligible for a small claims case (max $2500), and do you think we might have a case? I feel it was negligence on their part and they misled us on the risks for her. Thank you!
Debi says
A few weeks ago, I submitted an incident that happened to our cat, where he died in my daughter’s lap 5 minutes after leaving the vet and have been waiting for your response. Please read it so I can get your opinion.
Michelle says
My 2 yr old dog was unable to pee. I took her to the verts on Sunday to get an xray. After the xray the vet confirmed she indeed had a bladder stone blockage and was scheduled to have surgery to remove it. Very standard procedure. About 30 minutes later the vet called me and told me ” I think I ruptured your dogs bladder because I tried to relieve her” so it then became an emergency surgery. After surgery they realized they didn’t get all the stones and went in for a 2nd surgery. Later that evening from surgery my dog was taken out to pee. She was having a hard time peeing. By morning she was going backwards fast. 3rd surgery because something was still leaking. A new vet took on the case. He fixed her bladder and put in a drain. The next day she was looking like she kept falling backwards. They told me to think about putting her down and I said I need another opinion. After being told she would die en route to the other place we decided to risk it and against their odds, she made it. She is now being seen by another vet who confirmed that is NOT standard to expel a known blockage and that is an obvious result. They also confirmed that the old vet sewed up her ureter and for days her pee was backing up in her own kidneys. She has since been septic, received plasma, blood transfusions, another emergency visit and is fighting currently for her life. The old vet bill was $6,000.00 and current bill is an estimate if she can continue with treatment of $20,000-$25,000.00. I paid $7,000.00 for my dog. I have called two different vet practices and both have confirmed the first vet was not in a standard range of what should have transpired with a blocked bladder. Please advise what lawyer fights the hardest.
emily says
I put my cat down yesterday December 13, 2020 at 9:28pm since the doctor was afraid he had lung cancer and we couldn’t afford for his treatments or test to make sure it was lung cancer.
We had previously taken him to his usual vet to do some blood work since he wasn’t eating and he would sleep all day and vomit. When my sister got a call or went to the vet they NEVER told her told there was anything wrong with his/in blood. I was wondering if we could sue for not giving us the information we needed.
Niklaus says
I found a kitten while walking a wooded property with clients. His eye was popped and hanging out. I rushed him to the vet where they said what’s left of the eye needs to be removed and closed up. 2k later the surgery was done and he was home. Shortly after his eye socket started to fill with liquid and bulge. I took Him back in and they said it was just tears and they drained it. This continue to happen and they wanted me to pay again to go back in and close the tear duct they had missed. I was not going to pay them to fix a mistake they made that they said was harmless. Fast forward and he has started to have issues with his teeth on the same side of the missing eye. His jaw was inflamed. I took him to a different vet who did a exploratory surgery and found out that the popped eye was actually still inside the socket and had caused infection that had ate away at his eye socket bone and jaw bone. The current vet took pictures and documented they eye was not actually removed. Should I sue the first vet for negligence?
Kate says
I took my cat to the vet cause she was having problems with her mouth. The first initial visit was weird, they didn’t get her weight or her temperature. They sent me home with antibiotics and said to come back in two weeks. We had to come back before that cause her mouth was bleeding again. Once again they didn’t weight her or take her temp. Same place, different doctor; he crammed a stick (looks like a widened popsicle stick) aggressively in her mouth, I could tell she was irritated. I informed them that she was diagnosed with diabetes years ago and what insulin she was taking. They said they needed to do bloodwork to see if she’s strong enough to undergo anesthesia for dental work, they also said she had fleas and sent me home with more antibiotics and flea medicine. I had to call them to get bloodwork results cause they failed to call me when they said they would. The first guy had no idea what I was talking about and put me on the line with another tech, she said let me see if the doctor is available to read the results. He gets on the line and says her kidneys, organs, and everything else looks fine but she has anemia and he doesn’t know what’s causing that, he also told me she was diabetic even though we already talked about that. I said she has fleas (they knew that) he said oh that definitely would be the reason for the anemia and to get rid of them before she can have surgery. This was on 12/18, fast forward to 12/22 her mouth was bleeding again, I called them and they said it was an emergency and I would have to take her to the emergency room. Shortly after the doctor called me with the worst news, she gave me a list of things wrong and told me my baby was dying. She would need a blood transfusion and would need to spend a few days there to be monitored and the price would easily be $4,000 to $6,000 but the success rate wasn’t high and she didn’t recommend it cause she was suffering. I lost my best friend and support animal cause this place led me to believe my baby was going to be okay. Emotional wreck doesn’t begin to describe how I feel
Page says
I like to sue the VCA hospital in Ariazona for lie to me about the three shots. My Young Sister dose not have a mind of her own becouse she’s to young. She can not see what’s in front of her.
Tim says
Our dog ingested chocolate for which we took her to the emergency vet. The dog had to stay overnight and was fine the next morning when the vet called to tell us we could come and pick her up. Then we received another call from the vet shortly after saying dog slipped her collar when a tech had taken her outside for a potty break. We have not been able to locate our dog. What options do we have?
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m sorry this happened to you. You can use our free online directory to contact a personal injury attorney in Arizona. Most initial consultations are free and the attorney will be able to explain your legal options.
Richard says
I took my cat to an emergency vet hospital, because he wasn’t eating and was throwing up. After making us wait in the car for over four hours, they finally took him. Because of their pandemic rules, I was not able to go in with him. He was so stressed out, they had to sedate him to do any tests. They kept him over night. The next day, the vet calls to say he has a respiratory infection which was causing drainage. They were going to get us a prescription for an antibiotic and have us pick him up. While we were still talking on the phone, the vet hurried says she had to get back to us and hangs up. A few minutes later, she calls and says he died from a heart attack from the sedation. I know they killed my cat. He would be alive right now if I hadn’t taken him there yesterday. I paid over $1,600 because I wanted him to have whatever care he needed, and now he’s dead.
Joni T. says
My story is so sad, painful and my dogs death so needless that I hate to relive it.
Valerie says
My dog went in to the doctor for a limp and came out in respiratory distress, he was transferred by ambulance in a oxygen crate to a 24 hour icu where he could be put under oxygen. He arrived with a temperature of 108 and suffered catastrophic brain damage and died 28 hours later. The original doctor administered a medication to calm the dog for xray, and the dog had a breathing problem, the doctor brought me to the back treatment area where my dog was gasping for air with wide open mouth, I exclaimed that He looked like he could be having an allergic reaction to the med given for “calm” . The doctor proceeded to administer an “antidote” to the med he had given, along with benedryl,. The doctor asked us to give him an hour with our dog, after the hour the dog couldn’t lift his head, having suffered neurological damage from lack of oxygen and high fever that developed with lack of oxygen. The doctor never treated or addressed the life threatening fever with any meds or ice to cool him. Upon arrival by ambulance at 24 hour icu, original doctor Refused to speak to the 24 hour doctor and communicate what had transpired with our dog in his office., and hung up on them. The 24 hour doctor was appalled at the original doctors behavior and feels that the chart notes supplied via email did not match the condition that the dog was presenting with. Do I have a case?
Anna says
We brought our 5 year old Akita dog to the vet’s office because she was vomiting and had diarrhea for 3 days, she was also very lethargic. The Dr. suggested barium test to see if the dog ate anything and its blocking the path. While they were doing the test they put her under the iv-fluids (2 liters). The barium test didn’t show that something was in her stomach.
Meanwhile, the dog got better after the fluids and started begging for food/water and began acting more active. The Dr said that the surgery is not necessary, sent her home after taking blood (wnl) and suggested giving her more food/water and watch her vomit and diarrhea. The dog got her dinner and was fine all night; however, at 11 am started vomiting again and having massive diarrhea. When we called the vet – she immediately suggested the surgery to check her stomach and see if anything was blocking it. We agreed to the surgery and they found nothing in the stomach and small intestine. The moment they took her out of the surgery she had a bloody diarrhea. They tested her for PARVO and she tested positive. They sent her to the emergency clinic for the post-op care.
We took our dog to the 24 hour care, and she was in a terrible condition: 1 hour post operation, not moving, with a bloody diarrhea. She died 10 hours later, at 4 am at the emergency clinic. She had a 104.5 fever and lost a lot of fluids.
We believe that she was too week to survive the surgery, and she was misdiagnosed and mistreated. They never took PARVO test, despite all the vomit and diarrhea – only after the surgery. The Dr was suggesting a stomach surgery even though the x-rays did not show that something was blocking the stomach. They never even tried treating her for infection/virus, despite all the symptoms.
Overall, we spent $3700, and we lost our dog who cost us $2000.
Sylvka Black says
My 13 year old cat died yesterday 1/11/2021 after i took my cat to the vet on saturday for an emergency visit. He was lethargic and not eating. Vet said bring him back on tuesday because he is dehydrated. he said we gave him some fluids i said will that last him until Tuesday. He did not answer me. I asked if my cat was dying they said he does have hyperthyrodism and he is a senior. i said did you take blood. he said what’s the sense in taking blood. I said why can’t you take blood. He said okay we’ll take blood. I said again is my cat dying and got no answer. my cat died at home. I didn’t want him to suffer . He said you can take him to one of those emergency clinics. I called back and talked to another dr. he said something about electrolytes and they will have to keep him all day for 2 days. When I went for my appointment i had already left a message about my cat having died and asked them why didn’t they tell me my cat was dying she said we advised you to go to an emergency clinic. I said no you said I could go if I chose. i want to sue. It won’t bring my cat back but it will provide me with a little relief for their neglilgence of not telling me the truth about my cats condition.
Jessica M. says
My bearded dragon was being treated by the vet for parasites. The vet gave her a shot in her arm and now her arm is paralyzed. After asking many questions from other people, we think the vet hit a nerve or something and maybe severed it. The first shot was fine, the second two weeks later paralyzed her arm. Do I have any sort of case? The vet seems to think the arm was just inflamed, gave me anti-inflammatory medicine, but the medicine has done nothing and she has finished it.
Mad Mama says
My poor 2 year old cat had to have a small surgery and a catheter inserted do to crystals in his bladder from a messed up PH balance. They did Not call us when they decided themselves to insert the catheter Again, extra money, and Ripped His Urethra!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So now I’ve either gotta fight with these morons about the cost of everything and make them take the $670 off the cost of the Second Surgery he needs now to either make him a new hole to pee out of. Or they kill my poor baby. Idk what to do I’m debating suing or something I’m so distraught.
Farrah Keenan says
We are going to start a campaign called “Bring Bella Home”
Bring Bella Home

Bella was taken into the dr as an emergency by Barking Mad alongside her mom where she later passed away.
We chose to have her cremated and ashes returned to her mom who loves her deeply. Bella has been with mom for over 10yrs and was her baby.
3 weeks later after multiple phone calls to the vets office I was told that a mistake had been made and Bella had been cremated as a group cremation and her ashes scattered in Galveston bay and they were “sorry” and that this happens sometimes.
Saying Bella’s mom was devastated doesn’t even begin to describe how she felt.
After some investigation and phone calls to the pet cremation Place I found out that they had called the vets office that they had NEVER picked Bella’s body up and that right after they told the vets office that they called me and gave me the story about Bella being cremated as a group cremation and scattered in Galveston bay which was a lie. 
Was she thrown away in the trash??? Is she in one of the many UN LABELED bags in the deep freezer? They can’t find her body!!!
Now I am demanding to know where Bella is and what happened to her. Any advice on what I can do would be appreciated. Her mom is devastated and so hurt and I personally knew Bella so this is unbelievable this could happen.
Houston V says
I took my 13 week old puppy to the vet today she had palvo upon me I waited three hours to be seen my do was alive and breathing she was weak but was alive when they called us in they told me to put her on the table she was still alive she was standing but her head was kinda slopped the first thing she did was get a thermometer and stick it up her rectal knowing ages weak been throwing up and having diarrhea an soon as she put the thermometer up her rectal she took it out she layed down started shacking went into shock an stop breathing mind you she was so strong she was holding on an everything. I dont understand why that would be the first thing she would do knowing the state she was in they could of saved her life if they would of did the correct protocols like giving her fluids an medicine first I really need to know what I can do because I don’t feel right I feel like they didn’t do what was best for her please help with feedback she was my fat mamas that was her name
Debi says
I brought my 13-year-old cat to see his vet because he was breathing oddly. They took x-rays and said he had a some fluid in his lungs. So they gave him a sedative, drained the fluid, and the doctor told me to take my cat home and monitor him for a few days. Moments later, an aide brought my cat inside his carrier out to us. I set the carrier on my daughter’s lap and got into the driver’s seat of my car. My daughter instantly opened the top of the carrier to pet & calm our cat and said to me, “Mom, his eye lids are flipped back and there’s a lot of drool coming from his mouth.” We pulled out of the parking lot and ten minutes into the ride home my daughter said, “Mom, he’s flipping all around his carrier and I don’t know what to do.” I told her to hold on and we were coming to a red light. Two minutes later she said, “He’s not moving but his eyes are open.” That was the moment our cat passed away about 12 minutes after we left the vet. What ever happened while in the care of his veterinarian is what killed our cat. It had already started when the aide brought him out in his carrier. Why didn’t they monitor him after giving him a sedative?
So I called the doctor for answers. He admitted he should have been more thorough in explaining our cat’s condition and said he thought we were all on the same page. He said he was sorry and that his staff should have checked on him before bringing giving him back to us because they could have saved him. A few days later we received a sympathy card from the doctor personally.
A couple of weeks later, I was reviewing my bank statement and I saw a $567 charge from the vet. I was a little set back that they charged me for killing my cat so I called them about it. They agreed to refund me but said they had to consult with their attorney and get a waiver prepared for me to sign before it could happen.
My question is should I sign the waiver and get a refund or pursue legal action?
MK says
I took my dog to the vet today for an ultrasound. Prior to this appointment, the vet was told on three separate occasions that my dog should not be put in a small cage because he will attempt to break out. I let them know I was happy to wait with him in the car for as long as it took. They let me know that if there were any issues with the cage they would call me. One hour after the was dropped off, I receive a call that his broke the cage and his mouth was bleeding and “they think he cracked a tooth”. They put him in a run outside and he was apparently okay. I pick him up, take him home, and he is missing two teeth and 3 are broken off two the gum, one with the root showing. Can I sue? Do I have grounds? I have photos and videos of his teeth from when he got home and the ones that aren’t broken have black scraps from what I assume is gnawing at the cage.
Patsy says
My 21 month old mini schnauzer died today while getting his ears cleaned at his vet’s office. He had been sedated and reportedly was stable until at the end of the procedure he was noted to be blue, and had no heart rate. He had this procedure done once before. The vet said he got the correct dose of the sedative, and he couldn’t explain why he died. He had no heart problems, and was a very active puppy. He was on Phenobarbital for seizures and had normal levels, kidney and liver tests. I suspect he was not being monitored appropriately, became hypoxic then had cardiac arrest. Do I have a lawsuit case?
Sylvia says
I brought my 4 month old Argentinian Dogo puppy to the Animal Hospital on Saturday morning because he was displaying some neurological symptoms, refused to eat and was very lethargic. The onset was acute, he was fine the night before. I brought him to the clinic where they took blood but said results wouldn’t be available until Monday morning. They suspected hepatic encephalopathy due to a liver shunt. I was sent home with a medication to absorb possible ammonia from the liver not functioning properly and an antibiotic. He wasn’t given any fluids or advised to be taken to a 24 hr hospital where he could be admitted. I was told we had to wait for bloodwork results on Monday and go from there.
My puppy died less than 24 hrs later. Another vet I spoke to said they would’ve admitted him, put him on fluids and monitored him but obviously no one can say exactly if he would’ve made it.
I called today (Monday morning) for the test results and asked why I wasn’t advised to have him admitted or anything else done to him? They basically said well we don’t have staff 24 hrs so we don’t admit. I told them I would have taken him somewhere else after if I had been advised properly. I think my puppy could have pulled through if I wasn’t told to just take him home with these two medications and wait until Monday.
Elizabeth says
I brought my cat in to get neutered and several hours l as ter they called and told me his eye was weepy and they thought he had an eye I cfc tin. When I went to pick him up, he couldnt open his left eye at all. I was weirded out by it because my cat was perfectly healthy and his vitals were perfect when he was dropped off. I picked up the antibiotics they prescribed for his eye, but after a week he was in terrible pain and his eye was swollen shut. I brought him to a different trusted vet when the prior office was going to charge me even more money for damage THEY had caused, and they found a huge scratch on his cornea that caused an ulcer. Is this something I could go to court for? They just caused us so much time, energy, emotional distress, and money. My cat could also go blind because the damage is so severe. He had no eye issues when he was dropped off…
Jean says
Do you know if in PA. the law states that an animal is considered a posession??? Like a chair or any piece of furniture! That is what the lawyers tell me, they are not worth anything. I have been tring to find a lawyer to help us. But have been told that animals really have no rights atleast in Pa. We had a very bad experience with an Animal Hospital. Briefly Our english bull Dog had an ear infection, had some kind of a reaction in the middle of the night, had to take him to the hospital. They kept him all the next day and told us we could pick him up that evening. The attendents pushed and pulled him out the door, he couldn’t walk on his own he was in such bad shape, they sent him home with a bag full of pills to start giving that night. He stopped breathing and hour later, rushed him back to hospital while doing CPR on him. He died, when we asked why they released him the Dr. said” You shouldn’t have accepted him” It was just terrible. There is more to the story, we also had a autopsy done 9thewy may have overdosed him, liver failure), we have medical records, etc. We think they didn’t know how to treat English Bull dogs( their breathing etc.)he had just turned 7 and was healthy before this with no problems. In those hospitals there are too many different people handling the animals. We need to change Laws it is not right that Hospitals get away with this. They took our little boy away from us and we will never get over this.
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m so sorry this happened to you.
Unfortunately, pets are considered “personal property” in Pennsylvania (along with most other states). As a result, you can only receive the fair market value of the pet (i.e., what the pet would cost to purchase in the open market).
I know this doesn’t seem fair and certainly doesn’t account for the “true value” the a pet provides as a member of the family, but it is the current law in Pennsylvania.
Karen Swan says
My puppy Baxter was purchased 2/5….2/9 i took him to vet as prior 2 days he started diarrhea prev day had blood in it. Eveing 2/8 he stopped eating. Vet Group did a fecal test for worms gave anti biotic. Nect day took Back to same vet as now Vomit w no eating nlood in stool- gave anti vomit shot. NEXT day took to Diff Vet- immediately they did a parvo test and admitted to puppy hospital… My puppy died 4 days later. Parvo is a Given if blood on stool.. first vet Never did parvo test.. my puppy Needed those 2 extra days of hospital care.. I feel first vet Killed my puppy
Mary says
I took my shih tzu to the vet for a dental cleaning. They called and told me she need some teeth removed. I agreed, but was never informed of the risk of pulling the lower fang. In the process they fractured her jaw. I would have declined this since the only reason they were pulling it was stage IV periodontal disease (50% bone loss). The tooth was stable and because of the long root and her thin jaw it cracked. She now is injured with a lose tooth. Can I sue or expect them to pay for everything?
Ivy says
Melissa, I had a similar incident. Took my dog to emergency vet hospital. He was in ketoacidosis which can be fatal but if treated in a decent amount of time and properly can be reversed. These horrible people spent so much time trying to get money from me..$10,000 for3day treatment plan finally agreed to 24 hrs for 3500. During this3hr period the dog was declining rapidly and because of covid I couldn’t even be inside with him so he was also traumatized and terrified as well. They had not done even one basic test yet until 3600.00 was in their greedy hands. This was emergency treatment?? After I cried and was told if I couldn’t pay then just to take him home and let him die I had a friend with me who paid. Next day when I was called by vet I was told oh he’s very sick and had a lot of other things she would need to test for and keep for another day…and of course another 2400.00. Buy this time I was so panicked and distraught of course I paid and so dog is still there. While in their so v called care He was poked and prodded…ears cleaned, lump biopsied that I didn’t know about, had a Corneal ulcer that the vet admitted he got while there because he kept trying to get out of kennel because he was so anxious and scared…anyway this otherwise healthy 8yr old dog was now in critical condition while they were so busy running ridiculous tests I canonly assume to justify the 6000.00 I had already paid. Later that evening the vet called and said he was doing better. I said then I’ll pick him up tomorrow morn. At that time she wanted to still keep another day to regulate his blood sugar. This was the problem they should have dealt with and focused on day one! When I said no, because they wanted another 4000.00 she immediately offered for the 3rd time to do humane euthanasia..what? You just said he was getting better. I told her no DO NOT KILL MY DOG and that I would be there to get him tomorrow morn. We discussed his medication..insulin and syringes and antibiotic she had begun and she agreed verbally and in writing on discharge papers that she would send home with me since I would need time to get insulin filled. She left implanted glucose monitor on dog it was good for 12more days and that’s how much meds she would give me. Next morning 10 am dog was not ready. Waited in parking lot until 2pm when they finally brought him out..I started crying cause he looked worse than ever and was obviously too weak to walk. He was so terrified it broke my heart. She gave me a bag…NO insulin or syringes. He was due for next dose at 5pm. When I asked about it tech girl said oh here’s written scripts and by the way you can only get at Costco. By this time it’s 3pm dog is obviously dehydrated and needs medication. I told her no go back in and get his insulin and I showed her on the papers where it said send home with patient today. She wanted to argue and I got irrate and said go now. She left and never came back. Still waiting at 5pm I panicked and said let’s just go and I’ll try to find someone to give me the insulin. After calling every pharmacy in 100 mile radius including Costco no one had that dog insulin. Now dog is dying and at 10 pm I went back 30miles to vet hospitaland demanded my insulin. They brought out bottle of different insulin turns out they didn’t evenhave theone she prescribed. They gave me cat insulin…and again no syringes. Finally at midnite found all nite pharmacy and begged pharmacist who was kind enough to give me syringes…not right ones but he figured dosage for Me and I finally at midnite gave my dog his 5pm dose. His sugar continued to rise, stayed up with him all nite…too weak to eat or drink water and it was too late. He had missed 2 life saving doses and he died in my arms that morning. Devastated and after reading 23 pages of what they did to this little dog..nothing followed any protocol I could find for his condition, records were altered and falsified. I really feel these inept uncaring corporate money grubbers stopped taking care of my dog the moment they couldn’t get any more money from me. I fully believe with documentation that they are the reason he died. I have proof but was told by lawyer I probably couldn’t prove in court. They have big money corporate lawyers. I don’t want money I want my love of my life dog back but that can’t be and apparently i have no way to hold them accountable. I am I so much pain and so guilty and horrified that I took him there. I will never recover from this trajedy. I’m so sorry for your loss although I know that doesn’t help much but truly I feel your pain and these type of incidents need to be stopped. Sending you love today.
H. F. says
My beautiful border collie girl is getting a bit older, and on a walk one evening she began limping on her rear haunch. It wasn’t terrible but it was bothering her. After a few days she hadn’t improved so we called our vet (we’ve been with them for 25 years. We have rescued many BCs over those years and provide them the best care and nutrition money can buy., We pay monthly fees for each of our dogs, and as such it’s similar to a human healthcare plan.) and asked to have my girl seen for the hind haunch limp.
We took her in to the appointment, explained what we knew, and the vet basically felt her knees, noted one was swollen, said it’s arthritis, and got a prescription for Carprofen, an anti inflammatory similar to ibuprofen for humans which works the same way. We took the paperwork and thanked the vet.
Given the diagnosis, we treated her as diagnosed; with arthritis, taking carprofen, and would take her on walks to keep her knees in motion, which is helpful for pain and to retain motion when arthritis is present.
A few days later on an evening walk, she helped and was pulling her leg off to the side and in extreme pain. Could not walk on the leg. We called the vet back, insisted this isn’t arthritis and now my girl is in real trouble. They asked to bring her in which we did immediately. I told them I didnt buy the arthritis diagnosis, and demanded they do a PROPER diagnosis, with the helo of an x-ray, which I exclaimed should have need done the previous visit.
The x-ray shows that she has completely torn her ACL, and what she had the first time we brought her in was the start of a torn ACL. I said I knew this wasn’t correct, and the vet agreed and said there should have been an x-ray taken just given the symptoms present in the first visit.
I asked why I got a misdiagnosis and where do we go from here. She says x-rays are $250, I said I don’t feel we should have to pay for that as it should have been done on the first visit, and it was pure negligence that my girl didn’t get a proper evaluation.
We relied on their professional diagnosis to keep our do from being further injured, and to help heal the dog. We treated her as she had mild arthritis, when in fact an x-ray needed to be done up front to accurately diagnose the injury. They have admitted they missed it, and should have done the x-ray when we first showed up.
So now, due to relying on the professional opinion and following the negligence of the vet, I have a dog who’s ACK is completely torn, it’s excruciating my painful for the dog, and in order to fix her requires an operation which costs upwards of 10K.
I don’t have that money. I shouldn’t have to pay that money to get her fixed. I treated my girl as if she had arthritis, the diagnosis I was provided. No x-ray was taken, etc. The vet agreed that the dog was misdiagnosed the first time, and that an x-ray should have been taken right away. But they didn’t do that, and because I followed their diagnosis, my dog took a mild ACL injury and wound up tearing it completely.
I would like to sue this vet organization for negligence and damages, with a penalty of them paying for the ACL repair surgery. I think that’s absolutely fair, equitable, and is the least they can do since they’ve admitted it was a misdiagnosis
Can I sue the vet to pay for the cost and incidentals operation? This would be as close to “making us whole”, which is what a court of law would want to achieve. Had I not relied on their lazy, unsuitable, self-admitted misdiagnosis, I would have never taken my dog for a walk with even a slight nick in her ACL, but since that IS the diagnosis I got, I walked her like she had arthritis. This led to her tearing completely the ACL.
Sorry for the small novel, wanted to share asuch info as relevant. I’d sure appreciate any help, she’s so depressed and I feel absolutely helpless not being able.to afford the surgery she now needs, and wouldn’t have had they properly diagnosis my girl.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you
H. F.
Sandra Postell says
My.precious 2 year.old.gionea pig Pinky developed..a.small.soft.mass.aroind her nipple. I took her to my regular vet and she referred me to another animal hospital that had an ultrasound machine. After having the ultrasound she wasn’t sure what it was and recommended surgically removing it and spaying her. This cost me.ovsr $300 dollars and surgery would be between $800 and $1000. . I was willing to pay because she is priceless. The day of the surgery I received a phone call that Pinky died under anethesia. I.am.devestated. I have requested her records and plan on reporting the vet to the State of Florida. I know she is only considered “property” so I would only get the price of her. Nothing will bring back my precious piggie. I have put negative reviews on Yelp and any other place I could find. I’ve also contacted the Animal Defense. Fund.. I saw other reviews similar to mine and never wish this nightmare experience on anyone. I blame myself because she wasn’t even sick. I just wanted the best medical care for her and they killed her.
Laura says
Do you know which organization in PA is responsible for vet care? My pet was not properly euthanized in accordance with the hospital-posted euthanasia protocol. I would like to file a complaint, so no one goes through what I went through. I have not been able to locate the appropriate organization. I tried searching the licensing section from the Department of State, but I cannot locate anything. Do you know where I can file a complaint for a hospital not following its own protocol?
Cheryl says
NY
I brought my cat to get groomed at local vet. The cut my cat so deep that is cut through her muscle. They covered it up with glue. When I picked up my cat they DID NOT tell me of her injury and their attempt to hide it with glue. She was lethargic the rest of the day so I left her alone. The next day when I went to brush her I felt the glob of glue. I called an animal hospital that told me to bring her in immediately. After waiting 2 hours they took her and stitched the muscle and outer coat.
My cat is an emotional support cat. What damages am I entitled to receive in NY?
Brenda says
Hola tengo una French bulldog que el día 17 de marzo fue programada para una cesaría ya que estaba embarazada de 4 cachorros la deje en el vet a las 10 am, me dijeron que llamara a las 3pm para ver cómo iba todo y decirme a que hora podría ir por ella y los cachorros. Al llamar a las 3 de la tarde me dijeron que ella estaba bien y que sus 4 cachorros estaban bien que estaban en observación que fuera por ellos a las 5:30 pm a las 5 me llama el dr para decirme que 2 de los cachorros nacieron muertos y que los otros dos murieron al nacer. Quiere decir que los 4 perros murieron y lo único que me dijeron fue que dejaron de respirar. Que se quedaron sin oxígeno e igual tuve que pagar por la cesaría. Para mi fue negligencia medida. Podria demandar?
Sarah says
I took my pug into Morgan animal hospital for allergies, my dog passed away . She had a severe uti and the vet allowed 8 days before she had a bowel movement. This hospital knew how sick my dog became , I was told by a staff member “well you better start saving money because surgery is expensive here”! Horribly, unprofessional and cruel .
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m so sorry this happened to you.
I don’t know enough about the situation to know whether your vet committed malpractice. You can read more about vet malpractice here. If you think your vet committed malpractice, you might consider meeting with a personal injury attorney in your area to discuss your legal options.
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m sorry this happened to you.
Generally, the damages available in these cases are limited to the cost of the additional medical treatment required to address the harm caused by the malpractice.
Ian Pisarcik says
Siento mucho que le haya pasado esto.
Para establecer un reclamo por negligencia médica, debe demostrar que:
(1) Su veterinario no ejerció el grado de cuidado y habilidad que se espera de un veterinario razonable, y
(2) La falla fue la causa de la lesión o muerte de su mascota.
No se espera que los jueces tengan conocimientos médicos. Como resultado, ambas partes suelen contratar a expertos médicos para que den testimonio sobre si el veterinario actuó de manera irrazonable.
Sin más información, es imposible para mí saber si las acciones irrazonables o falta de acción de su veterinario causaron la muerte de los cuatro cachorros, o si las muertes fueron médicamente inevitables.
Si desea entablar una demanda, le recomendaría reunirse con un abogado en su área para discutir su caso. La mayoría de las consultas iniciales son gratuitas y puede encontrar un abogado utilizando nuestro directorio en línea gratuito.
Al decidir si va a entablar una demanda, tenga en cuenta que las mascotas se consideran propiedad en la mayoría de los estados. Como consecuencia, los dueños de mascotas fallecidas generalmente se limitan a recuperar el valor justo de mercado de la mascota (es decir, lo que costaría comprar una mascota similar en el mercado). En la mayoría de los casos, no puede recuperar el valor subjetivo de su mascota (es decir, lo que su mascota vale para usted).
Blue says
My friends dog was taken by the county animal control and put under quarantine as a result of a report that it had tried to bite a stranger. After the dog passed the 10 day quarantine period, they vaccinated/microchipped her and attempted to spay her before they released her back to the owner. When the owner went to go pick up the dog, was told that the dog passed away during the spay procedure and was told that this was very rare and a dog had never passed away during a surgery at their facility. The children who grew up with the dog are extremely upset as this was unexpected and the owner was just doing as told by allowing the county shelter to quarantine the dogs and then pay for the services done that they required upon release. Would the owner be able to sue the veterinarian who performed the surgery??
Crystal says
I took my 2 year old boxer to get neutered on March 26th and died yesterday. The day after his surgery.
My baby was a healthy , energetic dog.
What can I do about this? I feel like it’s not fair to just let it go. I don’t want to let it go.
Do I have a case ?
Jon doe says
My dog wanted for surgery to have a spay procedure done as well as a cruciate surgery after a week she went back to have the sutures removed from the spay
Site and the veterinarian said that the site look good a couple days later a piece of her intestines started poking through the skin I made the veterinarian aware and their staff at the facility told me to wait to mid-afternoon to come in that it was fine even though I sent them a picture after I got to the facility that afternoon I was made aware that it was too bad to even look at they wouldn’t see me and I have to go to the emergency hospital with that being said many more thousands have now been spent to correct a procedure that they were too negligent to follow up on is there a case for malpractice or negligence
Brenda says
We took our cat Gomez to get neutered last week and he had diarrhea and nausea I took him back and they said oh it’s normal first couple days so 4 days later I took him again he said yea he is fine still probably has medicine in his system but yesterday I took him in and I said it’s been over a week there is something wrong with Gomez so they said they would give medicine for the nausea and anti biótics and on my way home from vet he started breathing weird and Husband started doing cpr and when we got to pet he hospital they tried cpr and some other stuff but it was too late he had a cardiac arrest right away the vet said he would pay for our medical bills for the day and neutering payments we made we just needed to to sign a paper . We didn’t sign the paper and paid for an autopsy to be performed out of pocket. Can we sue them for malpractice
Millz says
So I’m wondering what would anyone else do. So I thought my dog had parvo and we took him to the vet she gave him a test and he was negative for parvo. She gave him some nausea medication and a shot for his stomach pains. She gave him the shot on his side and didn’t flush the whole needle as she pulled it out it gave him a big absess and all his skin was lost on his side they acted really nonchalant about it like it was no big deal as the days went by all his side skin fell off and he had a huge hole on his side so now it’s a year later and it still is not 100% healed she didn’t even acknowledge it acted like it wasn’t her fault we paid our bill and went home. She actually sold us medicine to put on it expensive ass medicine at that. What should I do she didn’t even give him a free checkup she charged us for that too.
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m sorry this happened to you. Based on the information you provided, it’s unclear whether or not your vet committed veterinary malpractice. To prove malpractice, you need to establish that:
(1) Your veterinarian failed to exercise the degree of care and skill expected of a reasonable veterinarian, and
(2) The failure was the cause of your pet’s injury or death.
Keep in mind that the damages you would recover from a successful suit are relatively small (the cost of treating the injuries caused by the vet). For this reason, your best option is probably to try to work out a deal with the vet or take the vet to small claims court.
Tammie Crossley says
I took my very ill acting dog to the vet wanting the vet to do lab work because I knew my dog was acting very sick. The vet refused to do any lab work and said “she’s just jealous of your daughter in law’s dog” who was visiting us. I had to beg this vet to do the lab work and after a month, she finally gave in. My dog’s blood sugar was over 800! She was very very sick! The vet apologized but I ended up having to change vets and it cost me a ton of money because the previous vet didn’t start my dog on the correct amount of insulin and the process took much longer than it should have because of this negligence. I’m looking to sue this vet for negligence with my damages including the cost of the 2nd vet as well as the emotional and physical damage to me and my pet. This first vet also drug her feet getting my pet’s records to the new vet because she was angry I changed vets. She’s just horrible!! She’s unorganized and will treat you horribly if you leave for another vet. You may not get your records as she will lie and say you owe her money when you don’t.
Heartbroken Dog Mom says
My Bernese Mountain dog (10 years 6 months) suddenly did not feel well in December 2020. He was lethargic and he seemed to have pain in his hind end. He is not neutered and had blood dripping from his penis 9 months earlier and was treated with antibiotics and recovered well. We rushed him off to the emergency vet and the vet suspected his prostate gland was enlarged and inflamed. The vet did a urinalysis and sent us home with 10 days of antibiotics. Our dog responded quickly to the antibiotics and appeared well. A week later, the vet called and said the urinalysis was “negative’. They sent the results to our regular vet. Our dog appeared well for about 5 weeks, but then became lethargic again and did not eat much. We took him to our regular vet and they did an ultrasound but found the prostate appeared fine. They sent us home with Meloxicam because they saw some arthritis in his back. Our dog continued to decline and I called both the emergency vet to again check the results of the urinalysis. Again was told no issues. Our regular vet said it must be the arthrisits. Finally our dog was not wanting to walk and visibly ill. We took him to regular vet and they did a blood test. Found that our dog’s kidneys were failing. We had to put our dog down 3 weeks later after we tried IV fluids to flush the kidneys. I called the emergency room vet a month after out dog died and asked if there was any kind of report generated by the urinalysis-there was. It clearly showed that our dog had a UTI in December and possible kidney issues! The emergency room vet never told us of these concerns and our vet that got the records on 12/14/20 apparently never checked those records because they prescribed Meloxicam because that medicine can cause kidney failure in dogs with any kidney issues. It appears our dog could have been quickly cleared of major issues i only given antibiotics by our vet when we took him in. Is this a case where we could sue due to negligence?
Rik says
Brought my dog in for emergency services today, and he was seen by a Doctor. X rays were done blood work was done, and what came back was everything was ok on paper. They proceeded to show me the x ray, and told me all they saw was that he had a small murmur and a little fluid near the area so prescribed me medicines. And told me exactly what times to administer.. I get home oh yea my dog seemed fine at vet also, when I got home he proceeded to be sick again having what I’m sure was a heart attack on my living room floor something has to be wrong here
Jonathan Carswell says
My cat was very sick so I took him to the vet. She kept him three days saying he was making improvements. She called and said I could come get him. After writing seven post dated checks to cover nearly $500 in bills she brought my cat out. My wife noticed right away he seemed to be having trouble breathing. The vet assistant assured us he was fine. Less than an hour after we got him home he quit breathing and passed away. Am I still responsible for the entire bill? Can I sue for the vet sending him home when he wasn’t well enough? My wife already has lots of emotional problems and having a cat she loves die in her arms didn’t help.
sophia says
I brought my cat in for a check up and they gave him a rabies shot and another one. Because of covid they never gave me a form to sign showing the risks. My cat now has a lump that could be cancerous from them giving him rabies and another shot, and I didn’t know the risk.
Maggie Cheston says
I took my cat to a local SPCA to get vaccinated and spayed. She had an adverse reaction to the DKT procedure and they had to reverse the medication. This is was worrying, but I understand that it happens. However, in addition to this, I called the vet to ask for more details and he informed me that my CAT was given a CANINE distemper vaccine mistakenly instead of a FELINE distemper vaccine. I am waiting to see what happens and monitoring her symptoms.
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m so sorry that this happened to your cat. I hope everything works out.
Karee Kudebeh says
I woke up today and noticed that my rabbit was not feeling very well. He was lethargic which was a really bad sign (unfortunately this usually means they are close to death, but he was fine just yesterday) I called the emergency vet & told them what was going on. They made me feel like everything was going to be fine, so I took him in. When I got there, they started him on medications (IV fluids etc.) right away (without my consent & I knew they would charge me for this. Vets always charge for everything) which i was grateful for because this was a sign he was in good enough shape to survive. They come into the little vet room to talk to me.. very reassuring at first and telling me he will be just fine. They told me he would need to stay at the vet for a few days (4/23/21- 4/26/21) the total cost for this was $1300.00 (which they convinced me to pay upfront) as they explained all the charges they asked me if it was okay to attempt to resussetate him if he began to crash (of course I said yes. Who wouldn’t?) So I left the vet around 10:00am. Got home, went to work like normal. I didn’t hear from them for a few hours even though they stated they would call me. I called them first around noon ish or 1pm (not exactly sure off the top of my head, but I have the phone records for proof) they didn’t answer so I left a concerned message. They finally called me back around 2:30pm. I didn’t have a chance to answer because I was working. (to make money for that vet bill) day goes on.. playing phone tag. I finally got through to the vet around 6ish. They informed me that my rabbit had died 20 minutes after I left the vet office this morning (10am). They waited all day to tell me and their excuse was they didn’t want to tell me while I was driving (I live 10 mins away.. they knew I didn’t live far) but if they wanted to wait for me to be done driving, Why didn’t anyone call me back until 230pm? Also, if a veternarian is trained to know when an animal is too far gone to save its life or not, why would they give me false hope like that? (Even i had a feeling my rabbit wasn’t going to make it & I’m not a trained vet) Then to tell me he died 20 minutes after I left? (They acted so sure that he was going to live) The vet was so cruel in telling me the news. He had no compassion or sense of empathy/sympathy in his tone. My rabbit died around strangers. I could’ve just said goodbye & kept him home to die with me and his family. I feel very upset & taken advantage of. I strongly believe they knew my rabbit was too far gone but convinced me anyway because they wanted to make money. I have read many of the other low star ratings on this vet place and almost ALL of them talk about their pets dying because of this vet clinic. I would strongly advise that someone look into this. I would hope that the other pet owners whose pets have died at these hands would want in on this action. I feel very wronged & would like to get justice for my rabbit & the other pets who have died at the hands of this clinic.
S. Lavender says
So today we just found out that the vet we took him to yesterday made a mistake and tried to spay my male cat….
When we came home yesterday, we noticed a large incision on his fully shaved stomach. This didn’t seem right to me. So today, the vet was called for clarification. I was told that an incision is made on the stomach if the male’s testicles haven’t dropped. The vet also didnt give us pain medication yesterday so we went back up today to get some from them. When we arrive, the receptionist tells us that she asked about what happened with my cat just to be sure and it turns out that yesterday not only did they have a new receptionist (so thats why we didnt get pain meds) but they had 2 new technicians that “assumed” my cat was a girl and proceeded to shave and spay him. Upon realizing that he definitely isnt female, they looked to see he /magically/ has balls, glued him up, and went on with the neuter. I am beyond upset and I wonder if this is offense enough to file a claim against them
Katie says
On October 5 2020 my husband was walking our 11yr old dog and out of no where these’s two dogs approached them and one dog attacked my dog not my husband he finally got the one off of her and they never touched my husband. He rushed her to the vet and she went straight to surgery later we get a call saying we can pick her up in the morning so the next morning my husband went to get her she came home when I got home she didn’t look too good she had major stitches and tubes I said to my husband why did they her come home well as they thought she would be okay I was really upset I layed with her for night after night crying wishing she would just give me a kiss she was dissent towards me and she was whimpering something was wrong so we called the vet and they said to wait till the morning and bring her in so we took her the next morning and we had to leave her there so that evening my husband got the call she had past from a infection i was devastated i lost my baby. I think she shouldn’t of ever come home until she was better keep in mind they sent her home day after a surgery with drainage tubes hundreds of stitches after a dog attack! .NO THEY SENT HER HOME the vet was young my thought maybe a little inexperienced i had pictures of her after but I just couldn’t keep them it was to hard it’s now been 7 months and I still cry for my baby girl Wanda
Sandy Brown says
My dog was neutered 7 days ago and still in pain and still bleeding. The day we took him home they sent him home with a cone that was too tight. I didn’t really notice it until we got him home. I called immediately and they told me to bring him back to be refitted. The poor dog was throwing up all the way there and then back home. The next day we kept him in his crate with his cone on, only allowed him out to go outside to poop and pee. We carried him down the deck stairs. He has been bleeding for the past 7 days. On the 2nd day we took him back to the vets because of the bleeding. The vet who did the surgery said he was fine and it’s normal to have bleeding. The 3rd day he was still bleeding. We have him his pain medication, and two sedatives that they prescribed. This poor dog has not left his crate except to go outside. We have kept him still, no running no jumping. On the 4th day he is still bleeding, I called the vet and she said that is normal. On the 5th day his surgical suit is soaked with blood. We take him back to the vets again. This time we have the owner vet to check him out. She said her new surgeon did a new way of neutering which she doesn’t agree with, I guess they leave it open to help with drainage!!! Seriously? That’s a new way to neuter a dog, just let them bleed forever??? She put a compress diaper on him and said the bleeding will stop in about a day. Well it hasn’t stopped. This is day 7, we are taking him back again on Monday. I have had 4 dogs neutered in my lifetime and not ONE has ever had this type of procedure. I spoke to my cousin who is a vet and she said she has never heard of a “new” way to neuter. After his appointment on Monday I will be taking him to another vet for a second opinion. My poor dog is swollen, still bleeding after 7 days. They botched his surgery and my poor dog is suffering. I am so upset. He needs to be stitched up the right way. This is just so wrong. All my other dogs were fine two days after, they still had to wear the cone but they never had bleeding for a week.
Woody McBreairty says
Took dog to vet to have teeth checked, Was told the vet would clean teeth & take xrays & gave me a lowest & highest estimate, Instead they took my dog & without my knowledge, extracted most of his teeth & gave me a bill for $2,500.00! They did not consult me or get my approval either for pulling most of my dog’s teeth out, nor did I give an approval for them to charge my CC with such an exorbitant amt. of money. Both of these actions by the vet came as a shock to me.I told the vet I’d like to see the xrays & he said “I didn’t take any xrays!. I feel I was deliberately ripped off., Nothing they did had been discussed with me nor was I asked to provide them any additional information. I sent a letter to the vet but no answer, a lettter to the business owner – but no answer.
To me this was malpractice – vet’s actions that fell below the standard of care for both human & animal that one expects to be treated with. I’m hoping to ascertain if I might have a reasonably strong case here. I know I can report to the California Veterinarian Board & wonder if that would possibly be effective
Austin says
I got my dog spayed two years ago. Since then she bleeds every 5-6 months like she’s still in heat. I take her back to my vet and they tell me it’s a bladder infection and charges me for medication after I tell him I don’t believe that’s what it is. Instead of looking into it I continue to take her in or just wait until she stops bleeding. Towards the end of last year I brought her back and told him we need to look more into it. We get an ultrasound and turns out he did not remove all her ovaries. He tells me he’s going to pay for the ultrasound, any blood tests and for the surgery to successfully remove everything. We set up a time and date, get everything taken care of, but now I received a bill for the surgery. What should I do? I talked to the vet but they are denying that they said they would pay for it.
Gio & Summer says
I don’t even know where to start, I am still in distraught emotional state and disbelief. I took my two 6 year old pups Shih Tzu’s to a university’s small animal hospital. I had been there maybe 3 times prior and the student vets were very professional and kind to my babies. On May 11, 2021 I took them in for a pre-dental exam. Since the covid they are not allowing anyone inside with their pets. Two student vets walked out to my car to get my little Gio and Summer. What got me from the start is when they ask me what I was there for. I answered and asked them, well did you not read their records? They responded and said oh ya for an exam, right. I repeated back to them a “pre-dental” exam to draw their blood to see if the can with stand the anesthesia for the dental cleaning. They responded with oh ya oh ya got it etc. I got a sickening feeling in my stomach and called into the hospital and demanded to immediately speak to the real doctor in charge. I told him about my concerns and requested that someone else take my pups and do the pre-dental exam. He flat out told me no and went on to say how these two vet students were up standing and bla bla bla. The doctor who I guess trains the student went on to say, don’t worry they will not touch your pets and I will be in the room during the examination.. I repeated myself and told him I do not want their hands on my pups. He told me they won’t touch them, I ‘ll have one of the technicians draw the blood and I will be there during the whole exam. My pups come out looking drained and couldn’t wait to run from the two students. My pups did not look ok. I notice that their penis area was soaked. I found that strange, so I looked at my invoice 1 day later and there were all these test that I had no idea what they were. One of the test was a “Urine Urinalysis”, I thought to my self well how did they get urine. I called and asked how they had collected the Urine from both pups? They told me they take them outside and when they see they are going pee they put a cup underneath them. I thought that was also strange. The second test was a ” Cystocent U/S Guided” I said guided what the heck is that. So I again called and ask what was this and they said it like no biggy its done with a syringe, I said what the hell? I had to go online and see YouTube videos to find out exactly what and why these test are performed. They are for pets that are having organ issues, bladder, kidney etc. For anyone who doesn’t no let me prewarn you if you look up a video. This is done without anesthesia. It pains me to even tell you this and forces me to take deep breaths to stay in control of my emotions and what I am going thru. I feel I let my babies down, I was supposed to protect them and I failed them. I have broken down into tears and I feel such great pain. This procedure was not authorized by me and I had no idea they were going to do it. On the discharge papers, they omitted anything about the ” Cystocent U/S Guided” procedure. I looked up the how it is done and the dangers of the procedure but nothing was mentioned about it to me before or after the fact. I’ve been emailing calling requesting the Dean call me back from the teaching school and not one has done anything not even an apology have I received from them. At this point I am just praying to God that my pups don’t have adverse effect from dangers and non-necessary procedure. I will post the adverse effects I found online.
” Cystocent U/S Guided” -Adverse effects are rare – however, they must be recognized, and owners need to give informed consent for this procedure. Adverse effects could include:
• bruising;
• hemorrhage;
• urine/fluid leakage;
• bladder rupture (potential complication in blocked cats);
• vagal stimulation can cause transient side-effects (retching, panting, collapse); and
• tracking of neoplastic cells from the lesion origin to other body cavities or tissues
Mary Jo Caffey says
I had taken my cat to the vet because she was not walking on her front leg. The vet examined it but wanted me to leave her there and said he wanted to sedate her so could get a better exam. They handed me a blank consent form. I filled out the consent form and put sedation on it. They called and asked if they should put a pin in it for $400 or just to cast it.I said put the pin in. Never heard back from them. I called them and they said they cut off my cats leg. I was shocked. Then they said that they tried and tried. I was sitting in a chair holding my cat crying. The vet came in what are you crying about? He was an &$5’_&. He wanted $850.00 now. I did not have that money. He would not let my cat leave without a post dated check for the rest of the money (450). Well I stopped payment on it. My cat was pregnant at the time And gave birth to six babies all healthy. So she could have not been under anesthesia that long. He wife was a lawyer and sent me a letter about the payment oh I let her have it and threatened to write a letter to the board. Never heard another from them. When I was there I could not believe what I witnessed inside that office.
DPQ says
Last year I rescued a young (about 6 months old) female cat from an engine compartment.
I believe someone dropped her off in the middle of the night.
Two months later I notice unusual breathing sounds, like snoring.
In January 2021 a nasopharyngeal polyp was removed by a local DVM.
In March she was spayed and I was forced, at the same visit, to have her vaccinated for rabies.
The polyp regrew and after much research I learned that there were other ways to remove the polyp.
a) articulating endoscope with colf or hot snare attachment
b) articulating endoscope with laser
c) a ventra bulla operation (invasive and often ends with the animal highly impaired)
I emailed a DVM on May 12th and sent him a video of Angel’s first polyp removal operation.
He replied, “This sounds like something we can address with the laser.”
Angel was, in perfect healthy when I dropped her off on May 19th at 11am at his office… notwithstanding, of course, the occasional snore type sound from the air moving past the polyp in her larynx.
After examining Angel, the DVM advised me that he had an associate who felt that it would be preferabe to remove Angel’s
polyp with a harmonic scalpel. I paid the $2,000.00 fee and drove over to my father’s home nearby.
I picked up Angel at 5PM from the DVM. She was not responding to me and she suffered several seizures on the way home.
Angel was suffering horrible epileptic seizures every 30 seconds or so for about 15 hours. She did not recognize me and
twitched everytime a light came on, a sound was made, or her fur was touched.
At about 3AM, I drove Angel to the emergency room at a hospital south of me.
I gave the emergency room DVM a copy of the notes from the operation. Retyped below:
“Angel needed to be induced in the box because she was very fractious when we tried to catheterize. Once induced an IV catheter was place and intubation was performed with difficulty because the polyp in the retro pharynx was huge. (removed polyp was about 1″ in diameter).
Patient was given .5ML Propofol IV for removal of the E.T. tube and harmonic scalpel device was used for removal of the polyp at its base.
Patient arrested at this point and CPF was performed. Patient was without a heart rate for about 4 minutes. During this time CPR with manual respiration and cardiac compression was performed:
0.5ML epinephrine and 0.5ML atropine & 1.0ML 50% dextrose were given IV. Due to lack of response another dose of 0.5ML epinephrine was givn intra cardiac. Heart rate returned at this point and life supportive measures were continued.
Patient was given Dex SP 4MG 0.5ML IV once she was improving. Bear hugger was utilized for thermal support and patient was maintained on supportive care with hope for a complete anexthetic recovery.”
The emergency room DVM advised me that Angel had suffered brain damage during the operation and that the probablility for
any recovery was slim to none.
I wanted to try something, anything to make her well again, but logic said she would just be suffering … endlessly.
So I told Angel how much I loved her, kissed her goodbye and asked Angel to reincarnate as another stray kitty and show up
back at my door one day. Then the vet gave her the sleep drugs, via IV.
Miss her so much already … been crying lots of tears … angry and sorry that I made a poor choice in which DVM to place my
trust.
Manveer says
Hi when I woke up I saw my dog dead. Before he died the past few days my vet injected 2 injections in him at the same day. When we brought him home he had a sad mood or low mood, the next day he started vomiting, we told the vet that this is his condition, they gave us a diet so that he would start eating because he didn’t eat or drink water, we fed him that and he ate it. The next day he started vomiting white and foamy stuff he didn’t open his mouth, with a syringe we tried to feed him water he still didn’t open his mouth and the next day we woke up he was dead and hard and frozen as ice. Please tell me if I should sue my doctor that he applied 2 injections I really need to know. Also for the record they didn’t ask me or gave me the risks of applying and injecting him with 2 injections which was 1 the vaccination and the 2nd one was the anti rabies. He was 4 months and 24 days only. 😭😭😭
Maria Quintero says
Yesterday I took my shar pei mix puppy to vet hospital because I was tired of another local clinic just guessing what was wrong with my little boy I took him to vet hospital they did skin scrapes came back negative for demodex my puppy would suffer from postules with pus and red inflamed skin he was given different treatments nothing work so then I decided take him to vet hospital they did scraping on his skin came back negative so vet says they need to do biopsy that he would be put to sleep etc so I took him today at 8 am I call check up on him at 11:30 the vet tells me I just lost him I was in shock like why they never told me any risks of doing this they only said after I picked him up it appears he had kidney failure and thyroid problems could they have ruled out any of those conditions before doing anesthesia for biopsy why did this happen to him I don’t know can I do anything about it? I’m still in shock I was not prepared for this I did not get chance say bye to my baby why did they do this to him why could they not run test on him before putting him through anesthesia if I would known risks I would have not done procedure my puppy would eat well and was doing good other than skin problems he had that’s it. I left him happy and got him back in bag I’m so devastated!
Sharon Pogwizd says
PL my dog went to the vet for constipation the doctor said he had to keep her over night for tests.when we picked her up the next day he said he kidneys were function at 20%.he thought she had diarrhea and prescribed metronidazole. She died in my arms three days later .I called doctor twice to find out why he gave her this
medicine he never called me back. What recourse do I have?
Brian says
Took my St. Bernard in to the vet on October 1 2020, for what I thought was a toothache … 4 hours later they call me and tell me he has bone cancer in his jaw.. they proceeded to pull 4 teeth starting with the last one by the hinge, ground the tumor from under his teeth and a nodule on the side of his jaw…took a biopsy and said they would call me in 5/6 days… I HAD to call THEM back October 22.. then I was told it was not cancer , just a tumor…. 3 weeks thinking he was going to die…., the vet wanted to remove half of his jaw…. Prescribed 2700mg of gabapenton and tramadol as needed daily…..
January 13, 2021… took my dog back and he had another 3/4 teeth removed and more of the tumor ground out below his teeth, vet recommended removal of his jaw again….
March 3 2021… took my dog back again… for a groom , current X-ray…. Vet once again seriously pushed me to remove his jaw… this time I was uncomfortable using this vet, I contacted another vet, made appointment for May 3 to remove his jaw…
This new vet took a CT scan of the thorax and head…called me roughly 6hours later and told me “ there is zero evidence of a bone tumor ever!!! No tool marks under his teeth or on the side of his jaw…. After examination of my dog his diagnosis was an ear infection…..
So after 3 weeks of despair thinking he was going to die, 8 months trying to escape from getting his jaw removed, $1000 in doggy narcotics, a few $1000 of teeth pulling ( by the way he is left with 1 K-9 and 1 more behind it on the left side), change of diet…
I feel I need to take some course of legal action…
Any advice or thoughts?
Thank you….
Kristina says
I had a poodle who lived for 7 years and 8 months with us. She had tumor in her mammary glands. It’s been two weeks since she left us. She was very active and you won’t even notice she has cancer before she undergo her spay surgery. The tumor and her ovaries need to be removed while it is still small because if it gets big, her lungs will be affected.
The vet said that it will just be easy and quick. The surgery was supposed to prolong her life, but instead the opposite happened. We brought her home a day after the surgery, she was not eating and just drinking. After that she will vomit everything. She was very week and she feels the pain when the anesthesia wore off. After a day she died. I was hoping to have more adventures and moments with her after her surgery that is why I did not hesitate to take her to the vet. I do not want to see her suffer when the tumor gets big. What are your thoughts on this?
BorissGrandpa says
We took our one and a half year old puppy to an emergency veterinarian clinic because the vet would not make room to see him that day. He was showing sudden and acute signs of bladder problems, that he’s never had before. The type breed of our dog is a chow chow, who have a history of deadly problems when injected with ‘reversible’ sedatives (meaning you have to give them another drug to get to recover from the sedative administered).
We Specially Told Them to NOT use this type sedative if a sedative was needed. We told them if you do this, you will wind up killing our dog. They administered the reversible sedative despite us begging them not to, and our precious little happy pup was dead a couple hours later.
Besides the emotional torment that my daughter is enduring resulting from his loss, she also has a $3,700 bill from the vet who killed her happy and devoted companion. The acquisition cost for the pup was ~ $2,500. There seems to be absolutely no accountability for what to me as a consumer, comes off as gross malpractice. WE KNEW of the dangers – and warned / Begged them, not to use that specific type of sedative if one was required. There are many many Other types of sedatives that could’ve been administered if needed instead. But they did it anyway and killed him – just as we’d warned would happen. Why is this okay? If I brought my child to the doctor office and said she was allergic to antibiotics, and they gave her one anyway – it would be malpractice plain and simple. Why is this okay for a vet to ignore what we told them – and for there to be no recourse?
I know we cannot bring him back, but is there any hope of:
#1 Raising awareness in the vet community and among other chow chow owners, to the dangers we knew about?
#2 Any chance of gaining any sort of settlement from the vet for his negligence in ignoring our warnings, which as predicted, resulted in his death?
RIP our dear friend and companion Boris, taken much too soon.
Thank you for your consideration and advice.
Cjohnso says
On May 23, 2021; I had to take my whelping dog to Oviedo Veterinary Care and Emergency clinic for an emergency C-Section this procedure resulting in another emergency surgery due to infection and the loss of 4 puppies. The uterus was biopsied by the second vet and it was determined that MRSA was present. That is the short of it. The details are as follows:
My dog started whelping on 5-21 and delivering on 5-22-21, I was in constant communication with techs from my vet office during this process and I am a first time whelper and my dog was a first time mom.
Delivery of Puppies started at approximately 12pm on 5/22/21. By 2:30 PM we had 7 puppies. Another puppy was delivered at approximately 4:00 pm and was delivered out of bag, and did not survive, despite CPR. By later that evening I had concerns that no more puppies were being delivered and reached out to the vet techs from my DVM, this was around 11:30 pm on 5/22/21. I was advised that she should go in for a c-section since we can see puppies moving and noting is happening.
I had my daughter (age 34) go with me as she had previous vet tech experience and I needed the support. We arrive at the clinic, do other patience or customer appear to be present. Core (my dog) is taken to the back for the Dr to look at her. We brought with us the 7 surviving puppies thus far delivered.
We spoke with a vet tech who gave us an estimate for the changes. She asked if we wanted to have Core spayed. I replied “I would prefer not to”. Once payment was made, surgery consent was signed. I asked to speak with a Dr and was told she was prepping my dog for surgery. This was approximately 1:15 am on 5/23/21.
As I knew it was an urgent situation, I did not press the issue. The tech advised that t could take a couple of hours. I advised the front desk staff that I was going to run up to McDonalds, but that my daughter was still in the room. I arrived back at the facility approximately 15-20 minutes later with our food. At around 3:15am, I went looking for an update. I wasn’t able to find anyone. Eventually some one saw e peering thru a window to the back room and came out. They were very rude and said” we are trying to save your puppies” when All did was ask for an update. I asked how many, she stated 3 and one is deceased.
At approximately 4:00 am, I say a front office person and asked again for an update, only to be told that they were still in surgery. Around 4:30 the Dr and a Vet Tech came into the room, I asked how things are, they said that Core was in recovery and that everything was fine. I asked about the puppies and was told, one was decease in utero and the remaining 3 were ok. One of the remaining 3 was delivered with an open sac and had to have CPR, but was doing good. I asked when the puppies (7 previous delivered) could be back with mom, they said it shouldn’t be long.
Around 5:15 AM I again asked about mom as it has now been over 5 hours since these newborn puppies have eaten. At approximately 5:30 AM the drug mom on a gurney into the room and left her. My daughter and I proceeded to remove her from the gurney so we could attach the puppies. Core did not want to wake up. We allowed for the puppies to nurse for approx. 20-30 minutes while trying to stimulate Cora to wake up. The vet tech brought the remaining 3 puppies in.
At this point, we assumed that Cora is having issues waking up as she had just endure a very long labor and then a c-section, so we decided to take everyone home. We asked the vet tech who checked us out to give us a paper script as we can get the antibiotics cheaper elsewhere. The antibiotic, we were told we precautionary.
I typically get paper scripts from my vet as well.
We get Cora and the 10 puppies home and Cora with assistance, walks into the house and whelping pen. We place the puppies with Cora and all seems well. I get some much needed sleep. The day seemed to be ok. Cora was in a little distress, but that is to be expected.
On Monday, 5/24/21, we dropped her script off at the pharmacy. Since it was precautionary and she had an injection on Sunday morning, we felt this was adequate. By 11AM on this same day, Cora seemed more stressed than normal so I took her temp. It was 104.00. I called my vet, they asked that Bring her and the puppies in for evaluation, my appt time was 2:30pm.
My vet determined that Cora had free fluid in her abdomen and needed emergency surgery to preform an OVH and clean out the fluid. I got the antibiotics from my vet as the pharmacy called and started they would have to order and they would not be in until Wednesday.
My vet advised that Cora was vey ill and had a pretty bad infection. They also stated that when they called Oviedo Vet Care and Emergency for paperwork, all they received was blood work and the invoice. They were no notes sent over. This was verified with a phone call.
I called Oviedo Vet Care and Emergency and asked for a refund as my dog had to have another surgery. I was given a call by by the Office Manager who listen to my complaint and said she would get back to me. When she called me back, she stated no refund because I refused antibiotics. I informed her that I did no such thing, and that I asked for a paper script. She then flipped thru papers and said “oh, I see that now:”. But we are still not going to refund you. I then indicated I would be contacting an attorney and need all of the notes from Cora’s visit.
On Tuesday I called back asking for the notes again. He manager said, I thought we sent those, let me check. I finally got the notes on Wednesday 5/26/21 @3:53pm and was advised in that email to contact their attorney should I need anything further. They also stated They would no longer care for me or my pets. I have attached all documentation here as well.
On May 26th it was determined that mom was not producing enough mil to feed the puppies adequately, so we started bottle feeding using preemie nipples. Mom is being given supplements, puppy for (wet and Dry), goats milk, chicken, chicken broth and rice to assist in milk production.
On June 1st we had a puppy not doing well so we took it and all of the others to the vet. The vet started her on clavomox and did subcutaneous fluids. We brought the puppy home with a bag of fluids to give subcutaneously and a bottle of clavomox. We lost the puppy, after one (1) hour of being home. My vet indicated it could have been because she was the puppy that had to be revived during the C-section.
On June 2nd, we have another puppy not doing well. Take her to the vet, they run test (Parvo and fecal) since we have already lost one puppy. All test came back negative. She was dehydrated and just not thriving. We focused n this puppy to make sure she was getting adequate hydration and nourishment. I started feeding her every 1-2 hours to make sure she did not become dehydrated again. To our dismay, we lost this puppy on the morning of June 5th.
At 7pm on June 5th, I have a puppy struggling to breathe. We rush him to the ER (VEC). He is placed in Oxygen and given fluids.. This puppy had no issues at the 5:30 pm feeding and rapidly declined. This puppy was at VEC until 7 Am on June 9yh, at which point he was taken by me, in an oxygen tent to my b=vet for evaluation. My vet said he needed further hospitalization. He was then transported by me to Brevard Emergency Clinic over an hour away. He remained there until Tuesday June 1oth at approximately 3PM. He was brought home off oxygen. He is doing fantastic and thriving.
On June 6th , I had another puppy struggling to breathe, this was at approximately 4:30 am. I rushed her to VEC and they rushed her right back for evaluation. They took my deposit and said they a=would call me if anything changes, but her prognosis wand treatment would be the say=me as the little boy I brought in the day before. I received a call at 7AM stating that she was declining rapidly and that only CPR was keeping her going. It was decided to stop CPR and assist with death. But before they could confirm this (takes two people(, she passed on her own.
With the passing of puppy # 3 I said enough is enough, there has to be something more happening. I made an appointment with my vet for the remaining puppies. June 7th , 5 remaining puppies are at my vet. My vet informs me she got the result back from Cora’s biopsy. She was positive for MRSA. We start Cora on Doxycycline as this is the antibi0tic tested for the MRSA. We also start all puppies on Doxycycline and call VEC to advise that the puppy they have needs it as well and the reason. My vet also started all the puppies on Clavomox as a precaution since some of the deceased puppies had aspiration pneumonia.
We lost one more puppy and so far the remaining 6 are doing well.
I lost 4 of 10 puppies due to a vet not communicating and giving my dog MRSA. If this DVN had come out or sent a tech out to talk to us about how bad off Cora was and how long that puppy had been decease in utero, I would have spayed her on the spot. My dog is worth more to me than future litters.
This DVM at Oviedo Veterinary Care and Emergency Clinic failed in accordance to the following:
She accepted responsibility for my pet
• Duty of care. You have to prove that your vet accepted the responsibility to treat your pet. This is usually easy to prove, as treatment is generally scheduled ahead of time.
She failed to communicate thus causing additional hardship to me and my pet(s)
• Breach. You have to prove that the actions or inactions of your vet fell below the professional standard of care.
My dog contracted MRSA while in her care
• Proximate cause. You have to prove that the deviation from the professional standard of care was the cause of your pet’s injury.
My pet is no longer able to have puppies, she was not able to care for her current litter
• Damages. You must prove that there was some damage to YOU (not just your pet)
I know this is a long post and I appreciate you taking the time to read thru it. I hope that we can work together to hold this vet and the clinic responsible for their neglect and incompetency.
Javier X says
Castre a una gata de casi 8 meses (Eva se llamaba) y en menos de 3 días está muerta. Si ya sé que estaba muy gorda y eso pudo haber complicado la operación pero el “hombre” pudo haberlo hablado y ahí nos hubiésemos plantado la posibilidad de cancelar tal operación.pero no,el amor por unos pocos billetes fue más fuerte se ve, la verdad es qué estoy lleno de odio y rabia pero igual creo qué la situación es para reclamarle al imbecil, verdad?
Melissa Gold says
Hola. Lamento mucho que sus perros hayan sido heridos.
Cada estado tiene diferentes montos máximos para los juzgados de reclamos menores. Puede consultar cuál es el máximo para su estado aquí: https://www.enjuris.com/personal-injury-law/small-claims-court.html. El dueño de los perros violentos que atacaron a su perro debe hacerse responsable de la totalidad de sus facturas médicas relacionadas con la lesión, tanto ahora como en los tratamientos futuros. Es posible que deba mostrar un comprobante de pago (o costo) de la cirugía u otros tratamientos, pero debe incluirse en cualquier monto de liquidación.
Si la cantidad que se le debe por la totalidad de sus gastos es mayor que lo que su estado permite en el juzgado de reclamos menores, es posible que deba encontrar un abogado de lesiones para presentar una demanda en el juzgado estatal. Si necesita un abogado, puede utilizar el directorio de abogados de Enjuris: https://www.enjuris.com/directory/.
Mucha suerte y espero que su perro se recupere pronto.
Mjewell88 says
I took my 4 month old puppy to the vet for a broken leg. The vet said he needed surgery to fix it. They performed the surgery but after surgery they were moving him to the X-ray table and he crashed and died according to what the vet told me. He was a healthy puppy. The vet said they don’t know why he died and seemed so worried about something and to nice about everything. He was a platinum Frenchie going to be a stud.
Felix says
Anybody have luck finding a lawyer that sued veterinarians near Chicago?
elizabeth says
My dog received treatment for heartworms and he was given back to us the same day of treatment and a vet did not speak to me or anything about aftercare and any precautions we need to take. The lady at the front desk returned him to me and said nothing just had me pay and I left. 3 days later he died from respiratory failure due to the vet neglecting to tell us that he need to be on bed rest 100% of them time.
He was taken to an emergency vet clinic and the vet there had told us that he should have been kept at the vet 3-4 days after he received the treatment and not sent home. She also said that they should have told us the proper aftercare and because they didn’t our dog died. We have tried to contact the vet that gave him the treatment and they are avoiding us even though they don’t know yet that our dog has passed. I managed to reach them by calling from a different phone and asked what the policy was following a heartworm treatment and the woman that answered the phone told me that nobody at the front desk knew what it was. That proves that a vet should have come and spoke to me when he was returned and that the front desk knows nothing about the treatment.
Rebekah says
I took a month old kitten into my vet. The kitten was failing to thrive. It had stopped eating and had an eye infection that was not getting better despite being treated.
The vet determined that the little one was anemic due to fleas (it’s mother is a feral stray). He cleaned the kittens eyes – VERY roughly – and treated them exactly how I had been. He prescribed vitamins for the baby as well. Then he did something I’ve never seen done – he decided to give the 9oz kitten a flea treatment. He didn’t do a full dose, but he applied a regular topical flea treatment to a tiny kitten.
I trusted him because he was the professional.
Within an hour, the kitten was dead.
I want him to lose his license to practice. I’m convinced the flea treatment was the cause of death because topical flea treatments are not safe for kittens under 9weeks/2lbs. The treatment also says specifically not to use on sick, debilitated, or underweight cats. He broke every rule. She was weak, but she was okay. We had a treatment plan. She shouldn’t have died.
Vseitz says
My vet failed to turn on my dogs oxygen during what should have been a routine teeth cleaning. He admitted to me and later to my son that he had screwed up.
He said he let his technicians get started without him. I don’t necessarily want a monetary settlement as much as I want the standard procedures changed so this doesn’t happen to anyone else. What can I do?
Mischa's mum says
My 7 year old cat, Mischa, was scheduled for an UL tooth extraction on Wed 6/23/21 which involved some xrays before she was put under general anesthesia. The vet gave her a local anesthetic injection on the upper left to numb the area following the extraction and sent her home to me. I was instructed to give her 1 pill for pain/inflammation every day. Almost immediately I noticed she would not open her left eye and assumed it was normal post-op side effect from the anesthesia.
However, Mischa did not get better and by day 3 she struggled to eat, drink, and go to the bathroom. By Sunday 6/27 Mischa’s left eye was open and staring at us, white and glossed over like a blind cat’s eye. We immediately went to an ER animal hospital where the vet inspected Mischa’s eye and mouth. The vet said he cannot determine the cause of her eye issues yet because of the inflammation. He tried to stain her eye for clues with no results. He did say that her extraction site looked infected and showed me where a chunk of her gum was just hanging and sutures were not holding up well. He prescribed her narcotic pain meds, antibiotic, anti-nausea, and eye ointment and scheduled us for a 5 day follow up.
The next day, Mischa’s eye was so swollen she could no longer shut it and she stopped eating and going to the bathroom. We took her to the ER again on Monday 6/28, and they admitted her to get rid of her fever and try to save her eye. We were told they may have to remove her eye if there is no improvement. The vet there stained her again and still could not give us a reason why this has happened due to the severe inflammation.
She did speculate and say that Mischa could have formed an ulcer during general anesthesia. Vets usually try to put lubricant in the eyes to prevent ulcers but they can still happen. Another possibility could be the needle punctured Mischa’s eye when the vet administered the local anesthetic injection. Would either of these be possibilities for malpractice? I feel angry that this sweet little cat has had to endure so much trauma and pain because of a tooth extraction. Also, I am paying for ER services, overnight boarding, meds and want to seek legal action if I have a fighting chance to get financial help for the cost and emotional stress this has placed on Mischa, my husband, and myself. I would greatly appreciate any advice you have to offer.
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m so sorry this happened.
I would recommend filing a complaint against the veterinarian with the state licensing board. You can do so here. The board will investigate the matter and take appropriate action.
Rob says
I went to get my puppy neutered. Had to leave him at the vet for a few hours then come back and get him.
My puppy is energized and playful. After being neutered, my puppy now lies down on the ground weird. Instead of lying with his back legs split apart, he now lays one leg over the other. I gave it a couple of weeks because maybe it was just the neutering that has him lying down this way, but my puppy even gets up weird now, using his front legs to get up from the lying down position. He bunny hops his back legs up the stairs as if his hip is injured.
I took him back to the vet and they diagnosed him with hip dysplasia. They said that when he was younger these weren’t issues but as he’s getting bigger its now easier to see the hip problems (my puppy is not even 8 months yet) His left hip bone isn’t properly in the socket and he might require a professional surgeon in the future. I said there’s no way this is possible because he was never this strange until AFTER his neutering.
Can I sue the vet?
I believe they injured his hips!
JAN9 says
My purebred pups were exposed to Parvo from the trip to the vet.
They died.
Half died at their new homes.
Half were still at home, began showing symptoms and never went to their new homes.
All buyers demanded refunds.
One had a lawyer send a letter demanding payment for the pup and vet bills.
The pups do not leave my property, nor do we have visitors, so as to minimize disease.
Some pups need health certificates to fly, and so must go to the vet.
I took all pups this time to vet for fecal testing.
The lost funds amounted to almost $12,000.
I paid about $900 in vet bills, some included tests, others were for the first sick pups..
While at vet, pups never touched the floor, they were set on counterst that appeared cleaned.
However, the vet tech’s lab coat could have held germs from other clients she also held that day.
And even though I cleaned my boots at home, maybe it wasn’t well enough.
Can a vet’s insurance help repay for my losses?
Yun says
My puppy a beautiful Siberian Husky was diagnosed with parvo during the weekend. He started vomiting on Saturday night and we took him to the vet on Sunday morning. He tested positive for parvo and the vet suggested he stayed at the hospital so he could be treated. We agreed with the recommendations. On Tuesday, the vet called and said we could go and pick him up because his bloodwork was good and he wasn’t vomiting anymore. Happily we went to pick him up. As soon as he got home he started with diarrhea and we called the doctor back. He mentioned it was normal and that we should keep him home. From there he started to go downhill. A couple hours later he started vomiting again and he wouldn’t eat or drink anything. We called the vet and they said to bring him back. We have been calling regularly to get updates and it seems my dog keeps getting worse. Today we talked to the vet and he mentioned that they were going to change his meds again, and when we spoke to the vet on the second shift he mentioned that he had no idea that they had to change his meds, and that he could change them if we wanted him to do so, to what we said that he was supposed to do that hours ago. Up to this moment, my beautiful dog is still fighting for his life at the vet and we feel he is not getting the treatment that he is supposed to have. Do we have a case?
Jairi says
My dog was hit by a car and A stranger picked him up and took him to the vet she used. She made clear to the office she wasn’t the owner but didn’t want to just leave him on side the road. The staff told the lady of she had to sign a form surrendering him. She told them again she wasn’t the owner. She was told if she wanted to leave him she had to sign the paper as if she was his owner.. reluctantly she did. The vet took him and began checking him over. His tags had come off his collar and he wasn’t chipped, he was marked as a stray, however, it was obvious he was taken care of and couldn’t have been loose long ( you could still smell the shampoo from the bath he got a cpl days prior, and he was a healthy weight for a 1 and a half year old med sized dog.) The vet determined that although he had a serious injury it was not life threatening. They put him to sleep 24 mins after he was brought in. The vet did absolutely nothing for him. No iv Fluids, no medicine, nothing. All they did was take minimal vitals, put an iv line in, took 3 x-rays, and put him to sleep.
I arrived in the office within an hour of his arrival. After I spoke to the lady that found him I tried to get clarity on a few things with the vet. The head vet (who didn’t even treat our see my dog) responded to my emails. The information he told me about my dog was misleading. I requested all records for my dog, including information for anyone contacted for consult, I actually requested several times for the info to the board surgeon that was supposedly consulted with regarding my dog as well as the paper the lady signed. They refuse to include either. I confronted the head vet about his inaccurate information and he just tried to tell me more lies.
No one had my consent to put my dog down. Reasonable time was NOT given for him to be claimed. I requested to speak directly to the vet that treated my baby, but that was ignored as well.
I have the emails between the head vet and myself, as well as with the lady the found him and myself.
My baby didn’t have to die.
More could’ve been done for him. The office wasn’t busy that morning, it would have cost next to nothing for them to at the very least treat for shock and make comfortable for a reasonable about of time to be claimed. However since he was considered a stray, he wasn’t worth any of the effort.
Where do I get the forms to file suit against the vets?
Animal lover says
I have close 10000 vet bills. My dog has mast cell tumors and they demanded sedation for staging. She had bradycardia from the sedation medication and the bill was 1300. Then 602 for cardiology consult. She finally had surgery and on discharge home she threw up at the vets office. We had trouble getting her out of the car snd the site had constant drainage. When l took her back for follow up the stated we did not have an appointment and in the middle of this the site opened up. I then had to pay3200 for additional surgery. The management was rude to me and offered no discount on anything despite being disabled myself. Radiation is advised if site ever heals but l am not risking additional necrosis, l have been taking her every other day for bandage change. The vets do NOT own the practice and it is my understanding it is out of state. I am a retired health care provider and this is not the way you treat a client.
Zhara says
I took my two cats in to the vet for routine vaccinations and dental cleanings on a Monday. I was informed one cat, Tzu, had a broken tooth and needed an extraction, an extraction they could do now as she was still under sedation. I was in the process of moving to another town, so I ok’d the procedure rather than risk a problem with a painful tooth later. That evening, I picked up both cats and drove to our new home 90 miles away. The next day, Tzu (wearing a cone of shame) ate and drank very little to the point of concern. However, on Wednesday, she perked up a little eating a bit and drinking a bit. Thursday, day 3, Tzu stopped all eating and drinking, and she began drooling and gurgling when she breathed. I immediately took her to a local vet. The vet examined her and thought she was just uncomfortable and in pain from the extraction. He gave her a steroid shot and an antibiotic since she wouldn’t take medication orally. He also sent me home with a topical pain killer. Within an hour of being home, Tzu began meowing incessantly. Then, I noticed she looked bloated. She continued to “inflate,” so panicked now, I called the vet. They said bring her in immediately. I said I would, hung up, and called my boss. My boss didnt’t answer but while I was on the phone, Tzu still meowing and so bloated she could barely move, scrambled frantically away from me. I caught her and went to pick her up and that when I saw she was no longer breathing. I grabbed her up and raced to the vet, but it was too late. An autopsy/necropsy revealed that she died of subcutaneous emphysema from a tear in her windpipe likely causing during her intubation 4 days earlier. Was the vet negligent or did it commit malpractice? Is this pursueable?
Pam says
Hi – I brought my (then 7yo) dog to the vet in 2015 for a standard UTI and the doc I saw wanted to put her on meds for incontinence for the rest of her life. Thankfully I got a second opinion, we treated the UTI and she was good as new. I vowed never to see that Dr. again. Fast forward to June/July 2021….went back to the same practice for proximity purposes, but saw a different doctor. Blood work came back with elevated liver enzymes and recommended an ultrasound. The doc who performed the ultrasound called and said my dog was in liver failure and to enjoy our time with her while she was still in good spirits, but when she starts to go downhill, then “it’s time.” Our family was devastated believing we had days/weeks left with our girl. When I saw on the ultrasound notes the docs name was the same one who misdiagnosed her back in 2015 I immediately started questioning. A friend who is a vet in another city reviewed her bloodwork and said that although the liver enzymes were elevated, it did not indicate liver failure. We asked for the ultrasound images and they said they were unable to provide them. So I went to our local Blue Pearl (paid an additional $1K) for another ultrasound and bloodwork and it turns out our pup in NOT in liver failure. As a matter of fact, although she’s old, her liver looks like it should for a dog her age. I’d like to file a suit with the small claims court for costs of both vets & damages for what we went through – thinking our family dog was dying! Do I have a case? Is this the right way to go about it? Thanks!
Tom S. says
I picked up my 5 month old yorkie from the breeder on a Thursday. On the following Sunday she started vomiting and would not eat. The next day I took her to an emergency vet at a major university vet school. She was diagnosed with gastritis. They said I could take her home, give her Karo syrup if she seemed like she had low blood sugar and continue her on a regular diet..30 hrs later she died. Necropsy report says bacterial septisemia and necrotizing pneumonia. Can I sue the vet?
Linda Woods says
My husband and I brought our almost 10 year old great dane to the pet ER as he was unable to get up, was no longer eating, and had a fever. After being examined by the veterinarian it was agreed that we should put him down . Before he was given euthanasia we were asked by a staff member if we would like to have them make up a paw print of him and we said yes, so she checked it off on the form . There were four witnesses to this including the veterinarian . After that day I was calling to find out if I can pick up the paw print repeatedly and kept getting told that someone would get back to me but nobody ever would. I finally decided to go there in person and was very coldly told that they did not have the paw print and there was nothing they could do since he’s already been cremated . I am already devastated as it is and now to be treated like this and not have his paw print is absolutely killing me . But for the fact that they said they would make the paw print up I would have asked the cremation place to do it . Do I have a case here ?
Maria says
I just took my cat to an emergency urgent care clinic this evening. I arrived at around 8 pm for signs of heavy breathing and sensitive bump on spine. Shortly after they took him back. I was not able to go back.
Around 9 I asked for update said he was aggressive and would try and get more help. I asked if I could help. Times ticking I hear nothing.
At 12 pm I asked for an update. Doctor came out and said they would need to sedate my cat to undergo evaluation. Found out my cat had been in his carrier the whole time. They never took him out. I asked about his breathing and said they only watched through carrier. My poor cat was kept in carrier the whole time while they dealt with more urgent cases from 8pm to 12am. Can I file for neglect ?
Haili says
Hello. My dog went in to have a lung tumor removed. He had an underlying heart condition. The cardiologist he sees sent recommendations of how to put him under anesthesia. I tried to confirm two separate times that they recommendations were received by the surgeon. I was assured the surgeon would call me before the surgery began. The surgeon did not call. The first call I got was that my dog was in cardiac arrest during the surgery. The surgeon called after the passed to say she wasn’t sure what happened. I reviewed the recommendations that specifically said to avoid ketamine. Ketamine was indeed administered during the surgery according to the itemized bill. How should I proceed?? Am I right in thinking this should be pursued as negligence?
Richard says
We just recently had to have our Labrador put down due to liver failure. His third birthday would have been this coming Friday. At ten weeks old he got “puppy strangles” which almost killed him due to the vet not knowing what was wrong, took him to another vet who as able to save him with steroids’ & antibiotics. Next illness was “Kennel Cough” More antibiotics, then several ear infections, which needed more drugs. Next was paw cists which was also treated with more drugs. After about a year of this we were finally told that he might need to see a dermatologist. They tested for allergies & in fact he was found to be allergic to 9 different things inc. food allergy. corrected food issue which made ear infections go away. Started shots we were told he would need with no guarantee. I ask these folks if we could remove cists so he would not have daily drugs. They removed cists, one week later stitches were removed & sent him home with open wounds. Infection again which required more drugs. I found another vet which she tried to treat with stronger antibiotics, did not work, required another surgery & a “e” collar for three weeks which cause an ear infection. While treating that ear infection he collapsed on the floor & could not get up. Had to take him to emergency where he was given fluids, doctor called two hours later said he was looking good, next morning not good, dog took out his IV hook-up & they were not able to re-establish another vein, blood not clotting we were told that he was suffering from liver failure & for $20,000 they could try & save him. Keep in mind all those other doctor visits had already totaled over $19,000 Does anybody else think i need to get a lawyer ????
slime says
im going tru the same situation did u sue
Jennifer j Scott says
I lost my 10yr old dog aka my kid to tumors a week ago we took her in because her stomach was hard for the vet to do x rays and a ultrasound found a mass in the spleen they said. Vet recommend surgery to remove the spleen the next day we to her back for surgery they did blood work before surgery and I believe they knew she was worst than just one mass and instead of saying she has to much wrong and blood work is indicating she shouldn’t have surgery that we should say our good byes and put her down instead they did surgery and found her full of masses so we had to put her down without getting to say bye how can I prove it please help
Tash says
Hello, I was told my 8 year old cat has cancer today (august 12) the size of a half a dollar and that she has maybe weeks to live. She went to the vet 4 months prior for a for a routine physical and I was told she’s fine. I’m not to positive how long it would take to form to that size, but I doubt it would be that quick. The vet told me it’s too far along to go through chemo or anything. I want to know if this falls under malpractice.
Christina says
I took my dog to the vet because he had blood in his urine. He was seen 8/7/21 and was diagnosed with Anaplasmosis. He began treatment of Prednisone 20mg 2 tabs twice a day until otherwise directed and Doxycycline 100mg 2.5 tabs twice a day for 14 days. His platelets were at 17,000 at this time. He had a follow up on 8/9/21 for a blood recheck, his platelets were at 18,000 and he had increased panting due to the Prednisone. I expressed my concern with his panting bc he’s a big boy (101.6 lbs) and a short snouted bulldog/boxer mix, about 8 yrs old. His vet said he’d be fine and we needed to get his platelets up. His next follow up appt was 8/13/21 at 5:30pm. His panting was extremely excessive and by the time I got to his appt it was obvious he was having trouble, I thought it was trouble bleeding but it was much worse. When I got there I had to call to let them know we’re there (Covid guidelines). I told them he was having trouble breathing and needed help immediately. They put me on hold for a few seconds then came back telling me to bring him right in. We went inside, he was walking very slow and panting horrifically. They greeted us and took him in the back, I sat in the waiting room. The tech came out and told me he was fine and they were giving him oxygen and his vet happened to be back there so she was taking a look. They had also taken his blood to recheck platelets while he was back there. She saud she’d update me as soon as they knew more. A few mins later she came out and said she would take me to an exam room and they’d bring him out. He was still panting very badly and his vet was with him. She said he was fine, just needed AC and rest. I explained he had been in AC all day, only went outside to pee and poop for maybe a few mins. My car had AC on full blast, so it was not hot. His vet said he’d be fine. I asked if I could stop or ween off the Prednisone, that he obviously wasn’t handling it well and needed to get off it. She thought for a moment and said she guessed we could do that, cut him back to 1 pill twice a day, so 40mg instead of 80mg. She’d then prescribe another medication to substitute the Prednisone and help with his platelets. It was a script that I wasn’t going to pick up until Saturday bc pharmacies were closed by this time. I then asked if I could skip his Prednisone dose that night due to his condition. She said that was fine and to restart everything tomorrow. I again asked if she was sure he was OK bc he didn’t sound good. She again said he was fine, just worked up bc he was nervous at the vet. Get him into AC, give him some water and let him relax. On our rude home, takes 15 mins, he seemed worse and just not well. We got home and he got out of the car, walked around my front yard, vomited and then collapsed. He was “out” for a few seconds. I put down what I had in my hands and turned to run to him and he was back up. He did not look good, I helped him into my house and immediately called his vet. I told them what happened and they told me they were closed. I expressed he needed help now and they said I could take him to an emergency vet 30 mins away from me. They gave me numbers to 2. I called Brentwood and they were closed due to their doctor having a family emergency. I called Portsmouth and hit 1 for emergency and was placed in a cue where I was 4th. At this time his vet called, I switched over to her call and she asked what was going on. I told her I just explained it to her receptionist and was on hold with the Portsmouth emergency vet. She said she’d rather me take him to a Newington emergency vet bc they had a large oxygen cage that would fir him. She chatted with her receptionist about Brentwood being closed and asked me how long it would take me to get to Newington, I told her 30 mins. She said too bad it takes me 40 mins to get to them, to which I corrected her saying “it takes me maybe 15 mins to get to you, it takes 30+ mins to get to the emergency vet.” She then said they were closed and I’d have to take him to Newington. I put him back in my car and drive as fast as I could. He began vomiting and panting was increasingly getting worse. I tried calming him, talking to him but I was losing him and couldn’t do anything. About 3 mins from the emergency vet he vomited and collapsed, this time he wasn’t getting up. I was pushing on him as best I could from the front seat while driving, yelling to him to come back. I watched him have convulsions and then stop breathing. I was screaming “no please, come back to be baby, we’re almost there.” I got to the emergency vet and called them saying he collapsed and stopped breathing. 2 techs ran out and carried him in, at the same time asking me if I wanted them to perform CPR. I saud yes and they disappeared. I couldn’t go inside, they were closed to public due to COVID. I called the receptionist and she took info from me and said a vet would be out soon to update me, they were doing everything they could. Shortly after a vet came out to say they were not getting any response, she asked if I wanted them to keep trying, I said yes please. She asked me if his vet had taken his temperature while he was there. I told her not that I was aware of, they never said they did or even mentioned his temperature. I said I think they sent his records, it would be in there. She said there was no record which is why she asked me, she thought maybe they thought to chart it. She said it looks like he had heat stroke, all the signs point to that. I explained he wasn’t outside or in a hot car, he had been in AC all day. She explained due to his excessive panting from the Prednisone he overheated, he couldn’t cool himself fast enough. I said if I had driven faster or left sooner he may have made it. She kindly explained even if I had made it, his fever was 105, his organs had begun to shut down. He needed the help sooner. She went back inside and came out mins later saying again, there was no response. No heartbeat, no signs of life, did I want them to continue? She then said even if they got him back, due to lack of oxygen to his brain he’d likely pass shortly after. I told her they could stop. She then so compassionately saud, “I’m not supposed to do this but if you give us a couple mins, we’ll set him up in a private room if you’d like to say goodbye.” She didn’t know me or my Ricky but she showed me more compassion in those brief moments than his own vet. I went in to hold him as a tech came in to discuss what I wanted to do with his body. I chose private cremation in an urn. I paid the bill and sat holding him for a bit more. I myself clearly see his vet just passed him off bc it was a Friday at closing after a long week. She could have had me go right back there. They could have started an IV, sedated him to help him relax, give him more oxygen. They could have helped him just so I could then get him to an emergency vet. Try to stabilize him for that drive. Instead she brushed him off bc he didn’t matter to her. I am devastated, he was my best friend. He has been with me since he was 9 months old. I saved him from an abusive situation where he was being beaten and starved. He protected me during an abusive relationship. He was my baby boy. He was special. All my dogs are, they always are but each for different reasons. I’m devastated, my other pup Peanut who was his buddy is traumatized bc he saw him collapse at home, it scared him so much he was cowering when we got in the house. My other dog Maggie had died 4 months early, almost to the day. My son is devastated bc he lost his best friend too. We’re all lost and traumatized. Watching him die and not being able to help him, to stop it. I can’t get that image out of my head and my heart hurts. I got a call Saturday from his vet checking to see how he was doing. The bedside manner of the girl who called me was just awful. As I got out between sobbing he had passed on my way to the emergency vet she said, “oh my God, really? Oh no, im so sorry. If you have any questions you let us know.” I then asked, “I have 1 questions, did anyone take his temperature when he was there?” She checked his records and said there was note of his temperature in his records. She asked if I needed anything else and I said no and hung up. There was literally zero compassion in that call, barely a care he had died. Just another one on their list. Like “oh well.” I honestly thought his vet would call me but there’s been no call. I’m sure his file was marked as deceased and archived. She sent us home when he was dying all bc she didn’t check his temperature to see there was much more going on. I didn’t know enough about heat stroke to realize that’s what was happening. I don’t have a veterinarian of medicine degree to know these things. I pay them and trust them with my babies and she let not only me down but Rocky lost his life bc it was a Friday and they wanted to go home. I wanted him to come home too and now I’m left traumatized by the sight of him dying, my son is upset bc he didn’t get to say goodbye and my 2 year old pup isn’t eating bc he’s so depressed about losing his best buddy. Do I have any kind of case? If so, what kind of lawyer should I look for in NH? Thank you.
Summer says
We took our dog in for a wellness check and the vet drew blood. We were never called with results and assumed it was because all was normal. 5 months later our dog was acting ill. We took him to vet and she said they had accidently never sent in his bloodwork for his wellness check. During the recent blood draw when we took him in sick his ALT levels were 5X the high end of normal and long story short he was diagnosed with multiple myleloma that was in LN, spleen, liver and his been put on prednisone and oral chemo meds. We are upset as we think if his bloodwork had been done at his wellness check we could have caught his cancer earlier. he is only 9 years old. Is this grounds for anything.
J says
A few months ago (note: at that time all blood and urine work was perfect minus a UTI that is now gone) I brought my cat back to the vet, following a skin allergy she developed on her body after I switched her diet to the food the vet recommended. He offered her an antibiotic shot and a steroid shot (Depo-Medrol).
This is where my problem arises, as I literally asked him, “Will she be okay getting them?” He shrugged, said both shots would be fine, and went into the back to give my 7 year old cat her shots.
Fast-forward to now, where within those months, my cat has began to loose too much weight, had extreme thirst, frequent urination, and other physical signs of something being wrong started to show. I rushed her back to my vet, already worried out of my mind (she is my baby, she’s traveled through states with me, I love her to death) where they told me she would need to stay for tests.
An hour and a half later I am informed by my vet that my cat has diabetes. I ask, “How did this happen?” As she is a young cat (for diabetes) and a healthy weight, active, and does not consume a diet that would promote diabetes – and her blood sugar was totally fine 2 months ago. My vet looked at me and gave no straight answer, but gave the suggestion, “It is possible for her to go into remission.” He gave me no real instructions (no examples) on how to do insulin, he did not explain the feeding process, he did not explain the importance or side effects of anything. I left with needles, (expensive) insulin, my cat, and a free sample of dry food.
I was forced to do all my own research to find the best way to care for my girl, where I found out that Depo-Medrol shots are linked to diabetes in cats, and how vets should always give you the possible side effects of these shots. I was never given any warning my cat could develop an issue such as diabetes, otherwise I would have said out right “no”, since she didn’t even technically need it.
Not only did he never inform me of the risky side effects of an unnecessary Depo-Medrol shot, he practically admitted to me that it was the shot that caused the diabetes without having to admit it was his fault. Because the only way it’s possible for a cat’s diabetes to go into remission is when it was caused by a steroid shot, not diet. He didn’t explain anything. I left feeling like the worst person in the world, blaming myself for my cat’s condition because I had no real answers. I’m distraught and heart broken, I feel betrayed by a vet I trusted, and now my cat has to get pricked twice a day and change her lifestyle (and I have to change mine to work with hers).
Is there anything I can do? Sorry if this is long, I am still in shock this has happened.
Kalie says
My 11 year old American Eskimo dog had to be euthanized last night. It began about a month ago with a soft tissue injury in his shoulder. His main vet gave him 7 days worth of Carprofen. It worked great, but when it wore off, his pain came back worse. I went to another vet because they were available right away. I told this new vet everything and she said she would give him a 6 month supply because that’s how long those injuries could take to heal. The first pill bottle she gave us was a months worth. I followed the dose instructions throughly, and even cut the dose down in half when my dog was feeling good. These pills caused him to have stage 3 kidney disease in less than a month. He experienced all of the bad symptoms of Carprofen, like tarry stools and vomiting. It only took 2 days of him being super sick out of nowhere and then we had no choice but to say goodbye.
She never warned us of this possibility. I would have never continued this medicine if I knew that.
He’s had blood work twice before and never had kidney issues. She said it was normal for dogs to be on these pain meds until they pass away from old age.
According to online sources, the right dosage is 2mg per lb. My dog weighed 36 lbs according to their scale, but he’s super fluffy. She prescribed 75mg a dose. He needed less than 72mg.
Because of his age, you would think the dose would have been even lower, if she thought it through.
My mental health is going haywire right now.
Is this a potential case?
Anon says
My Dog Was About 4 And A Half Months Old When He Got Really Sick , We Took Him To The Vet And They Gave Him A Parvo Test Which They Said Came Back Negative And Gave Him Some Kind Of Liquid Medicine , After Taking The Medicine For The Time It Was Prescribed He Was Still Having The Same Symptoms ,Today ( August 28 2021) He Would Have Been 6 Months But He Passed Away Around 5pm And The Cause Was Parvo. Can I Sue The Vet I Took Him To ?
Melanie says
My dog had surgery for laryngeal paralysis which involved a tie back of the cartilage. The surgery wasn’t the problem though. After 2 days her throat became inflamed which can sometimes happens after surgery and she was struggling to breathe. I was on my way to the ER at the location that did her surgery but she was struggling to breathe more so I took her to a closer one. The entire time I dealt with the vet, her demeanor was uncaring and felt like she didn’t want to do everything possible to save my dog because she was taking up space that could be used for other animals. She was there overnight and contracted aspiration phemonia during the night. Her swelling went down and her oxygen levels were good. She was on an intubator and the doctor told me either I get surgery to fix her tie back surgery while having aspiration phemonia which can be a risk or put her down. No other options. I had tunnel vision and wasn’t able to think clearly and I was depending on the doctors to make the best calls to save her especially me being in that state of mind, I shouldn’t have to think of other options on my own. My dog could of stayed on the intubator until the aspiration phemonia cleared and then did surgery or did anything else. She stayed in a small emergency room the whole time where there was limited space and they were already at capacity so that combined with her rushing me to make a decision when she had time and her passive aggressively trying to convince me to put her down, all led back to me thinking it was because she just wanted her off the table to make room for other dogs and didn’t want to do everything to help her. Even when I got there after I was rushed to make a decision to put her down, she rushed me to hurry up and say good bye because they had to make room for other animals. Who says that? I believe they could have saved my dog and given her time. I had talked to other people in the same situation as me and it took 4 days on the intubator for the aspiration phemonia to go away, this emergency vet only gave me less than a day and already gave up.
Cathy Burgoyne says
I took my dog to my vet on a Thursday because he had green mucous in his eyes, left eye was worse than the right. Vet diagnosed my dog with dry eye he told me to pick up some visine and put that in his eyes 3 times a day.
And to clean my dogs eyes with saline in to get the green junk out.
At this same appointment my dog had blood work done ( checking for lyme Disease) at my request because he was very lame and uncomfortable. On Saturday I received a call from the vets and they told me that my dog tested light positive for lyme Disease and would I like to send his blood work out to find out how much is in his body. I was a bit confused to why they needed to send the blood out for more testing.
Over the weekend my dogs health was starting to decline his eyes and his body aches.
On Monday I decided to take my dog to another Veterinarian and they told me that my dog did have dry eye but also had a bad infection in his left eye and Regarding the lyme Disease this vet had no idea why the other vet sent the blood out for more evaluation. EITHER WAY DOG HAS Lyme Disease.
The New vet treated my dog for Lyme Disease. Also this vet treated my dog with antibiotics for the eye infection.
3 days into treatments and my dog wasent getting any better I call the new vet and he referred me the a optometrist. So I go to the optometrist and he tells me that the eye is bad. Make a long story short The left eye of my dog had to be removed
Airwrecka says
I brought my dog to his regular vet and they said he had a heart murmur, they asked if he was coughing and he hadn’t been. They told me if he starts coughing bring him back immediately. So a month later he started coughing and I called my regular vet and they were booked until next month so I called another vet nearby and they said they didn’t have an appointment until the next day and told me to take him to the ER so I did. They immediately took his vitals and said he was stable and sent him back out to wait until they finished the more urgent ones. Then they took him back in and took xrays and they said he had no fluid in his lungs and he was fine. They said his coughing was from inflammation but they don’t know what’s causing it and gave him antibiotics. That was on a Monday, he was acting normal on Tuesday and then on Wednesday he started having trouble breathing, he looked like he was in really bad shape, he couldn’t even walk. I called the other vet that told me to take him to the ER and told them what was going on because it’s a lot closer to my house than the ER is so I could get him there faster, the girl said “bring him in right now” so I took him down there and held him in my arms, gasping for breath while they asked me questions like if he had gotten into anything, after they already knew the reason I was bringing him in there and he needed help as soon as possible. They finally take him back and they wouldn’t let me stay so I went home and didn’t get a call until 3 hours later, she said “hi I’m calling about yogi” and I said, “yeah how is he doing?” She said “well he was doing good and I had just checked on him 5 minutes ago and I just went to get him out of his cage and he stopped breathing, do you want us to resuscitate him?” I said “yes!”, I don’t understand why she wasted all that time saying that instead of immediately asking me the question? She put me on hold and came back and said “I’m sorry, he’s not responding” and I said “what happened?” she said “well we didn’t get to do the xrays, but when I was doing cpr a lot of fluid came out” I said “what? That’s what I brought him here for”. I just don’t understand how he was gasping for breath when I brought him in, he all of a sudden got better when they brought him back, then all of a sudden stopped breathing and died out of nowhere? I was so struck with grief I just told them my husband would pick him up and ended the call. I got the death record and it says they didn’t take his vitals until 10:40am, I brought him there at 9:15am. He laid there gasping for breath alone until he died and they didn’t even bother to give him anything for pain. I brought him in gasping for breath and they did nothing for him for 3 hours and he died. The worst part is, when I went to pick him up and ask them why they didn’t do anything for him, they wouldn’t give me him back unless I paid for the cpr. They charged me for neglecting my dog and then performing cpr after it was too late. They lied on the death certificate and said I brought him in for a follow up after the ER because he was coughing. I never mentioned coughing, I told them he couldn’t breathe. I have videos of him breathing hard.
Teodora Petkova says
Today my Pomeranian started to give a birth.After 1.5 hours nothing happened so we took her to our vet.They did X-rays and said she has 4 puppies,pretty big and she needs a c section.So they sent us to the hospital.They said they will call the hospital and they will send the X-rays,so they could be ready to take the dog right away.So we got to the hospital at 1.45 pm and than I saw that the first puppy is starting to get out.He was in the placenta,moving.I started to scream that I need somebody to take the puppy out so it doesn’t suffocate.So they took the dog inside.After an hour(1 hour they didn’t do anything!!!) the doctor called us to give us 3 options:to medically induce her or second option is c-section and to tell us that the first puppy died.So I guess they didn’t do anything to take him out!!!I could do it by myself if they didn’t take her in!!!! And how you can wait 1 hour to contact us and give us the options!!!Its a matter of minutes,not hours when a puppy is half way out!!!So my question is can I sue the hospital for not doing anything to save the puppies in time!!!I am devastated!!!
Donna N says
On 12/18/20 I brought my 1-year-4-month-old British Shorthair cat to a vet for a spaying procedure. She had been approved for the surgery by the vet I took her to as well as a different vet I didn’t end up working with. I received a call 3 hours later and the vet told me that my cat had died of cardiac arrest after the procedure. I was mortified and shocked and confused. The vet claimed they took an x-ray after my cat had passed to see what may have caused the cardiac arrest. The vet said her heart looked enlarged in the x-ray. I had an autopsy done on her at Cornell and it came back that my cat was in perfect health, death was caused by anesthesia overdose. Can I sue for this?
Jeans says
My dog became ill the day before Labor Day. Vomiting, not eating and having diahrrea. He could not keep water down. He was an incredible pet, and he never ate anything inappropriate. We took him to the Emergency hospital early on Labor Day, informing staff he needed fluids right away. They took him in after a wait behind three people paying a bill. Then called us in to give a proposal of treatment and Bill. They had authorize extended CPR if needed for an added $500. We did think that would be necessary, none the less we agreed. That was 8:00-8:15am. They said he needed to stay overnight so we left him in their care. Later that day, after not hearing any updates, we called at 1:50pm. The person I spoke to said that my dog was in cardiac arrest and they were trying to revive him. She said she was shocked at this. We immediately went to the hospital getting there at 220pm and saw the doctor and I asked If he was gone. He told me Yes. I asked him several questions what happened and he thought it wasn’t an obstruction in his intestines but rather a pancreatitis that he may have had. But before anything was said, he said the he made one mistake and that was not calling the family. He said he performed cpr on my dog and tried to bring him back. The X-rays didn’t show anything but gas in his intestines. The time stamp on the X-ray was 9:15am and next to that time it read “altered”. The doctor said my dog wasn’t his only patient and that he had gotten too busy to call us to let us know about my dog. After that, he asked if we wanted him to be cremated and asked if we wanted to see him. Of course we want to see him. I can’t believe this. It’s around 2:30pm it’s still the 2 o click hour. They bring him in, my beloved Louchi, and I was in such pain and anguish. I observed that my dog was in full rigamortis. But he said he did Cpr and did compressions and when I called for update at 1:50pm they were trying to revive him. They were lying to me about the cPR. I now can’t believe anything. I think they forgot my dog. He admitted that no fluids were given to until after all diagnostics were done. The X-rays were supposedly done at 915am. Hydrating him after chronic vomiting since the day before is basic care. What happened to my poor dog? I would like to know. I had him for 10 years and was very healthy. I can’t be sure they gave him any care and the lack of consideration to give me a chance to see him and say my good byes is so disappointing. I am deeply effected by this. Do I have a case.?
Melissa Gold says
I am so sorry to hear about this, and I’m sorry for your loss. I know losing a pet is devastating, as they are a valued member of your family. This sounds like a complicated situation. It seems like perhaps there was some malpractice — or, at the very least, negligence — but I am not a veterinarian so I can’t say for sure what should have happened. I think your best bet is to find a personal injury lawyer who either is familiar with these types of cases or who has access to veterinary experts who can advise as to what happened (and what should have happened).
If your dog has not yet been cremated, save the remains until after you’ve consulted an attorney. I know that feels stressful, but if there’s going to be any followup in the form of a physical examination, an examining veterinarian will need to autopsy the body. Once the body is cremated, the only evidence will be the medical records and it will be hard to determine if they are accurate.
You can use this guide to find a California lawyer: https://www.enjuris.com/directory/lawyers/california/. Again, my thoughts are with you in this difficult time. Be well.
Mickie says
My dog died suddenly overnight screaming. I had no idea what was going on. I held him until his last breath. He was everything to me since my husband passed away a year ago. When I brought him to the vet the next day, I had a different doctor from the usual check him out to find the cause. It was cancer. The old vet NEVER EVER mentioned anything like that to me only weeks before when I brought him in for a general checkup. I was distraught to put it mildly. And now I found out my cat only has months to live from early kidney disease which also was neve diagnosed. Do I have any case against her at all?
Michelle says
So I don’t know if it started last night or this morning but my dog started peeing straight bright blood. I called the emergency vet and they told me, I had to pay $120 before they would even see my dog. She said we need our money up front before we can even look at your dog, so you can either find away to bring them in here or wait until tomorrow to see your regular vet.
My dog is in severe pain. An for them to be an emergency service an charge before they see the animal is ridiculous.
MomOfDog says
What kind of attorney are we supposed to look for? A personal injury attorney or a medical malpractice attorney?
Ian Pisarcik says
If you want to file a veterinary malpractice lawsuit, you will want to hire a medical malpractice attorney. Keep in mind, however, that not all medical malpractice attorneys handle veterinary malpractice cases. Contact the lawyer referral service at your local state bar association. The operator should be able to provide the contact information for attorneys who handle veterinary malpractice claims.
Thomas Clark says
We took are dog in for an ultrasound on 11/24/2020 they found he had a cyst on his bladder waited thary scheduled a cat scan 12/22020 they found out how big the cyst was 17cm by 7cm they told us to bring him in got surgery some time in January he stopped urinating on the 13 of dec they brang him in for surgery the 15th had had over 2 liters of urine in his bladder the said they did the surgery after we just paid over $8000.00 Dollars they told us if he doesn’t urinate in 24 hrs to put him to sleep but we didn’t give up and found a surgeon that put a cystostomy tube in to save his live but a mother later he pulled it out and that’s when the nightmare began we found out the cyst wes still there that the ultrasound couldn’t give an accurate size but he is 90% healed today because the second surgeon took him in and did it right the second time after his 3rd surgery ended up costing over $30.000 dollars could we so for malpractice thankyou
Thomas Clark says
We are going thru the same problem in PA but thankfully our dog is still here after 3 surgeries when they lied about his first one and wanted to put him down and waited so long to do the surgery when they new he had a cyst on his bladder when we found an amazing surgeon to out a tube in him to drain him but pulled it out on my 16 yr old daughter she was terrified and found out the cyst was still there and spent over $30,00.00 dollars we went in death and found a lawyer bit she wants 2700 down and she gets 275 dollars an hr don’t know what to do
Tyler says
We recently noticed our cat’s claw growing, which was disconcerting since he was declawed 8 years ago. (I learned my lesson and will never declaw a cat again). The vet said it’s rare but if the nail bed isn’t fully removed it can grow back. They would do the procedure again at no cost since they did the original procedure.
During the procedure apparently he asphyxiated. He was 9 years old with minimal health problems. He was still very active and affectionate. There was a tumor on the back of his tongue that blocked his airway while he was under anesthesia. When I was notified and went into back of the clinic, the vet was removing a tube from his mouth. The vet said she noticed he was blue and tried to resuscitate but it was too late.
My wife called a week later, after our grieving, and the vet said he was monitored and had a mask on throughout the procedure, but when it was over they removed the mask and that’s when he asphyxiated.
My concern is why the monitoring stopped and mask removed before the anesthesia wore off, before he was able to breath normally. Is this malpractice? In Texas, am I only able to recuperate the value of a tabby cat, or can emotional damages be sought?
Melissa Gold says
Hi, Michelle. I am so sorry to hear this and I hope that your dog is feeling better now. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like you have the basis for a legal claim. A veterinary clinic may require payment up front — that’s how some places do business. It’s not really any different from a plumber charging for an estimate so they can come to your home and make an assessment of the problem. Sadly, it feels much harder when you’re dealing with a pet who might be seriously ill but it’s not grounds for a lawsuit.
RaW by nature's design says
in FL took my dog to be neutered I provided his shot record for he had already had his rabies vaccination 4 months prior. When I picked him up after his surgery I learned they gave him ANOTHER rabies vaccination!! THEY had been told NOT to I wrote the date on their forms AND gave proof. can I sue them? I worried now about my boys health because if this! I love my boxer he is my BUDDY BOY! I’m soooo upset and angry!
Anon says
Hello,
My English Bulldog was 8 Years old and died suddenly yesterday. I am devastated and completely heartbroken over her loss.
About a week or so ago we had to get her a surgery for a hematoma she had on her ear. Seemed harmless enough. Once we got her back we were given a list of a lot of medications to give her on top of her normal medications she had already for her eyes (just an ointment and tear solution to help her chronic dry eyes). When she got checked out for the pre surgery check, they said she was overall in good health and had an infection in her ears and some inflammation in her throat but they would give us things to help that.
After her surgery she was loopy for about a day but then was totally normal after that. The vet told us to give her medicines every 12 hours. There was a pain killer, an antibiotic, ear drops, ear flush, anti inflammatory meds and her eye ointment and artificial tears.
I cant shake the feeling that was mixing far too many meds and it killed her. The vet seemed to beleive it would be okay but i was very suspicious about it.
The vet thinks she may have had a seizure because i had mentioned she has rarely had them in the past.
Do you think i have a possible case of malpractice with this?
Yads says
Hello,
My cat had been losing weight but still eating we got concerned so we took him to the vet where he was prescribed steroid and an antibiotic. The test just showed he had anemia. The day after he took the meds, he had no appetite and started to have a hard time breathing. We took him again and they said the antibiotic might be too strong for him so after 2 days he was off of it. But we still kept giving him the steroid. Well now he has mucus coming from his orfices and a harder time breathing. We took him to the ER where they told us he’s in heart failure and the steroid that he is on is what pushed him to the edge. We are waiting to see if he will even make it to today. It’s been 4 days and he’s declined so much. Can I sue my vet for negligence?
Andrew Grant Pratt says
I took my cat for its annual vaccine. The vet did not advise that the injection might cause a sarcoma, or that I should watch for different behaviour in her or swelling at the injection site. She developed a sarcoma after I’d seen and dismissed some minor swelling in her rump. If I’d known to watch for swelling and different behaviour I’d likely have picked up the issue earlier and her survival rate would’ve been far better. She will have to lose her back leg (and probably die within a year or two) or be euthanized. Is it worth me taking this further? Thanks, Andrew
Heartbroken says
We brought our 9 year old healthy chihuahua to a vet for dental work. We had taken her to this vet before for routine care. She was under 5 pounds. The vet kept her under anesthesia for over 3 hours. She never woke up from anesthesia. They handed us our deceased dog and said sorry-they didn’t bill us. I have found out since they don’t have emergency equipment there for such small animals and they kept her under trying to remove a tooth they had difficulty with. I never want this to happen to anyone else can I sue?
Haha says
I took my two German Shepherds to the vet for yearly check up, blood work and vaccines. After all the exams were done, after they were handled by multiple people, poked and prodded, one of the office workers came in with a treat. After my male didn’t eat the treat this crazy woman gets down on her knees and hugs a strange 106lb German Shepherd. Well, not surprisingly, he bit her. Animal control has declared him a dangerous dog. At my hearing the vet worker admitted she had never received training in the proper way to handle animals at the vet. They also admitted they had a caution on his chart from a previous visit, they did not inform me of. They did not inform all staff and did not ask me to muzzle him. I am appealing the classification, but my dog has been impounded for almost a month. I’d like to sue the vet for negligence and recover all my costs related to the dangerous dog case plus all the anxiety this has caused. Not to mention the lost income if they force me to sterilize my dog in order to get him back. I’ve spoken to multiple experts, other vets, animal control and no one understands why they are pursuing the classification, why in the world this woman hugged a strange dog already nervous from being at the vets, but all understand why he bit her. Does this sound like a decent negligence case? Thanks!
Alisa says
I took my dog, Daisy to the vet because she was limping on her back left paw. The vet said that she’s fine, and if I wanted to, I could pay between 200-300 for an x-ray. I am 19, working as a waitress, I can’t afford that. A few days later in the middle of the night her back left paw is bleeding and I rush her to the ER where they tell me they need to remove her toe nail, because it grew too long and got too sensitive to walk on. (my dog never lets me cut her nails, and I get scared to do it too short so I take a little off the top whenever I can, but I guess I still didn’t do it deep enough.) The vet at the ER told me what the problem was as soon as they picked up my dog, saying she had a torn toenail, and they didn’t need an x-ray to tell what was the problem. I paid $150 for the examination fee and another $100+ for them removing the toenail and giving me medicine. Clearly it would have been cheaper at my local vet, but he didn’t even bother looking or telling me her nails are too long, and just said she looks fine, and was very aggressive about it too. I asked again, “are you sure nothings wrong with her back left paw?” and he suggested the x-ray incase she has a fractured bone, which clearly she doesn’t. It was noticeable from the eye, not extra stuff. Can I sue and get the money to pay for the ER visit at least? My dog is a Pomeranian, 4 pounds, by the way. Do I have a case?
Marlene Giorgi says
We took our 11 week old Lab puppy for her Parvo/Distemper/Lepto vaccine. We left thinking this was a routine visit and everything was fine. We were not given any information either verbally or written about what she received or what we could expect. That evening she was lethargic and breathing heavier than usual. Called vet, he was closed, called emergency vet, they said this was not unusual “keep an eye on her” That next morning she would not eat and her eyes were half closed. Called vet, not there, called emergency, they said “bring her right in” She died on the way. Contacted vet the next day when he opened and said “you did not tell us anything” he said “you are right” I didn’t’ We contacted his insurance so that maybe we could be reimbursed, she cost $4500. Insurance called us got our story then contacted vet and now he has changed his. Says he did inform us. If he did I would have known what to do!!! I am thinking of going to small claims court but unsure if this is even worth it. Do I have a case? All I have is the paper, bill, we left his office with and it says nothing about any warnings, just what shots she got. So its really his word against ours. Before I do this, should I?
Dogs owner says
Our dog developed an oral infection 12/20 , I scheduled a dental 1/21 . I was told 32 teeth were removed while 3 years prior 7 had been removed by the same vet . Dogs have 42 teeth & therefore 3 remained. The infection continued through Sept. while going through 8 rounds of antibiotics month after month . I was surprised there was not a follow up visit after the extractions & followed through with several phone calls to explain the infection never cleared & asked for an appt . I was told it would be 2 weeks out which is when I went to the urgent care . They explained that the teeth that were left needed to be removed & to get in touch with the vet who performed the dental , which I did .
I was blasted by the original vet the following day & was told to go elsewhere, which I did .
When the new vet ran X-rays ( no X-rays were run prior to the 1/21 dental) showed that not only were the roots of the teeth that were extracted were left in place but that four teeth remained in the back of her mouth , now leaving 7 teeth not 3 , the report stated 32 teeth had been removed which was a false statement. One
of the 7 remaining teeth was cracked & appeared as though there had been an attempt to remove it ,
Fortunately the new vet removed the 7 remaining teeth although due to the length of anesthesia time they were not able to remove the other remaining roots .
This is a 13 year old with a collapsed trachea who can not continually be put under .
As a result of the last dental the infection has cleared which unfortunately was active a good part of 2020 & involved serious pain for our dog .
Any suggestions on moving forward would be appreciated.
Thank you
PJ says
Hi, I stumbled across this page, and it does seem as though a few people who have posted have solid cases, such as Trisha Armbrus, whose vet performed surgery on the wrong leg. Pets are beloved parts of our families, and I totally understand why owners are upset when something they view as malpractice occurs. However, most of the complaints posted here seem quite unfounded and honestly just ill informed about how veterinary medicine works altogether. I think it is important to approach veterinary medicine, and honestly all fields, with certain degree of humility, which is not something I am seeing on this page. As someone who works in veterinary medicine, I know how hard working, ethical and caring the doctors and technicians are. They are professionals and experts in the field. I deal with angry clients quite often, and I get it, It is human nature to find someone to blame when something goes wrong. But more often than not, no one is to blame, or quite honestly, the owner is to blame (for example, not coming back for recheck, declining bloodwork and other testing, improper care at home etc) . Additionally, I can also see how misconstrued and one sided these complaints are. Veterinary medicine is extremely stressful, everyday we perform euthanasia, deal with owners who do not have the funds to pay for their sick pets, try to love and treat patients who want to bite us and try to figure out what is wrong with a patient who cannot speak. There is a reason there is such a high rate of suicide in the veterinary profession. The world needs compassion now more than ever, and I don’t think it is right to encourage people to pursue a case that will likely go nowhere and just fill everyone with more misery and hatred. Just paying for a lawyer will likely cost more money than the owner would win in court, and will only prolong the whole ordeal.
I do think that when malpractice does occur, such as performing surgery on the wrong leg, legal action should be taken. However, I think most people , especially if it is anything like the previous posts on the page, should think twice before trying to bring a vet to court. The veterinary world is struggling right now due to the overwhelming number of people who got pets during COVID, we are overworked and understaffed. While some of you do have just reason to be upset and sue, for the rest of you, before you go to court, please remember that your vet is human being with feelings, and likely did all they could to care for your pet. The added stress of a lawsuit, that could very well be unfounded, is the last thing your veterinarian needs.
Sherry says
I Took my cat in for dental work and they broke her Jaw . She is a tiny little Japanese Bob tail, She has now has a wire sticking out of her lower Jaw. I do not want to take her back to that vet. I want them to pay for her further care. Can I sue them for damages and stress..
Ivan Castro says
I brought my dog for a broken elbow and she stayed from Friday until Wednesday. The day I brought her back she threw up and didn’t feel as good. Would be throwing up and not wanting to eat . Brought her back on Friday again and she has parvo. I made sure the dog was away from any other dogs. She is in the being of the parvo stages. So I’m pretty sure that she got it at the vet and they are charging me more to keep her in here for longer for the parvo. I’m gonna spend nearly 4 thousand in a mater of a week for something that their fault. Do I have claim?
Justme says
My little dog had been coughing and vomiting for months. Took him to several vets, they all said something different, all prescribed different meds. He continued to get worse, it was starting to mess with his breathing. He has ME (megaesophagus) so I assumed he had AP asperation pneumonia because they are prone to get AP.
After about 4 trips to this one particular vet he took exrays again and he said my dog had a lung tumor, gave me more meds to take home. That night I compared exrays with other dogs xrays online, my dogs lungs looked nothing like this they looked more like AP lungs.
So next morning I called and ask if they would please treat him as though he has AP . They put a catheter and IV on him and put him in a cage with oxygen. Later I stopped to check on him and the iv drip bag was in the same spot it was that morning and the oxygen was not on. When I confronted the vet he told me that he felt the dog had other problems going on and he was not going to treat him. Why did he put catheter etc on if not going to treat him and why lie to me? I took my dog out of there and called a different vet. I told them I thought my dog had AP and what the previous vet had done, they said to bring him in right away. I had first vet fax his bloodwork and exrays. The second vet mentioned MRI, I agreed to MRI TWICE. I told him that I want to know whats wrong with my dog. Period. I was running on raw emotions from how the first vet had treated us.. When fax finally came in this vet said his WBC was extremely high like a bomb igniting. I told him the first vet said my dog had a tumor on lung. Thus vet said yes a massive tumor.
Well I did not want him suffering,he already had a rough life with ME. I did the unthinkable. All weekend I felt I did the wrong thing so Monday I went back to the second vet ,ask him to show me again the tumor on exray. They said that they do not see a tumor. I said you mean I killed my dog for nothing when he probably did have AP? The vet apologized and said yes ME dogs are prone to get AP. I have been deeply devastated by all this.
DogMom2021 says
.My dog recently became acutely sick. He is 9 years old. He was having nausea and vomiting and began having lethargy. He has a hx of Pancreatitis so thats what I thought it was. I took my pet to his PCP veterinarian and an xray was completed as well as blood work and everything came back okay and his PCP sent us home with antiemetic meds. PCP told us no pancreatitis and no bowel obstruction. Diagnosed my dog with Gastritis.
Next day, my dog became worse. The anti nausea and vomiting meds were not staying down and at this point my dogs belly was distended and he was vomiting up everything he had in him. I immediately took him to an ER vet. ER vet did the same procedure (x-ray) and blood work. ER vet took myself and my fiancé to back to explain the difference in x-rays from the previous day from his PCP to the theirs. ER Vet reported that my dog passed through feces a piece of rubber toy and based on x-ray (his belly was distended with fluid) that he for sure had a bowel obstruction and she believed that a foreign body was still present in his abdomen and surgery was the only thing that could be done. I double checked and my fiance double checked that this was the only intervention for my dog and she told us yes as she was very confident that there was a foreign body present in my dogs belly. She did not recommend any other diagnostic procedures such as rescanning my dogs belly or even doing an abdominal ultrasound, she told us surgery was the only intervention
Distraught, and my utmost trust in the vet, I signed the consent for the emergency procedure — come to find out, the vet called me a few hours later and told me that NOTHING was found in my dogs belly. I immediately became furious. So you are telling me that my dog underwent an unnecessary surgery?
I spoke with the director of the ER vet and expressed my frustration and advocated for my 9 year old dog that is not recuperating and in pain for a surgery that didn’t even happen and the response was, “Sometimes this happens, Xrays are not always positive, sometimes we need to go into surgically to look around.”
The problem with this is the vet did not do her diligence as a vet should and recommend to rescan my dog and or/ add an abdominal ultrasound prior to doing the surgery. Also — now I am being told that the surgery was expiatory instead of necessary like I was originally told prior to paying 3.000 dollars and signing consent.
I feel like I was lied to and my vulnerability for the condition of my dog were played against and the surgery was nothing more than more surgical hours for this “Vet”
I believe I have ground to a lawsuit for the justice of my puppy who is not in immense pain. I trusted this Veterinarian however, why wasn’t the least invasive measures done first prior to surgical intervention?
Melissa says
I took my 3 year old dog in to the vet because he was wheezing and having trouble breathing. The vet told me that he had allergies and prescribed Temaril-P. I began giving my dog the medicine and I noticed soon after that his water intake increased as well as his need to go potty. He also started having accidents in the house. I took him to a new vet for a suspected UTI, this vet told me that his urine was so diluted it was basically water, his liver enzymes were elevated, his white blood cell count was elevated and he had medically induced Cushing’s from the prolonged use of a steroid. The other vet never told me there was a steroid in his medicine or what any of the side effects would be. I looked up the side effects of Temeril-P and my puppy has most of them. I’m hoping that after I’m done weaning him off the meds, that the Cushing’s will reverse. The kicker is, he’s still wheezing. I’m beyond livid
b says
I took my dog to the vet because she was bloated and constipated. I mentioned that she does not have diahrrea and that shes obviously constipated. She was able to “poop” a small amount of weird yellowish liquid substance but she was of course constipated. The doctor gave her a shot and medicine and told me to make an appointent within a week to check on her. I gave my dog the medicine and noticed that she wasnt getting better. In matter of fact she was getting worse. I decided to take her back to the vet one day after to ask whats going on. Turns out that they gave me medicine to stop diahrrea. In other words they gave me “medicine” that was risking my dogs life. My dog is in critical conditions and they are blaming me for the “miscommunication”. I clearly stated that she was constipated. The medicine they gave me was dangerous for my dog and I of course didnt know since Im not the vet. What can I do?
Veronica says
My dog stopped eating or drinking. We took him to a 24/7 emergency clinic. When I checked in at 730p, I was told to stay in my vehicle, there were 4 cases ahead of me, and they would call me. 2hrs later at 930p, I called again, and they said 1person ahead of us. Called again at 12am they said we were next. All this time they were rude and unprofessional. At 145am my baby took his last breath without being seen once. We are so upset. Then they immediately came out and tried to do something.
Rose says
I brought home a kitten two weeks ago from the streets and the very next week took him to a vet appointment to get him looked at. He came back clean and fine but I noticed some weird patches on his ears. I said something to the doctor but I don’t think he looked at them, focusing more on my kitten’s blood work and flea meds. I now know that it is ringworm and I have it all over my face and body, all over my fiance’s body, and it has spread to the rest of my cats via contact between myself and my fiance. We have had to purchase gloves, medicine, masks, more clothes, cleaning products, and chemicals to take care of the cats, and we have to pay for an appointment to cure my kitten as he is too young for the treatments we will do to the older ones. Is there a case for legal action against this vet clinic?
Mike Sanchez says
When we moved from NY to NC we took our dogs to the new vet for their exams. The doctor who imputed the informaion incorrectly said that the dogs were due for rabies vaccines in 2022 (this was in 2019). She put down that the last rabies vaccine was a 3 year vaccine. This past weekend, while playing with my little guy, we both reached for his toy at the same time and his tooth gave me a very small punture wound. I went to my doctor who gave me antiobiodics and a tetnus shot. He also wanted me to look at the rabies certifficate as this all had to be reported to the county animal control. I found the rabies certificate and noticed the expiration was in 2020. After a long weekend, I finally reached the doctor’s office, they “looked into it” and determined that a doctor who is “no longer there” made the mistake. So, for a year and half, the dogs were not vaccinated for rabies (luckily they are inside dogs). I took the one dog for her shot today and have to wait for 10 days of quarrantine until the other can get huis shot. Do the bare any responsibility for the fact that the dogs were not vaccinated, not to forget that I had to worry for a few days about the possibility of rabies shots? They did admit that they looked at the records from the NY hospital and called the hospital verifying thast they were given one year shots. Is this a form of neglegence?
Melissa Gold says
Hi, Mike. I am sorry you’re dealing with this. It definitely could have been negligent that the vet didn’t keep tabs on when your dog’s rabies shots would expire. While it’s not an excuse, it’s possible that the oversight was related to everyone’s sudden shift in protocols and procedures during the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Again, not an excuse to overlook an issue related to patient safety, but as well know, things went haywire very quickly and affected how everyone was doing their job.
Still, even if the vet who failed to keep your dog up to date on their shots was negligent, in order to file a lawsuit you would have to have suffered a financial loss. You mentioned that you had a doctor’s visit (for yourself) for an antibiotic and a tetanus shot, but my guess is that the financial loss associated with that visit is too small to warrant a lawsuit. Since your dogs didn’t actually contract rabies during the time they were unvaccinated, it’s still unfortunate that a mistake happened but there is no real injury now that they are back up to date on their shots.
If there is an injury as a result of the vet’s negligence and that injury cost you money, you could call a personal injury lawyer for guidance on how to proceed.
MIKE SANCHEZ says
Actually, this happened before the pandemoc (it was done in late 2019). What about putting this on Facebook/social media to warn others as tjeior excuse was “we only give 3 year shots so the doctor didn;t notice.” This could happen to others who come from states that give one year shots?
Beyond devastated says
My sweet little deaf French Bulldog hadn’t been acting like his normal, sweet and fun self over the weekend so I took him to the vet. Our vet had retired and a new vet had taken over her practice. When I checked him in, I told the vet that he was eating, drinking and going outside to potty BUT he just seemed to be kind of lethargic, was acting like he wasn’t seeing well, and very vocal and whining for me anytime I left his line of vision.
After leaving him there all day, blood work and a physical exam later, they could find nothing wrong with him other than he was a little dehydrated. I found that odd as I watched him drink, eat and use the bathroom outside. I picked him up, he ate dinner, and started to go downhill that evening. He was panting and acting confused. It appeared as though he may have lost his vision. He fell off the bed and when he landed, he didn’t move or even try to straighten himself out or stand up. Then he peed as I think he was scared and frantic. I threw on some clothes and rushed him to the emergency vet. Because he wouldn’t calm down, they gave him some pain medication to see if we could settle him down long enough to do a CT scan to find out what was happening. He was place on oxygen to see if we could get his breathing to regulate. Nothing was working. Since he couldn’t hear me, there was no way to get him to calm down. He was still in full panic mode. Then all of a sudden, he settled down but just laid there panting and starring off into space. Within a few hours, he was gone.
He had just been at the vet and I was told there was nothing wrong with him. I am beyond devastated. I cry everyday and miss him beyond measure.
I am truly angry with the vet who told me there was nothing wrong with him. How could that be? Hours later my sweet Charlie was gone.
What do you think? Do you think I have a case against this vet?
Megan Johnson says
My 2 yo dog was spayed in July. At the beginning of October, my dog became very ill. She was hospitalized for 4 day for IV fluids and antibiotics, as her white blood cell count was over 30,000. The vet tested for Lepto, kidney, and liver disease, etc. After 3 weeks of oral antibiotics her white blood count came back down to around 10,000. Never did figure out what was causing the infection. A week and a half later, high fever returned and white blood cell count is over 20,000. Vet mentioned that there might be a chance that a sponge/gauze was left inside my dog when she was spayed. We were sent to the VCA animal hospital to have an ultrasound. They found “something” on one of the kidneys. My dog now has to have another surgery to remove what is there and we were told they may have to remove the kidney if the sponge has adhered itself to the kidney. If the “something” they remove actually a sponge left behind from the spay surgery, is my vet responsible for all the expenses that have occurred due to negligence?
Amanda N. says
Hi,
My dog is currently 7 years old. In 2014 she was spade at 8 months old. A couple of months later she was showing all signs of going into heat and we were confused and upset. We took her back to the vet who stated that was very unlikely but they would run tests, and called us back a couple days later stating that we were right and she was in heat and we would have to bring her back in right away to have her spade again, a more invasive surgery with larger incision and longer recovery. They assured us the problem would be resolved. However, her mammary glands and vulva have been enlarged ever since and never returned to normal. Fast forward to 2018 and we noticed she was bleeding, we were at a new vet (finally) and they ran a urine sample and couldn’t say without more tests if it was a UTI or from her vulva and put her on an antibiotic to see if it resolved. We didn’t see any signs of bleeding again until April 2021 which the vet ran the same test and gave antibiotic but with looking at her history he said he suspects she still might have an ovarian remnant. He stated that unless we want to run more tests it might be best to do nothing if it only occurs ever few years. However now in November 2021 she is bleeding yet again, so another heat cycle basically. I believe she has ovarian remnant syndrome and after doing research all week, the only known cause I have read is “surgical error.” Which would mean surgical error two times on our poor dog. I also read that this condition could pose risks of tumors. We have also endured household costs of ruined rugs, bedding, etc. Financially we cannot afford all of the necessary tests and surgery at this time. I have called the old veterinary office and explained what was going on in hopes that they will take responsibility and cover costs of additional tests and another surgery if needed. The owner was supposed to call me back by today but I have not received a call. Should I get legal consult? Please advise what our next steps should be and what is within our rights. Thank you!
Heartbroken says
I took my ol’ English bulldog in to get neutered because he was showing severe signs of aggression. Informed the vet of what was going on. They took him into their custody and performed the procedure. When my fiancé picked him up, the vet went in back to get him, but returned without him saying “ he’s looking at me funny. I’m not going in there.” My fiancé went back and got him and brought him home along with the medication they prescribed for him, Acepromazine and Novox. They didn’t mention any side effects of these medications. We were given a 10 day supply of each. 2 days later my dog attacked my 2 year old daughter and now we have to put the dog to sleep. I googled the medications because this dog and my daughter were best friends and never had any issue with them at all. Not surprisingly, both medications cause an increase in aggression and threatening behavior…and now my 2 year is tore up and my dog has to die! Should I get a lawyer?
Melissa Gold says
I am so sorry for this. It sounds like the vet should have warned you that the drugs prescribed for your dog could cause aggression so that you could make sure that the dog would be better supervised around your daughter. It’s possible that this could be veterinary malpractice, but it depends on several factors. One is whether the aggression caused by these medications is a common side-effect and if most veterinarians would routinely warn an owner before putting the pet on these drugs. If you are looking to have the vet cover costs for your child’s medical treatment, or to recover costs associated with putting the dog down or getting a new dog, you could contact a personal injury lawyer for guidance on how to do this. You’re welcome to use the Enjuris law firm directory to find a lawyer near you who can help.
Richard Barry says
I think my dog might have dry eye scratches at eyes and moans due to a sulpha drug that I was told could give my dog dry eye well eye was told that after the fact he had almost gone threw all the meds
Puppy Mama says
I took my 7 month old puppy in to get spayed. Picked her up same day. She was very quiet and obviously not feeling well. I waited about 36 and ended up bringing her to the emergency. The first vet botched her surgery and she ended up having a kidney, ureter, and pieces of intestine removed. The 2nd vet said it was due to injury from the spay. Recently returned to get her stitches out and her kidney function was not normal in the remaining kidney. She has to eat prescription dog food now and return for an exam from the internal medicine vet. What recourse do I have?
Bobby says
I took my cat in to be spayed and they asked if I wanted her microchipped. I said no and crossed off microchip on her sheet. Then they just called and said they “accidentally” microchipped her but there will be no charge and they apologize. How do you accidentally do that? What should I do now?
Lillian says
My Dog Casper was a 3 year old chihuahua with seizures. It started earlier this year and it was manageable.
My Primary Vet, myself and the Emergency Vet had an honor system because his initial hospitalization left me penniless. If Casper’s primary Vet was not available, I was to go to the Emergency vet to give Casper 1 shot of Valium to stop his seizure clusters. We had tried usual medication options previously and the 1 shot of Valium seemed to be the only thing to stop his clusters immediately.
I went to the Emergency Vet after Calling the Primary to find out they were closed due to Thanksgiving holiday. Casper had 4 seizures by the time I went to the ER Vet. i noticed they had a new staff. My Casper had just had a seizure in the car and was still minor shaking going in. I immediately let them know i am a regular, casper is having seizure clusters and he needs the shot of valium. I already called his primary they are not available.
The new staff was very rude to me, they said he could not give him the shot because he was not actively seizing (although he was still shaking from after affects of the seizure he just had going in.) So i explained that, the established honor system and how we were regulars and he just needed the shot. The staff said they had to wait to see what the doctor said.
The they come back to me with an invoice of all the treatments we tried in the past that did not work and also tried to bill a $179 in addition as if he was a new patient just because the doctor was new. So i clearly explained, Casper was not new, he has 2 profiles in the system, we had already gone through this treatment style and it doesn’t work for him. I asked them again to please look in the notes of his profiles and i repeated all he needed was a shot of valium. I also asked where the original team was and if someone was still here from the old staff. They would not answer me. The response i got was. “Ma’am this is how we do things now. We can’t give him the shot of valium, this is the treatment the doctor is giving him.” So i said no, because it was clear they just wanted to get money out of me. Trying to push for hospitalization and extra drugs that we already tried.
So i rejected it and went to another emergency vet per my doctors office. The 2nd emergency vet heard my story, said that they understood but also rejected giving him a shot of valium. They were trying to push me to hospitalize him and charge me $1500. At this point my Casper had 8 seizures and no one was listening to me. I took an out patient option and usual medicine that i knew did not work for Casper out of desperation and because at that point i just wanted to make him comfortable until i could find an alternative option.
As i was searching for a rescue or a society that may be able to help me. My Casper endured more than 24 hours of consistent seizures a total of 16. None of the medicine prescribed worked, as i said it wouldn’t. I was popping him the pills all day and night.
My Casper was in so much pain and tried of fighting, i had no choice but to euthanize him. I did not want to see him suffer anymore. All of his siblings and puppy parents were suffering as well watching him suffer and my household trying to treat him.
We are just so devastated, my casper was only 3 years old. He had a long life ahead of him and he didn’t need to suffer, he didn’t need to die. All he needed was one shot of valium and no one listened to me.
Ian Pisarcik says
I’m sorry this happened to your cat. You may be able to sue the veterinarian for medical negligence. However, you’ll have to prove that the microchip “harmed” you or your cat, which could be difficult to prove especially since the vet did not charge you for the procedure.
Kika says
Good night, my bearded dragon had 48 hours not feeling well, I took him to the vet and they gave a list of tests to do ($ 305), they said they would check it and put it under a lamp which I had to borrow the light bulb because of theirs It seems not to work, after 40 minutes they told me that the process would take 2 hours and that I should go and that they would call me, I called them 2 .5 hours to see how my dragon was and they said that I was well relaxed and that there were still no results They said to keep waiting for them to call me, but the clinic would close in 1.5 hours, I went to the clinic and I was 15 minutes waiting when the vet said they did not have the results and that my dragon died about 30 minutes ago. I asked why they had not informed me and he said that he had not realized it until he saw that he had not drunk water and he assumed it was an intestinal problem. What is your opinion?
Melissa Gold says
Hello, Kika. I am so sorry about the loss of your pet. If you’re trying to determine whether the vet’s behavior was negligent or malpractice, it would be determined based on what is reasonable under the circumstances. Since I am not a veterinarian, I don’t know what is reasonable for diagnosing and treating this type of problem or how your pet should have been observed and handled. My suggestion is that you contact a lawyer who has access to veterinary experts and can advise on whether or not you have a lawsuit for negligence. Again, I am so sorry for the loss of your dragon. You can access the Enjuris law firm directory here: https://www.enjuris.com/directory/.
Lacie says
I had a 5 year old cat that started showing allergy- like symptoms. Sneezing, a little bit of a runny nose, etc. I called the vet, explained to them what was going on and they said sounds like allergies and gave me the name of medicine to go pick up to start giving to her. The medicine is called Chlorphenamine (4mg) and I was advised to give her a half tablet twice a day. Which I started to do that day. After about day 3 – she was not getting better and actually seemed worse. She stopped eating, would barely drink water, and was acting lethargic. I booked and appt with our vet and they agreed it was not allergies. They thought she might have leukemia so they did the blood work for that. After waiting for an hour the results came back negative, the vet was very surprised she did not have leukemia considering her symptoms. He said most cats that start acting like how my cat was currently acting, that she probably has leukemia? He decided to give her an antibiotic shot, and gave her some fluids since she was dehydrated and sent us on our way. This appointment was on a Friday 8/20/21. I was able to get her to eat small amounts of wet food and she was drinking a little bit of water over the weekend. She stayed like this until Wednesday – by Wednesday she was so lethargic and could barely stand up. We rushed her to the emergency vet where I sat there for 5-6 hours while they ran all these tests on her. The prognosis was she was in multiple organ failure and there was no other option than to put her down. This happened on 8/25/21. I was so traumatized – I never thought I would be bringing my sweet baby in to be put down. She was ONLY 5! This was one of the worst days of my life and I am just now able to think about and process what happened and what went wrong. She was so young and the vet we originally went to I think was negligent in not running the proper tests to see what was actually wrong with her. I just would like an opinion to see what others think and if you see this as any sort of negligence.
Thank you for your time.
Linc C says
Nov 1, 2021 around 5pm. Took Sky (my husky) to primary vet and explained the discovery of Tumor around stomach, and diarrhea issues. Ran X ray and was referred to Pet ER Towson for an ultrasound and diagnoses.
Nov 1, 2021 around 8pm. Took Sky to Pet ER Towson to tap chest fluid, put on IV and ran Ultrasound.
Nov 2, 2021, PET ER Towson, continue to stabilize Sky’s conditions. Took Fine Needle samples of Sky’s organs and was going to run the results, but was told to wait for potential surgery options and to do more-precise option – biopsy all together.
Nov 3, 2021, around 7pm, Was told by ER that, if surgery to remove tumor, Sky only had 4 weeks, no surgery, 2 weeks. PET ER Towson, did NOT give us options of Chemotherapy. I decided to take Sky home from PET ER Towson to give him a good quality rest of his time. Was given prednisone and dog pain killer and Cerenia. Was told to follow up in 5 days with primary vet. Discharge total cost was: $4,394 ($3,000 deposits plus ending balance of $1,394)
Nov 8, 2021, took Sky to primary vet and was told Chemo option. I decided to opt in for the best possible solution for Sky. Was told by Primary vet to give PET ER Towson a call to send Fine Needle Aspiration sample to the lab for a definitive results of phenotype (T-cell or B-cell lymphoma). This is important, as the T/B cell results will have a huge impact on Sky’s chemo treatment plans (different dosage/different medication)
Called PET ER Towson, placed the order to have lab work done and get phenotype results. Was charged $786. Was told to wait 7-10 business days for lab results.
Around 1 week after Nov 8, 2021, PET ER Towson called back and told us it’s Lymphoma but no phenotype results. However, we already knew it’s lymphoma due to the pathologist analysis during previous visits. Our order on lab results was intended solely for phenotype.
Nov 20-26, 2021, called PET ER Towson several times to retrieve results, was told may not get it until after Thanksgiving due to busy holiday season.
Nov 27-30, 2021, called PET ER Towson several times, to retrieve results, was told to hold tight till results came back and PET ER Towson will have a doctor give me a call back. No call back received regarding phenotype.
December 1st-2nd, called PET ER Towson, and was told they would refund us the money as the order to the lab was not complete, at the time, there was no explanation on why it was not complete and whose fault it was (between lab and the ER practice). Was told they would still send the slice to the lab again, and re-run the tests. We were patiently waiting for the results for proper chemo treatment for Sky, but have no other choices but to continue with sending the lab samples again. Was told to wait another 7-10 business days. December 2nd, refund was sent $576, compared to what I initially paid $786.
Dec 12, 2021. I called PET ER Towson again to retrieve lab results, was told preliminary results are in but had to have a doctor to call me back. No call back received.
Dec 13, 2021. I called PET ER Towson again, was told the lab they sent the slices to, did not have the abilities to run this phenotype test, the lab have to transfer the slices to another lab. Talked with lead technician for reasons on several times of miscommunication from PET ER Towson, why they kept us waiting for a test the lab did not have the ability to do. PET ER Towson admitted they usually do not follow up with lab on results and waited for the lab until this morning (Dec 13, 2021) to even tell them they cannot do the test.
PET ER Towson declined to give their business manager’s number for us to file for a medical negligence and malpractice insurance claim and suggested to have the manager give me a call back instead. They suggested they do not know when she will be available and when she might call us back.
We also requested PET ER Towson to give us the lab number and lab contact information so that I as owner can follow up on Sky’s lab work myself. We were not given this information. Additionally, no compensation offer was given during the call.
We decided to file a complaint to Maryland State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners against the PET ER Towson business.
Refund for my tests was $576, compared to what I initially paid $786.
Bunny says
My pet was given an accidental twice lethal chemo overdose in June of 2021. I have documentation signed by the offending vet that my pet was given another pet’s chemo by mistake. She was in the ICU for a week at a different facility (referred to by offending vet) and survived but the accident left her with lifelong complications that delayed her cancer treatment for months which lead to disease progression. By the time we could treat her again in August the cancer was very aggressive and treatment resistant. She eventually passed in November after trying just about every treatment possible.
The offending vet clinic’s insurance requested a statement of damages with supporting documents. No lawyer seems to want to help us even though her case is clearcut negligence. I wrote up the statement myself and gathered the medical records but I’m scared the insurance is going to deny our claim despite the overwhelming evidence… I want to get this over with so we can move on with our lives but I don’t want to make a mistake and receive less compensation than we deserve. The costs are in the tens of thousands.
Elizabeth Geelen says
Hi, my situation is a little different, I am highly upset by what has just happened. Two months ago my mom and dad both died, three days apart. they had two dogs and a cat. My brother has the one dog and I have the the little dog, a Chihuahua and the cat. Well, Zoey, my dog, has really bad teeth it seems and she has a terrible odor coming from her mouth from an infection. The infection is draining out the side of her mouth, staining things and staining her fur. I have to wipe her mouth and face off with soap and water. She needs desperately to be seen by a vet. She started throwing up last night. I live in a very rural area and we only have one vet. I live 8 miles outside of town and dont have a vehicle. I have to get a ride into town. So my options are limited. I called the vet this morning. I gave the receptionist, (which i found out later is the vets wife), I gave her my name and she was quite rude with me in her reply, then I started to say who my parents were and that they had just recently passed away. I know my dad has taken his pets there before so i knew they would know my parents. I myself have never been there or met these people. I started to continue to say that i had inherited little Zoey and would have followed with explaining the severity of Zoey’s issue. Needless to say i didnt get anything out past that my parents had just recently died and SHE HUNG UP ON ME!!! Thinking this was a mistake i called back. But the call went right to voice mail. I tried ten times and every single time it went right to voice mail. I finally left a message explaining that my dog was really sick and that i had the money to pay for her care and asked if they would please call me back. I have not heard anything from them. I repeatedly tried to call even after the message but again it goes right to voice mail. Now, i dont know if something went on between my parents and this vet and his wife or if maybe my parents had an outstanding bill. Even if that were the case none of that should matter when it comes to the welfare of an innocent animal, and as for treating me that way, ive dont know the people. Never spoke to them a day in my life prior to today. So, suffice it to say, I should not have been treated like that. I am absolutely appalled at this situation. So, now my dog lays here sick, not looking good at all and the only vet for miles wont take my call, not only that, she was totally unprofessional, and unethical if you ask me. How is it that my dog has to suffer when eight miles away there is a vet and I have the means to pay for her treatment. I am desperately looking for answers as to what i can do about this. Can i report this? What steps, if any do i need to take to do something about this. The sad fact is that i am not the only one who has been treated this way i have since found out. And they just get away with it because they are the only vet in town. The next closest vet is 45 minutes to an hour away. That is all well and good if you have a vehicle, which i do not. This has to border on animal cruelty. Simply because i left a message explaining how sick Zoey is. You dont need a degree to know that she is suffering and in pain. Please help me. I dont know what to do. I am scared for me dog. She definitely needs an antibiotic too which i do not have. I need a prescription to get one. I would like to add in closing that if in fact my parents owe money to these people, i would have gladly made arrangements to pay off their debt had i been given the chance. That did not happen. I look forward to your reply. I will take any advice you cant give me. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Geelen
DC says
I took my 4yr old Corso in to have a cyst and another growth removed today. Both had been checked out by a dermatologist a couple weeks before as non cancerous. They said any vet could handle this minor procedure. I called the vet office who had handled his ear infection. (The vet who actually handled it was retired and just helping out. I assumed it she was indicative of the quality of vets). I dropped him off at approx. 8:30am for pick up in the evening. Less than two hours later I was called and told he had a seizure and they were trying to resuscitate him. I headed straight over but he was gone. He was a healthy dog to this point. The vet made a point of making sure I knew he was only given rimadyl. He was sired by grand champions from the US and Europe but he himself was just a my baby. Not sure if I want to pursue legal actions, I just want him back. Guess I am just exploring options.
Yvonne says
No in ga.either.a vet killed my emotional support buddy and has not spoken a word to me since before removing a oral tumor. I need a lawyer I been turned down by appr.60 lawyers. No money in it but they also say if my dog bite someone they would take my case.
Noah says
December 7th 2021 my dog fell ill we had no idea with what was wrong with her so we took her to an emergency vet because the other vets were closed until monday. When we took her to this vet they immediately told us to apply for their care credit and then asked how much we were awarded. We told them and they did many tests such as x-rays blood draws and more. Later that night we asked how she was doing and they said they couldnt find anything wrong with her after using up 3/4 of the money allocated by the care credit. So we asked if we could take her home. They tried to tell us no that she was to sick after they just told us she was fine. We eventually took her home in the same state as what we brought her in as and it had been about 13 hours.
We waited to days to go to another vet who immediately diagnosed her. I am here wondering if there is anything we can do about the first vet and if it is truly negligence on their part.
Mary O'Sullivan says
My four year old mixed breed dog has an ACL tear that, according to a recent visit to our vet, was “misdiagnosed” (her words) a year ago. Last January, after xrays, vet on call told us she had arthritis and there was nothing to do but manage it. So we did, with dasuquinn, bone broth, etc. When we took her in a few weeks ago and got the ACL news, she was limping badly, and now puts no weight on back foot at all. Now we are facing down a $4500 surgery (I am getting a second opinion). From what I can see, this injury can be managed without surgery, but now it’s been a year of misdiagnosis and I’m sure it’s worse. Owner of practice (a vet) told me the vet who misdiagnosed her no longer works for him, and I should report him to State Board. He takes no responsibility whatsoever for the misdiagnosis. I want to sue for the cost of surgery. Do I have a case?
Jessica says
My 4 year old Boston terrier had surgery at our vets office on the 4th, to remove something’s that he tried to eat out of his stomach. He was throwing up for 4-5 days and that is how we found out he needed surgery. Surgery went good, I needed to take him to the emergency animal hospital for over night care, since our vet is not open all night. When I handed my dog to the vet at the hospital, his eyes were open and he was moving his head all around. When asked about CPR, I told them yes we want CPR, because I just went through surgery and he is so young. I get a phone call on the 5th at 1 am in the morning telling me that my dog passed away. I questioned them how did that happen when he was to be monitored hourly. The vet told me that it as her decision not to preform CPR, I told her I wanted it.
Yolonda says
We took our dog to the vet in a Friday afternoon because she was having accidents in the house and pacing the floor at night for a couple of days. The vet diagnosed her with diabetes and said she needed insulin right away. He said because they would be closed on Sunday, he would prefer we bring her back Monday morning to be hospitalized and started on insulin under the watch of a vet in case she had a reaction to the insulin. He told us to change her food immediately so we bought diabetic food from them and started her on the new food right away. She proceeded to get weak and sicker over the weekend but we took her in first thing Monday morning and had her hospitalized for the day. When I went to pick her up, I was told they ran out of insulin and couldn’t start her and we would have to order it online and would probably have to wait til Thursday. The next day she was so sick she was slipping away and I was told to take her to the ER and they would get insulin from another affiliate vet if we were willing to drive an hour and a half to get it. My husband left work and drove and picked it up. By the time he got back and the ER vet saw her and tested her she was already in keto acidosis and dying. My dog died an hour later. She should have been given insulin on Friday but they failed to do what was necessary to save her life. They also found insulin within 30 minutes after she was crashing that was too late. They should have done that when she was in their care for 8 hours on Monday. Instead we paid $1500 and my baby died. They were lacking in care and compassion and on top of that they refused to refund us for the unopened, unused insulin we bought.😢 I want them to be held accountable for her death in some way because they did not treat her they just ran a ton of tests and didn’t follow through. My heart is broken!
Shadey says
Not yet. Seriously considering it though.
Corinne says
My family and I recently experienced the loss of our pet. This we believe is due to Medical Malpractice/Negligence/Fraud and lack of Medical knowledge! I came across you website a few weeks ago and immediately downloaded the information.
As you can see by the subject line, we had a sick pet who we had to seek emergency care for. While there, we were approached a 3 different times with 3 different estimates on the cost of care. We voiced our concern on only wanting to know what was wrong with him. We wanted nothing to do with neutering nor vaccination (rabies) we just wanted to know how to treat our animal. Well, blood tests came back and we were told he was lethargic, and then we were told that the Vet took it upon himself to vaccinate (rabies antigen) without our consent. We were NEVER asked about prior medical history! We finally took our pet home, who remained heavily sedated for two days. When he finally came out of sedation, he started wobbling around, eating a little bit and even used the litter box (which we were ecstatic)! That lasted a day and that’s when things turned for the worst. He wouldn’t move, we had to feed him with a syringe and he was peeing on himself. Unfortunately, we lost him the day after. My husband and I began researching, and that’s when we found literature about not vaccinating sick animals, and anaphylaxis shock. We have recently been in contact with 4 other women who have experienced similar issues!
Alfredo Rojas says
On Jan 24 2022 i was with my Poodle Conchita to an emergency vet visit. My dogy show a problem with the right back leg for that reason was the emergency. I don’t be Veterinary but i understand some happen with my dog health, a lady with many tattoos (don’t remember the name), take my dog and she talked to me about the process, i had wait 2 or 3 hours for the Vet. she sayed me (leave the dog) and they call me when ready to pick up. My dog is 8 years and 3 months, always good and healthy, never been sick. well, the lady called me to pick up my Conchita, when i was arrived the first she told me (i need to checkout first and after the Vet talk with you about your dog) (money first, oh my God). finally, she pass me a small room, few minutes the Vet come with my dog, he told me:
Vet: We did see you as a same day sick pet drop off appointment. We did not receive any other previous medical records from you besides the vaccines certificate. During her visit, we did examined her and walked her a few times. Conchita’s physical exam confirmed the limping, along with patellar luxation on both knees. Based on the physical exam findings and current symptoms, Conchita received pain management immediately with an injection and medication to achieve pain control at home.
Me: Good Vet, thanks, what medicines do you prescribe for Conchita?
Vet: Conchita received pain management immediately with an injection of Meloxicam 5mg/ml, and medication to achieve pain control at home. Such as Carprofen 25mg Tabs and Gabapentin 250mg/5ml oral solution.
Me: I 100% was trusted on this Vet, and followed I went home with my Conchita, i was saw she a little better this night, but the next day a little lethargic, i called to the hospital to consult the Vet, but was never an answer. Conchita looked stable, but in pain, night came, Conchita began to vomit around 1 am, I took care of Conchita and checked her body, looking for something abnormal, breathing a little faster. At that time, I waited for dawn to take her to another Vet, but was already too late. Conchita pass away in my arms.
Me: I made a Question to the Vet: Do you perform a Conchita blood test?
Vet: Conchita was presented to us for limping. We did see you as a same day sick pet drop off appointment. We did not received any other previous medical records from you besides the vaccines certificate.
Me: obviously, if you receive a new patient and he comes with symptoms of illness, the first thing you should have done was performed a blood test, to rule out any disease not visible, with a simple physical examination.
Vet: Conchita was weight bearing and limping intermittently. She walked for us and even urinated fine during her visit. However, the radiology has limitations as far as assessing ligament or meniscus injury. The test of choice is an MRI or CT scan for this type of presentation. Nothing in the history noted by the staff at the time of the drop off or during my conversation with you suggested she had any other clinical signs that day.
Me: THE WORD IS NEGLIGENCE: you, as a veterinarian, must performed a blood test before prescribing this strong’s medication to my Conchita. all the medications you prescribed have side effects directly related to the internal health of pets, including (Gabapentin is not FDA approved for pets). Meloxicam, Gabapentin and Carprofen. The most common side effect of Meloxicam in dogs is decreased appetite and vomiting. Dogs can overdose on meloxicam, resulting in many different serious symptoms.
Me: The vet called me on Feb 02 2022 to discuss a review I did on her google page, but she could never call me back when I wanted to know if I could take her back from the ER
Lily says
Seems to be hard to prove if the meds were what caused the aggression since you said yourself you took your dog for neuter because of “severe aggression”. Later, the vet himself was too uncomfortable with the dog’s aggressive body language to even remove it from the kennel. Finally, an unpredictable aggressive pet cannot be relied upon to treat their best friends as best friends when something triggers them. If it were the male hormones causing aggression, it takes a while after surgery for them to dissipate, not a couple days. I doubt if you can prove it was definitely a side effect of the drugs and not already the substantiated aggressive behavior.
Josh says
We dropped our pet off at the veterinarian’s office at 8am for a teeth cleaning, by 9am they called and said our pet had passed away. They stated they had not even started working on him yet, and are performing an autopsy.
When we had shots done at the end of the year, the doctor said we needed to had some teeth pulled and cleaned. We let him know that the last time our dog went under anesthesia he almost passed due to some negligence at a different vet. This is a small dog, 4lbs so obviously they have to be very careful. The doctor told specifically at that time ‘Getting their teeth taken care of outweighs the risk of gum disease which can lead to cancer’. He suggested highly we bring him in for this.
They said that our pet had a heart attack, but still waiting on the autopsy. I find it very hard to believe they had not even touched my pet yet as even though he was older (11 years) there was nothing wrong with him. He always had his shots and checkups. We treated him like he was a child of ours, he had the absolute best upbringing.
I’m pretty furious about this and really sad as it was just so sudden. I am in Texas and am seeking legal advice if even that just means ruining this practice as I know no monetary settlement would bring back our dog.
ao says
i recently adopted a dog from the local humane society. they botched her spay and her incision split open to the internal sutures, and became necrotic. i had to pay an emergency vet for prompt surgery because the incision was so severe. this injury was operated on only 5 days after adoption.
she cost $200 to adopt, surgery cost over $1700.
one thing that might be important is i disclosed to the humane society and emergency vet that my dog had licked her incisions twice. however, the emergency vet said there was no way my dog could’ve caused that much damage to her incision by licking it twice.
Ronald says
My vet euthanize my dog per my request. When I went to pick Pee-Wee up to take him to be cremated, the clinic had frozen him in a plastic bag with “handle with Care” on it and handed me my dog like a bag of meat. I was shocked and stunned that they had not place my dog in a box or container with some due respect and dignity. I still cry when I think about the way they treated my dog’s remains. Is this a normal practice?
Ronald says
I recently had my dog uthanized. When I went to the clinic to pickup my dog’s remains to take him to creemation, they handed him to me frozen in a ball in a plastic bag with “handle with care” on it.. I was horrified they had not placed my dog in a box or container for a more dignified handling. I cry evertime I think of Pee-Wee. Is this a normal practice?
Edward Henson says
I had a little poodle, her name is princess, I would take her to the vet for routine check up’s about 4 months ago, she was eating her food after she had ate, you food she began to paw at her face, the next day I called the vet office and set her up appointment to see the vet, they ask why I wanted to see the vet, I told her that my little dog, I think either had some teeth problem or maybe a ear infection so I took her in to the vet, they taken her back in the back comes back out few minutes later and tells me she has a ear infection, so they gave me some antibiotics for the ear, infection I gave it to my dog seems she still had the same problem after eating pawing her face so I take her back again for the same problem, I was told again she had a ear infection, sadly to say just a few months later she developed some problem with her back hind leg, I took her to the vet, just to hear the sad new she had a tumor, on her back leg, I lost my little dog, on February 23 2022 to cancel after my baby died, I open up her mouth see if it had spreader to her mouth as well you’re not believe what I’m telling you, my little dog had 4 teeth on the top in front and 4 teeth on the bottom, I can’t believe this vet office never mentioned a thing about my little dog health, when I’ve paid them thousands of dollars to treat the health of my little dog and now she gone…. it’s just unbelievable.,
Sparhawk says
Don’t ever trust a veterinarian. They put your dog down. I lost my dog too but not following procedures following laws following protocol. No professional standards. I got a bad feeling about veterinarians anymore some of them are just about to the money and how much they can run to Bill up to make that money. I went to a veterinarian’s office they put me in a room two girls came and got my dog never asked me no questions didn’t never say anything I seen no vet for an hour and 20 minutes and then the vet comes in and told me my dog was in critical condition what a shocker my dog was doing fine when she went in there sitting beside me on the chair. I think they Muzzled my dog for more than 3 to 5 minutes. That is a long as you can muzzle them. My dog was Muzzled so long she went in down then no way to save her where was the vet. By law vet had to be within hookering distance of your pet. So I sit in a room for 1 hour 20 minutes and nobody taked or question me about my dog. Tell me how unprofessional that is. I was left in the cold. Until my pup was dieing no coming back. I just took her in for. Some meds. The vet’s office what’s negligence when they have an emergency they didn’t come get me they didn’t even get the vet.Please don’t ever trust a veterinarian’s office if you can’t go back with your pet just leave out the door and leave cuz you never know what goes on in the back room. but I know what happened in that back room they put that Muzzle on my dog and she wasn’t breathing good to start with. For a long enought period of time to they caused her to go into cardiac arrest. And then the vet tells lies to me and tells me that they didn’t put a Muzzle on her. She would have eaten up so the vet didn’t have to integrity to tell me the truth so I’m just going to sue them. I’m going to fight for my rights and my pets rights. Cuz what these this veterinarian’s office is doing you go in the room they take your dog they go back and they do all these tests and test and test and test and test and they’ve always run your bill up to five or six $700 before the vet ever comes in the room when the nurse or the nurse practitioner don’t come in and they don’t even ask you no questions and write down anything that you said about your animal and they just take your animal and walk out the door and don’t say anything to you I’ve got a problem with it. Vet takes hour and 20 minutes to come in and then she’s telling you your dog is dying. Why because of their neglect. It is unreal how this veterinary office is doing and running they’re not following protocol they’re not following the law .so please they just don’t care Just think I will ever ever ever trust a veterinarian again. Heart broken in the South
Roslynn Farro says
I took my almost 12 year old cat to the vet due to swelling on right side of his face and his eye was weeping. My poor cat screamed like I’ve never heard him scream while they were gathering his labs, blood & urine. The vet said it looks like an abscess and wanted to schedule him for a dental cleaning and possible extraction(s). Then they had no immediate appointments and it took two weeks to get him in. Vet prescribed Onsior for pain & swelling for 3 days each week before dental procedure..That appointment cost approx $585. The day of procedure my poor cat was found, through X-ray, to have a bone tumor that the vet said she had seen enough times to know it’s not good. Biopsy ($1500), then chemo and hospice would be next. Due to my telling her that I was on a retired income, now she mentions euthanasia. Very sadly, I agreed and gave my permission. Since my cat was already under anesthesia, he would be able to go out painlessly and peacefully. That appointment cost $677. My question is why couldn’t she have performed the X-ray at the first appointment and avoided all my pets pain and suffering, not to mention mine and my family’s?
Cathy says
I’m Cathy and I’m here to tell the story behind my cat Floyds (female) trip to the vets to be spayed.
At the age of two she had gotten spayed following that for the next 2 years she went into heat every two weeks and I brought her to the vets a number of times in the 2 years to figure out why this was happening during the visits to the vets they tried more and more unessesary testing to her why I said unessesary is because they knew very well why she was still acting like she was in heat later on and almost 10,000 $ later it was determined that the vet had left an overy inside her which poisoned her and caused Pyro meattritous (Spelling unknown) which is it rotted inside her at Guelph animal university they operated on her fir 7,000$
Removed overy and I think part of stumph .After that she got very sick again because the poison layed on her pancrious kidneys and intestines.Shes sitting beside me a year later and now is diabetic because of the negligence of a vet .
I’m on disability and borrowed money from a friend to get this operation done my now 54years of friendship is being jeopardized because on my income I’m barely able to continue paying for her insulin and supplies and can’t pay my best friend the money she lent me
Amy says
Took my dog in to be neutered and 2 days later his leg swelled up. Took him in same day we found swelling and we were told it’s a bug bite. Xrays and bloodwork came back normal. No medications were given. Swelling went down next day and a lump showed up and he wouldn’t walk on it and limped when he did. Took him back a couple days later and was told again, just a bug bite. He became more painful so we took him back and by now a sore has developed. Still, just a bug bite. Mind you this doctor has not touched my dog once. 2 days later the sore had opened up to a large wound the size of a half dollar with several more scabs above it. Our dog had been wearing his e-collar, so he had no access to lick. We took him in again and he had to have surgery to remove all of the black dead tissue. He now has a 6-7 inch open wound on his leg. They sent a culture and it came back as MRSA. We have 2 other dogs and no one else has any symptoms. Of course the hospital is saying they sterilize all equipment and he did not get it from the hospital. I find it hard to believe. Now we are out $2500 and a dog who is suffering while this HUGE wound heals.
Aurora says
My dog had to be put down today. We took him to two vets, the first was when we thought something could be wrong. They tested and told us it was nothing. We brought him somewhere else and when they did their tests they came back to say he was riddled with cancer. It was too bad and too late that putting him down was the best option. Could we sue the first vet for malpractice? This is the second incident with just us, a similar but not as severe misdiagnosis the first time.
Michelle says
I had a 4 1/2 month old shepherd mix puppy that was throwing up and diarrhea. We called a bunch of vets and they all told us it sounded like parvo. Leighow veterinary hospital told us to bring him in. They kept him 3 days and told us he was suffering from a bacterial infection and that he won’t get better and told us to put him down. We didn’t want to see him suffer so the vet put him down. The next day our lab puppy was diagnosed with parvo by a different vet. She had all the same symptoms. She was treated for parvo and doing better. We called the veterinary hospital and asked to talk to Dr Artman and she was so rude and ignorant to us. We told her about our other dog having parvo and she told us to leave the diagnosis to a professional. We told her we wanted the charges refunded or we’ll stop the payments and she told us we will not get our dogs ashes back she will throw them away. Can we sue her for this? Can she keep his ashes and throw them away?
Harold says
Our dog was having a discharge coming from where she pees. We took her to our Vet to see what the problem. They said that she had a UTI and treated her with medicine for the next 2 weeks. She was still having the discharge so they referred us to another Vet to have an ultrasound done. The other Vet found she still had an ovary and part of her uterus still attached from a botched spading. Our Vets said they didn’t feel comfortable doing the surgery to fix the problem so they referred us back to the Vet’s who did the ultrasound. They want $3500 to do the surgery so we told the vet that did the spading and they said it was on us to pay. Can I sue them for malpractice? Thanks
Kimberly Schultz says
Yes I took my dogs candy to the vet 2 days ago okay he wasn’t eating she was lethargic they did blood work they said that she has colitis a urinary tract infection okay we we we took her home and she still eating not trailer storage Inc she was lethargic so we call the vet again and they told us that they couldn’t do anything else because we had an answer standing bill which we promise we pay on Friday wish that was me agreement okay the following day Sandy did not wake up she died my 10 year old dog my little Pekingese dog died as they did not know what they were doing they didn’t know they misgigignosyed her they should have helped her because what they had given her was not right they killed my dog-!!
Melissa Gold says
Hello, Kimberly. I am so sorry to hear of your dog’s death. I am not a veterinarian, so I can’t say whether the treatment your vet provided was reasonable under the circumstances. Sometimes, a vet has to take a “wait-and-see” approach to make a thorough diagnosis, and the vet is also not required to provide services if you owe payment. It’s a business like any other, and absent some other type of agreement, they can refuse to provide treatment if you do not pay. If you believe that the veterinarian committed malpractice that resulted in your dog’s death, you might be able to file a lawsuit to claim any costs you incurred or for the market value of your dog. You can consult a lawyer to learn more about your options: https://www.enjuris.com/directory/. Best wishes and I am sorry for your loss.
Anesha says
Can the vet be sued breaching client/patient confidentiality?
Melissa Gold says
Hi, Anesha. There are laws relating to release of veterinary records, and they vary by state. Most states prohibit a veterinarian from releasing records to someone other than the client unless there is express written permission. However, in order to file a personal injury lawsuit, you would need to prove that there was an injury or harm that resulted from the release of the records. That might be tricky. If you believe that records were released without your permission, you could make a complaint to your state’s licensing board.
Kris says
Hello,
My dog had surgery to fit a torn ACL. A plate was put in. She was cleared for an increase in activity about 3 weeks later but about 3 days later she developed a terrible infection. We managed to get the infection to clear but the infection has returned. They are telling us the infection is on the plate and the plate needs to come out. They want to charge us $2300 to take the plate out. I want to take them to small claims court. If the infection is on the plate wouldn’t it be on the plate from the operation. At this point we are nearing $8,000 for a knee replacement. Any help 0r advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
B says
I took my loving family cat to the vet due to constipation I wrote the doctor a note letting them know what I had observed my cat was not eating as much or drinking water I had taken her to the vet prior to this visit on Monday March 28th due to the same condition she was provided with cat lex to help her go to the rest room. I brought her in as recommended by the office staff as a drop off. Although she had was not felling her best she had life up and going, alert. I picked her up at the vet before closing when I was called from the vets off I was told she was plugged up and she seemed to be doing better after they performed the procedure she was put back into her cage with her own fetus when I got her home she could not stand she trie I thought it was because she was in pain and this would pass. I was not instructed on any follow up procedure to take after I bought her home. I washed over her seeing her in pain not knowing how sick they had sent her home. I looked after her keeping her comfortable feeding her water with a syringe and food she would throw it up. I held her limp body and called up the vet the next day. I asked who handled her the office clerk said they all did I asked if they had read the note I provide them because it said she had not drank water or had any food I was told she did not need any water because she was not dehydrated. She said to take her to a vet Hopiral but I insisted I take her back to the same place so they can get her well. She did not move but raised her head as I called her name this was the last time I saw her she died in the vets office. I have called twice to talk to the doctor and I am still waiting for his call no one in the office provides me with details as to what happen to my baby. Devastated heart broken I asked them to cremate her there was no other choice. My family was devastated we still are do to their negligence. The business Has taken no responsibility on their negligence instead they charged me to the cremation and the bill for taking her . They told my son she had other illness and was a senior cat. Pain and suffering for my cat and my family
Frank says
I went to a vet in charleston to get a rabies shot. we told them that we were going to Norway and had to have the vaccine plus deworming. He gave the vaccine and dewormed. When we arrived in Norway, the dog was taken from us because he did not have authorization to administer the vaccine. We have two options, one to pay $4000 for a new shot and 3 week in isolation or put the dog to sleep. What do we do now? I don’t have $4000 🙁
Melissa Gold says
Hello, Frank. I’m sorry you’re in this situation. If I’m understanding correctly, your Charleston vet was not authorized to administer a rabies shot to your dog. Unfortunately, I can’t speak to Norwegian laws or regulations so I’m not sure what your options are overseas. I would suggest that perhaps you call your Charleston vet and see if they can provide documentation that would satisfy the Norwegian authorities. Perhaps there is a way to do that. Otherwise, you might need to seek counsel in Norway for guidance. I hope it all works out favorably and that you have a pleasant trip.
Lolo says
My dog went into the vets office for his regular dental cleaning, he was extremely cared for. What was supposed to be a regular two owner cleaning my pick him up again later in the afternoon turned into a nightmare a doctor was doing her physical check on his body doing this weekend. Rib cage area and ruptured his spleen where I have no idea to have a tumor he showed my signs of pain. When it was time to pick him up around him to come home okay I did notice he was struggling to walk a little but I figured it was because of the anesthesia once I got him in the car I had to lift him in he went downhill on the right home and ended up passing away due to internal bleeding. My question is can I legally protect my sweet boy from what happened to him noticed that his blood pressure was dropping and that he was having a hard time breathing the vet’s office filled too properly care for him his dental cleaning service physical body checkup and emergency visit came in and the doctor was taken away from my pet and left with the nurse for an extended amount of time is there anything that I can do lately I live in the state of Arizona
Melissa Gold says
Hi Lolo, I’m not sure what your question is, here. I am very sorry for the loss of your dog. I’m not a veterinarian and can’t speak to whether there could have been veterinary malpractice in this instance. However, if you believe your pet was the victim of veterinary malpractice, I suggest you contact a different vet’s office and ask them to review his chart and determine whether their opinion is that malpractice took place. If so, you can consult a personal injury lawyer for legal guidance. Best wishes.