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Veterinarian Malpractice or Abuse

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dgengler

Junior Member
To whom it may concern,
I am a resident of Omaha, NE. I took my miniature pinscher (birthday 3/17/2009) to a veterinarian clinic as of 7/14/2009 to have his ears cropped as of 7:30AM. The veterinarian had me sign a form stating that he cannot control prior health issues that may cause complications with anesthetic. I left the clinic and went to work. I called the clinic at 10:30 AM to check on the status of my puppy. At that time, the receptionist stated that the surgery went great and Doyle (my puppy) was awake and crying. I called again at 2:30 PM to check on Doyle's status again. For the second time, the receptionist stated that he was doing great and he was eating. When I got off work as of 5:00 PM, I went directly to the Veterinarian clinic to pick up my dog. However, Dr X stated that his temperature had dropped and they were trying to warm him up. I would be able to take him home in about a half an hour as of 5:20 PM. Doyle's condition as I arrived was very bad. His gums were nearly white, he could barely hold up his head, he was having a VERY hard time breathing as well as very cold to the touch. As I remained at the Vet's office, waiting on my puppy, his condition got worse as Dr X continued to fill Doyle with several different medicines. As of 7:30 PM, Doyle became completely unconscious as Dr X continued to give Doyle drugs and an I.V. The Vet continued to try to call other veterinarians for advise as he didn't know what else to do. As of 9:03 PM, Dr X advised me that Doyle was going to die and that I should put him down. As I was completely hysterical, I agreed as the Emergency Clinic advised, due to his current status, Doyle would not make it. As of 9:05 PM, my beloved miniature pinscher, Doyle, was put to sleep. Dr X stated that it was probably due to a health issue that was in his blood line. I paid the agreed bill of $319.00 as he did not charge me 50% of the total bill of the ears being cropped and the followup procedures to help Doyle recover, but led to his death instead. After obtaining Doyle's paper work, I contacted the breeder as well has their veterinarian. They both concluded that Doyle did not have any prior health issues and based upon his paper work that Dr X provided, Doyle was given an excess amount of anesthetic causing the medical issues and ultimately Doyle's death. At this point, I would like the bare minimum of the refund of my $319.00 although the replacement costs of my miniature pinscher would be another $900.00. Would I be entitled to this or do I not have any legal recourse to this situation? Please let me know as I don't feel it's right that I bring my dog in for a rather common procedure and end up with a dead dog and an additional $200 in vet bills for the veterinarian making the mistake. Thank you for your time and I appreciate your assistance in this matter.

Dane
 


dgengler

Junior Member
Also, the Veterinarian stated that Doyle never fully woke up from the anesthetic and that Doyle's temperature had dropped as of 2:00PM. I was never notified of the situation by the vet or his staff.

I excluded the Vet's name and clinic's name due to "possible slander" against his business. Although, from current research, I have found that he is currently involved in a malpractice law suit due to a similar situation. I'm not sure if this is relevant to my case, but enrages me that much more that a vet could get away with something like this.
 

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