Vet mutilated my cat's ear can I sue?

[dmprisk]

What is the name of your state? California

Took my kitten to a new Vet to be spayed. When I got her back they mistakenly thought she was a Feral and clipped her ear. She was not a feral (wild/homeless) cat, she is a family pet who is an indoor only cat. I didn't notice the mutilated ear until after I had paid and brought her home. I called the Vet's office as soon as I saw the ear. (picture an inch cut from the tip top of the ear down, then cut a piece out of the one side to make a V.) my husband and I took her back. The Vet said the girl who answers the phones checked the box for the ear to be clipped. We told him we never authorized that! He finally said he would take her back into surgery and stitch the ear back up. No cost! It didn't work, ear split as sutures dissolved. If I take her to a specialist and if the specialist can or can not fix the ear. Can I sue this Vet for the cost of seeing the specialist and then if it can be repaired can I sue him for the cost of repairing the ear? I got this kitten for free, so the lost value of the cat is nothing. It's not like she was a pedigree or show cat, so I didn't know if there is a limit a judge would let you spend to try to get your cat's ear back to the pre mutilation look. Can I sue for the lost value of a free cat=$$0.00. I have all my paperwork on how much I have spent on this kitten, shots, etc.
The Vet kept saying it's only cosmetic, it's only a cat. Never said he was sorry.
Guess he figures he can hire high school age girls to answer the phone and write up pre-op orders and if anything goes wrong, it's not his fault.
what can I sue him for??? Any help would be appreciated, hate to see him get away with this,
Thanks
dmprisk

 

[stephenk]

you can sue him for the cost of surgery to correct the ear, plus related medicines for the recovery period, etc.

you may want to report him to the vet board.

 

[seniorjudge]

Apparently, this cat is just a plain old ordinary cat.

How much is it worth on the open market?

Probably nothing.

Therefore, the answer to your question is yes, you can sue anyone for anything at anytime anywhere.

Will you win? Well...let's say you do. What will your damages be? Nothing.

 

[racer72]

You have no claim except for the value of the cat. The clipped ear is not going to affect the cat's quality of life. I adopted a feral cat with a clipped ear and it has not affected him at all. Except he refuses to use a litter box.

 

[seniorjudge]

....Except he refuses to use a litter box.

You could do like I did: build a barn for the little critters....

 

[racer72]

You could do like I did: build a barn for the little critters....

I would like to but I live in a rural area and the local coyote population has been doing a pretty good job of keeping our area free of outdoor cats and small dogs. After spending over $100 for the damn cat, I'm sure not going to let it become coyote chow.

 

[seniorjudge]

...After spending over $100 for the damn cat, I'm sure not going to let it become coyote chow....

An old man I knew killed the coyotes back of his house for over fifty years but they kept increasing in number, not decreasing.

Finally, I told him why: "You've killed off the stupid ones and the smart ones are breeding."

He cried.

 

[dws1632]

Who cares what the cat is worth. If you childs ear was cut in half, wouldn't you expect damages? You loved the cat, it is now "damaged" and you should get something, at the least as a punishment and a lesson to the vet. The point is, the cat was harmed by the vet and he should have to pay. I'd sue him and/or report him.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

No, the point is, a mistake was made, the vet attempted to correct the mistake and was unsuccessful and the MOST you could recover is the difference in value of the cat between when you took it in with two complete ears and now, with clipped ears, plus cost of the surgery and related expenses.

So answer the damn question.

 

[dmprisk]

I contacted the place that referred me to this Vet = Pet Assistance. The girl was very interested in what happened and had me email her all my notes and photos of my cat's ear. This Vet and his staff did numerous errors, like when I went to pick her up after the 1st surgery, her cat carrier smelled of cat urine and they didn't send me home with any oral antibiotics like they were suppose to. Plus the stitches were pulled so tight that her lower left nipple was in the center of her body, which caused the incision to become infected. And there was no iodine stain, to the incision area which shows they did not disinfect the pre-op area before they opened her up. There are so many things this Vet and his staff did. Also when we went in to confront the Vet right after I noticed the ear, we were waiting in the examination room and one of his Vet Tech's came in and told us the Vet would be in shortly. Both my husband and I pointed to the examination table and there was pee on the table that was left from the previous client =Chihauhau. This Vet tech said oh that's bleach and proceeded to wipe the whole table down with dog pee. My husband and I just looked at each other and made sure we didn't touch that table. But this shows they aren't disinfecting the tables between clients.
This girl at Pet Assistance is suppose to confront this Vet and then get back to me with the correct names of all his staff, so I can send in a complaint to the Veterinary Medical Board.
I looked online to see if I could post my whole story to warn people about this Vet and found a Dr. Bad-Vet forum, but it's not posted yet.
Thanks for all your advice.
dmprisk

 

[seniorjudge]

What is the name of your state? California

Took my kitten to a new Vet to be spayed. When I got her back they mistakenly thought she was a Feral and clipped her ear. She was not a feral (wild/homeless) cat, she is a family pet who is an indoor only cat. I didn't notice the mutilated ear until after I had paid and brought her home. I called the Vet's office as soon as I saw the ear. (picture an inch cut from the tip top of the ear down, then cut a piece out of the one side to make a V.) my husband and I took her back. The Vet said the girl who answers the phones checked the box for the ear to be clipped. We told him we never authorized that! He finally said he would take her back into surgery and stitch the ear back up. No cost! It didn't work, ear split as sutures dissolved. If I take her to a specialist and if the specialist can or can not fix the ear. Can I sue this Vet for the cost of seeing the specialist and then if it can be repaired can I sue him for the cost of repairing the ear? I got this kitten for free, so the lost value of the cat is nothing. It's not like she was a pedigree or show cat, so I didn't know if there is a limit a judge would let you spend to try to get your cat's ear back to the pre mutilation look. Can I sue for the lost value of a free cat=$$0.00. I have all my paperwork on how much I have spent on this kitten, shots, etc.
The Vet kept saying it's only cosmetic, it's only a cat. Never said he was sorry.
Guess he figures he can hire high school age girls to answer the phone and write up pre-op orders and if anything goes wrong, it's not his fault.
what can I sue him for??? Any help would be appreciated, hate to see him get away with this,
Thanks
dmprisk

Your first post did not include all the facts that you indicated in your last post.