If dog is injured while under the care of a veterinarian who is responsible for cost of treatment?

[rascaldascal]

I rescued a dog who had been hit by a car and paid a substantial amount of amount of money for the dog's orthopedic surgery. We took the dog home after surgery and he seemed to have some issues with one of his legs because the pins may have shifted. We brought the dog back to the vet and decided it would be best to let him recover there so they could monitor him and make sure he doesn't do anything to re injure himself. We've been visiting him regularly and he seemed to be healing and doing much better. It's been three weeks since he's been there and yesterday we received a call from the vet saying that he somehow injured himself and will require another surgery which we will have to pay for. We left him in their care precisely to avoid this from happening. Should we be on the hook for the surgery if somehow they allowed him to re injure himself?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

If you want the dog fixed you are going to have to pay for it. If you think the vet failed to properly care for the dog that you put in his care you can sue the vet.

 

[Just Blue]

I rescued a dog who had been hit by a car and paid a substantial amount of amount of money for the dog's orthopedic surgery. We took the dog home after surgery and he seemed to have some issues with one of his legs because the pins may have shifted. We brought the dog back to the vet and decided it would be best to let him recover there so they could monitor him and make sure he doesn't do anything to re injure himself. We've been visiting him regularly and he seemed to be healing and doing much better. It's been three weeks since he's been there and yesterday we received a call from the vet saying that he somehow injured himself and will require another surgery which we will have to pay for. We left him in their care precisely to avoid this from happening. Should we be on the hook for the surgery if somehow they allowed him to re injure himself?

1. What state?
2. What did the vet say regarding how the dog got injured? Is this a new injury or did the dog reinjure the existing problem?

 

[adjusterjack]

he somehow injured himself

To determine who pays you will have to determine exactly how the dog was re-injured.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to Michigan State University’s College of Law, Animal Legal and Historical Center, with general information on veterinarian malpractice:

https://www.animallaw.info/article/brief-summary-veterinary-malpractice

 

[xylene]

Consider getting a second opinion.

Consider that you may be putting an animal through a lot of pain without a clear path to recovery.

 

[coolmaltese]

Thank you for rescuing this dog and for getting him vet treatment! He is lucky you found him. Canine orthopedic surgery can have complications and additional surgeries or treatment may be necessary (I don't know what the injury is or if it is related to the prior surgery). Many dogs that are hit by cars have crushed legs and amputation is the only course of action (dogs with three or even two legs adapt very well). It sounds like your dog has fracture(s) that are treatable which is good news. Hoping for the best for your dog.

 

[quincy]

It can be important to note that a dog’s recovery from any orthopedic surgery can take months rather than weeks and generally will require that the dog be closely supervised.

Shortly after we adopted our basset hound puppy, we learned she needed knee surgery (congenital defect). The veterinarian had to design a special cast to accommodate her body type and her very very short legs. Because our puppy was otherwise healthy, she recovered rather quickly but “quickly” meant six weeks in a cast.

It can become awfully costly to house an animal at a veterinarian clinic for a lengthy time (far costlier than a kennel) and many veterinarian clinics are not designed for an animal’s long term care. If rascaldascal’s dog has been with the veterinarian for three weeks, I don’t doubt that the veterinarian bills already are quite high.

Although it would be nice to think that cost is never an issue - and I don’t think we ever seriously considered cost with our basset hound - it becomes an issue for many pet owners. A veterinarian malpractice suit would only add to the cost and there would be no guarantee such a suit would be successful.

There are now available special “veterinarian-service credit cards” which give a pet owner the option of paying for veterinary costs over time, often interest free for six months. This might be a better option to look at.

 

[Just Blue]

Thank you for rescuing this dog and for getting him vet treatment! He is lucky you found him. Canine orthopedic surgery can have complications and additional surgeries or treatment may be necessary (I don't know what the injury is or if it is related to the prior surgery). Many dogs that are hit by cars have crushed legs and amputation is the only course of action (dogs with three or even two legs adapt very well). It sounds like your dog has fracture(s) that are treatable which is good news. Hoping for the best for your dog.

CM!! You're back! Good to see you!

 

[quincy]

I always look for Coolmaltese postings in the animal threads.

 

[Just Blue]

I always look for Coolmaltese postings in the animal threads.

Me too.

 

[coolmaltese]

Thanks quincy and Just Blue