Vet Negligence

[allisonp320]

What is the name of your state?-Georgia, I hope I'm posting under the right topic. For the past three months or so, my cat has been in pain when he tried to eat anything, so I took him to be seen at a veterinarian's office and they said he needed some teeth removed. I had them remove the teeth but he was still in a great deal of pain, so I took him back for a recheck. This is where it got bad because they took him back to be seen, (they wouldn't allow you to go back in the exam room with your pet) and then brought him back out to me, telling me everything looked great. I insisted with them that ``something was still definitely wrong with him and that he still could not eat. He wanted to eat but everytime he tried to he would hiss at his food and run off. After trying to explain this to them three times, the assistant came back after talking to the doctor and had a prescription to increase his appetite and a jar of baby food! They also told me that maybe he needed more time to heal, although it had been over two weeks since his surgery. So, I reluctantly took him back home and gave it some more time with him in agony and not eating. I realized that I had to take him somewhere else that would help him. From the time I first took him to the quacks to the first visit at this new vet,. my cat had been in excruciating pain and had lost over half his weight. This new vet looked at him and told me there was so much infection and an exposed root of a tooth and they weren't very sure that any more surgery could help him and unfortunately, I decided he had been in pain long enough and had them euthanize him. My question is, because the first vet didn't fix all of everything going on with my cat and then telling me everything was fine, only to cause prolonging my cat to suffer agonizing pain, can I sue them for malpractice? I feel that they should be shut down. I'm sure that I'm not the only one they've done this to.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to your other recent thread on this same topic:

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/veterinarian-malpractice.664586/

The answers have not changed since December 2024.

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state?-Georgia, I hope I'm posting under the right topic. For the past three months or so, my cat has been in pain when he tried to eat anything, so I took him to be seen at a veterinarian's office and they said he needed some teeth removed. I had them remove the teeth but he was still in a great deal of pain, so I took him back for a recheck. This is where it got bad because they took him back to be seen, (they wouldn't allow you to go back in the exam room with your pet) and then brought him back out to me, telling me everything looked great. I insisted with them that ``something was still definitely wrong with him and that he still could not eat. He wanted to eat but everytime he tried to he would hiss at his food and run off. After trying to explain this to them three times, the assistant came back after talking to the doctor and had a prescription to increase his appetite and a jar of baby food! They also told me that maybe he needed more time to heal, although it had been over two weeks since his surgery. So, I reluctantly took him back home and gave it some more time with him in agony and not eating. I realized that I had to take him somewhere else that would help him. From the time I first took him to the quacks to the first visit at this new vet,. my cat had been in excruciating pain and had lost over half his weight. This new vet looked at him and told me there was so much infection and an exposed root of a tooth and they weren't very sure that any more surgery could help him and unfortunately, I decided he had been in pain long enough and had them euthanize him. My question is, because the first vet didn't fix all of everything going on with my cat and then telling me everything was fine, only to cause prolonging my cat to suffer agonizing pain, can I sue them for malpractice? I feel that they should be shut down. I'm sure that I'm not the only one they've done this to.

My cat is having a similar dental issue as yours appears to have. For my kitty it is caused by an allergy kitty has to his own tarter. We did a deep cleaning and he was given a long lasting (aprx 2 months or so) of a steroid. This is a temp fixer and eventually he will have to have most, if not all, of his teeth removed. But it is best to put off that extreme measure for as long as we can.

Just wanted to share this with you because your issue sounds just like what was going on with my cat.

 

[zddoodah]

can I sue them for malpractice?

Yes. HOWEVER, your damages will be virtually non-existent. You might be able to recover the cost of visit #2 to vet #1 and the cost of vet #2's services. It would be costly to sue, and your recovery probably wouldn't justify the expense.

That said, you can report the vet to whatever agency in your state licenses vets.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Yes you may sue the vet for malpractice. Whether you can win the lawsuit is another matter. You'd likely need an expert witness to help support your claim that the vet was negligent and that negligence was the proximate cause of the injury to the pet. When it comes to damages (money) you could win if you prove the vet committed malpractice you have the benefit of Georgia case law (court decisions) that have established the rule that pet owners may be awarded more than the fair market value (FMV)of the pet. Most every other state caps the awards at FMV of the pet and as most house pets have little to no FMV (it's hard to even give them away in a lot of areas). As a result, in most states you'd simply spend a lot of money on a lawyer to get little or nothing. Georgia allows you also recover expenses related to the injury to the pet, including vet fees. You cannot win anything for sentimental value, however.

 

[quincy]

Yes you may sue the vet for malpractice. Whether you can win the lawsuit is another matter. You'd likely need an expert witness to help support your claim that the vet was negligent and that negligence was the proximate cause of the injury to the pet. When it comes to damages (money) you could win if you prove the vet committed malpractice you have the benefit of Georgia case law (court decisions) that have established the rule that pet owners may be awarded more than the fair market value (FMV)of the pet. Most every other state caps the awards at FMV of the pet and as most house pets have little to no FMV (it's hard to even give them away in a lot of areas). As a result, in most states you'd simply spend a lot of money on a lawyer to get little or nothing. Georgia allows you also recover expenses related to the injury to the pet, including vet fees. You cannot win anything for sentimental value, however.

Because the statute of limitations period is not close to expiring, allisonp320 would need an affidavit from a veterinarian expert accompanying her complaint of professional malpractice. See Georgia Code §9-11-9.1.

Without a necropsy, the expert will need to rely on the cat’s veterinary records.

How old was your cat, allisonp320?

 

[Just Blue]

I didn't read the full opening post and did not realize that OP's kitty had died. I am so sorry Alisonp320.