When that happens, the animal's owner may sue the vet for malpractice. Historically, veterinary malpractice lawsuits have been relatively rare, but more pet owners file these cases every year. Still, pet owners who sue their vets for malpractice face serious challenges.
By the time you factor in attorneys' fees and all the other expenses, the cost of going to court will probably exceed the amount of any award you'll receive. If the vet carries malpractice insurance which is increasingly common , you might still get compensation by filing a claim with the insurance company and negotiating an out-of-court settlement. But you'll still need evidence of malpractice. The law in veterinary malpractice pretty much follows the law for medical malpractice cases.
Malpractice happens when a veterinarian harms an animal because of incompetence, a mistake in judgment, or a particular kind of carelessness. But not all medical errors are malpractice, and the fact that an animal's condition got worse after treatment doesn't necessarily mean that the vet is liable for malpractice. In order to prove that a vet's care fell short of professional standards, you first need to show what those standards are. That generally means what an average practitioner would do under similar circumstances.
Vets who are certified as specialists are held to a higher professional standard; the measuring stick is what other competent specialists would do. Either way, you'll probably need to hire an expert witness—another veterinarian who can testify about what your vet should have done but didn't do. It's not enough to show that your pet didn't get better—or even got worse—after treatment.
You must demonstrate that the vet's subpar actions or decisions caused the animal's current condition. Here again, you'll probably need expert testimony. Finally, you can't receive compensation for malpractice unless you, as the animal's owner, can demonstrate that you suffered real harm.
And in most cases, that harm doesn't include the emotional distress that comes with losing your dog or seeing your cat in pain more on that below. If you've been able to prove the elements of malpractice, you should be able to collect the cost of any additional medical treatment that was necessary because of the original vet's incompetence or carelessness.
And if your dog or cat died as a result of the malpractice, the court may award you the market or replacement value of the pet—what it would cost to buy an animal of the same breed, age, condition, and training. Beyond that, the rules for what a pet owner may recover in vet malpractice cases vary from state to state, and sometimes from court to court within the same state.
Putting a dollar value on a pet's death or injury is difficult, to say the least. Legal Resource. You trust your veterinarian to diagnose, treat, and care for your animal family members. But what if you suspect that your veterinarian made a mistake — and that the mistake has hurt your animal? This is a general overview of veterinary malpractice. As always, this overview is meant to help you understand this complicated issue, and is not a substitute for your own attorney.
Veterinary malpractice is essentially the same as medical malpractice, except the victims are animals. If a veterinarian harms or kills an animal due to carelessness or negligence, this may constitute malpractice. You have several different courses of action available to you if you suspect your companion animal was injured or killed due to veterinary malpractice. Historically, recoveries for veterinary malpractice claims have been low, but that is beginning to change.
However, you should be aware that damages awards in these cases tend to be relatively limited. Bringing a lawsuit may not be financially worthwhile because the damages may not go much further than paying for attorney fees and court costs.
Some vets have started to carry medical malpractice insurance, though, and you might be able to get a settlement from the insurance company relatively easily if your vet has this coverage. You still would need to show that the vet committed malpractice. A vet does not have an automatic duty to treat an injured animal, but they may assume this duty if they voluntarily start treating the animal.
As a result, they could be liable for malpractice in these situations. There may be an exception to liability if the vet is responding to an emergency, based on the Good Samaritan principle. Sometimes vets may wonder what they need to do if the owner abandons the animal in their care. They can refer to state law for guidance, but they do not need to permanently continue housing the abandoned animal. Proving that veterinary malpractice injured an animal is essentially the same as proving that medical malpractice injured a person.
The owner of the pet would need to show that the vet was responsible for caring for the animal, and the vet did not meet the standard of a competent vet treating an animal in a similar situation. This usually will involve hiring another vet to testify as an expert witness and explain what a competent vet would have done.
A vet will be held to a higher standard of care if they are certified as a specialist in the area in which they were treating the animal. An expert probably will need to testify in support of causation as well. The pet owner needs to show that they suffered some tangible costs or losses. This is different from ordinary medical malpractice cases because the owner is not the direct victim.
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