We spoke to a magistrate that said if the judge would decide in our favor it would then be up to us to decide how to go about getting the money. The magistrate said we would have to file a lawyer and then go about putting a lien on the vet property as to go about assuring that they pay us in a monetary means. Did you have to get a lawyer? Thanks.

Our small claims court doesn't allow lawyers either. But the magistrate said if the judge would decide in our favor it's up to us to get the monetary compensation. And that would possibly mean contacting a lawyer. When you filed your claim did you call the vet first and say you needed a refund or just go and file the claim? Thank you for your help.

I see what your saying about you having to collect the monetary award....Years ago we sued a person who hit and ran from hitting our car. We won the judgement but when it came time to collect we found out that was a whole different set of problems. It's one thing to win a case it's another trying to collect the judgement. In our case with the car it was up to us to find out where this person worked, then we would have to go back to court and try to attach his wages with a garnishment. If the person was a job hopper we would end up chasing him from job to job until the end of time.

You would think the courts would order him to provide this info, but when it come to courts what you think and what is actuality are two different things. We never did collect from this person because he was a job hopper. If the person is responsible as in the case of the vet you have much better odds of collecting. Most of the time a person like the vet will just pay you to make you go away.

No, I never contacted the vet, I saw no reason to. I wanted him to be surprised when he received the papers...he would just deny everything anyway. If I had called and demanded he return all my money that would mean he was admitting responsibility for the death, he would never do that. By paying me after filing he was saying he just wanted the case to go away and he wanted to make me happy.....:rolleyes:

At this point I don't think collecting the money is as important as seeing to it that this vet is not so laid back in her approach to such an emergency in the future. Even if you don't win in a court case you will have that vet checking herself every time a new case comes into her clinic, hopefully.

I would report her to the state board. It at least will remain on record in case there are other complaints or others come in the future.

:thumbup:

Its unfortunate $$$ is sometimes the only thing take causes better routes to be taken in the future.

Oh, I agree with that. I'm just saying I would push it as far as I could no matter if I was going to be able to collect the settlement or not.

No I completely agree with your statement in entirety.

The loss of a patient is all it should have taken.
Again mistakes happen its how we handle them in the aftermath.

Oh, believe me we definatley are filing a complaint with our state vet board! I would rather have something stay on her record than collect money. I'm glad that filing a complaint would stay on her record, I didn't know that. I am taking all action I can against her. I DON'T want this to happen again and my Ace SHOULD NOT have been treated in such a horrible manner. It's something that I don't know how to deal with, it beyond breaks my heart. I'm just trying to decide about how to AlSO file a small claim against this woman. Unfortunately, I read that about %80 of the time the board drops the case but just to have her looked is what I need to happen. I would like her licsense taken away but that probably won't happen.

Having been on the receiving end of a wrongful death with one of my beloved pets I don’t consider the monetary compensation *unimportant”. When this sort of thing happens to a person the incredible sense of loss and devastation is horrendous. The angry feelings can leave a person with a feeling of needing to do something. While some people may choose to do nothing others may want/need to seek justice. It's a difficult choice and each one has it's problems.

I consider my pets very close family members. They provide love, companionship, and years of enjoyment. If my pet was victimized and one of the few ways I could seek justice for that pet is to use the legal system then that is a perfectly legitimate place to go. The monetary compensation doesn’t make me feel better, but it does offer a way to make the vet accountable. Having the ability to make the vet answer in court is a way to say your pet counted, your pet was the victim, your pet mattered. Someone needs to be held accountable if the actions of the vet caused/contributed to the death. After all, if a person was just seeking justice through the court to make out financially this would not be the way to go, after all our pets are not worth much in our legal system. This is a tool to send a message….What if no one took action to hold the person accountable? Why would they make changes as to how they practice medicine if no one held them accountable?

Filing a complaint is also a tool but it also has its problems. The veterinarian boards dismiss at least 80%-95% of these cases. While it’s also a tool to hold the vet accountable the likely hood it will take place is slim to none. If the case is dismissed there is no complaint to see, or they mark the record “no violation found”. I wonder if a human family member was the victim of malpractice/ negligence would the same be said that the monetary compensation is not important. We have three choices to seek retribution, use the legal system, use the medical boards or just leave it up to karma. The person who suffers the injustice is the one who will make the choice that they can live with, sadly none of the choices are easy ti live with.

It might be worth your while to make an appointment for a consultation with a lawyer. A lawyer could give you advise and may even agree to write the letter to the board for you. A consult fee varies in price according to the lawyer but it is not usually a huge fee. You can call around and ask the receptionist the fee. Usually a letter from a lawyer carries a bit more weight than only from the individual.

No, you will never know for sure what would have happened if he had surgery sooner but the fact is it was put off because this vet wanted to go by her protocol. He was a small dog and an experienced vet should know that a small dog cannot compensate like a large one can.

I tend to advise people with really small dogs to find a vet that has experience with the extra small dogs. People who deal mostly with larger animals tend to take chances that a small baby cannot afford.

You do what you have to do. No matter what happens with the vet you will know you did what you could to try to prevent someone else going though such an experience. You did what you could for your little guy. He knows that. He is not suffering now and I'm sure he does not want you to continue to blame yourself or keep going through torment about this. Most of us have lost someone, human or pet, in painful circumstances. It takes time to let go but let go we must. I pray that God will give you peace in this situation and that you will soon be able to start the healing process.

I believe you misunderstood my statement.

I agree, and don't want to be the bad guy...... I'm going to point out that you were unhappy and uncomfortable with everything the first vet did yet, you left your very sick dog with her anyway. I don't know that you would stand a chance in court.

I was addressing the issue of the monetary compensation and as to why some people will try to find justice when a pet dies, when maybe it shouldn't have. My post was also for anyone who be reading this and wonders, why bother, it won't bring the pet back? Since the pet is irreplaceable monetary compensation as all we can ask for, and it helps hold the vet accountable. If I could get my pet back that would be my desired outcome, but that is not possible, so monetary compensation is what the courts allow....I also hope when a vet is served it will make them more conscientious in their practice so others won't suffer the same unnecessary/unexpected loss.

Excuse you, but I don't know where you get off saying that to me?! You have no idea what you are talking about, and don't know the story!
I rushed my baby to the closest vet I could find because of his situation! The Vet checked him for what they thought was a severe stomach virus and in addition took an xray. I trusted a professional and their opinion, because they are the Vet. I was fine with their treatment of my baby at first because I thought they had diagnosed his problem and were treating him accordingly to get better. Never in my dreams did I know that he had an obstruction, until the first vet said he was not responding to antibiotics, and clearly something else is wrong, and then we immediately rushed him to ER. How would I know, I'm not a professional.
I didn't have a problem with first Vet until after I took him to ER, and they said he had to have surgery for his obstruction. I'm claiming my first vet was negligent after we Had to take him 30 miles away to the ER and they diagnosed him with a clear obstruction. I don't know how to read an xray!
I strongly suggest before you write on a forum you check your facts. That's like saying to a human, you stayed with your doctor even though you were misdiagnosed and he treated for something else, you should've known better! That's why there is medical malpractice suits for things like this. I know animals, sadly, have less rights, so these negligence suits don't happen like that for them.
Don't ever post on one of my threads again. And I really hope you're never in a situation where someone you love is misdiagnosed by a professional and some person says something ignorant to you! Oh, and you're right, you are the bad guy. Get a life!

The OP did the very best she could do under the circumstances. You cannot force a vet or any doctor to do what you think is best. She was forced to leave the dog at that particular time since there were no other options at the time. It is not an easy thing to lose a loved one due to the negligence of the very person you sought out for help. Anything she can do to make sure this doesn't happen again is good for her and for others that may meet with an emergency in the future. I would not be so sure that she would lose either.