Veterinary Malpractice

You entrust the life and health of your pet to a professional with certain skills, training, and a duty to perform to the best of their ability. When a veterinarian does something neglectful that causes your pet harm, it is best to talk to an animal attorney for advice. Veterinary malpractice claims can be as complicated as human medical malpractice claims due to the fact the animal cannot openly share their experience, but these cases can be carried out successfully with the right evidence. Here is a look at some of the evidence you need to collect if you believe your pet has been the victim of veterinary malpractice.

First, GET A NECROPSY! Make sure the negligent vet does not talk you into cremating your pet. Without a necropsy, it is often IMPOSSIBLE to determine the cause of death and get compensated by the negligent vet.

Second, get medical records from the vet.

Immediately after you suspect that something is wrong after veterinary treatment, it is critical that you retrieve the medical records from the place that provided treatment. It is not uncommon for records to conveniently get lost, be missing certain pages, or even altered. The faster you can get your pet’s records and pass them along to an animal attorney, the better off you will be.

If your pet is still alive, get a second opinion from another veterinarian. Take your original records with you.

Go ahead and take your pet to another vet to get them help for their ailments. During this exam, make sure the doctor knows that you suspect that the previous vet did something wrong. This will encourage them to share their own expert opinion about the situation, but it will also ensure your pet’s condition is properly documented.

Get pictures or videos of your pet’s condition.

As soon as you notice that something is wrong with your pet, make sure you do all you can to document their condition. Take pictures of the injury site or take a video of the pet’s actions and how they are acting. This kind of evidence can be used to prove that something is wrong with your pet and give visible information about what took place.

Once your pet is stabilized, call an animal lawyer right away to go over your options. Depending on the route you take, you will need to get what is called a “certificate of merit” from a veterinarian who is willing to put it in writing that your vet engaged in malpractice. This act is usually more difficult than you think because veterinarians do not want to do anything to “go against” another veterinarian. An animal lawyer can help you get in touch with the right experts to help your case.

Call our animal attorneys near you to find out how we can help get justice for your pet!