Can I take a vet to small claims court?

MrsE_2

BuffyinDebt wrote: »

Your comment I can understand, but for Simon to go behind backs and report on a colleague, I don't understand unless it was a case of gross misconduct. Why could Simon not have spoken to person in question?

Its NOT backstabbing, its whistle blowing & without professionals prepared to do it, others carry on unhindered doing their job badly or dangerously or carelessly.

OP sorry you lost Spaghetti, I lost a much beloved cat (Ted) last October, I also was let down by the vets, but not in their treatment, just their handing of the actual few minutes after he was declared dead.
I told the vets how I felt a couple of months after, I explained what had happened, the receptionist told me she would inform the partners, but I heard no more.
OP do you think you risk a hiding to nothing on this one? It could cost a lot & prolong your grieving & acceptance of his death.
My personal advice is that you write to their governing body (they must have one) & let them investigate for you (if they will). A court case could cost you a lot of money & its an investigation into their practises you really want anyway.

UKTigerlily

BuffyinDebt wrote: »

You are mixing the facts an twisting here. Bashing a cat over the head is on purpose...... failure to diagnose a problem is a mistake

Still both can be fatal to the animal. I for one wouldn't cover up for an incompetent colleague & i'm positive Simon had good reason to report them.

UKTigerlily

BuffyinDebt wrote: »

no one said anything about covering up????? There is such a thing called taking one to the side and bringing their mistakes to light, whether it was something they should have noticed or not. That is very different than going over their head to a governing body

Well maybe one too many mistakes were made. Maybe it was too serious. Maybe Simon had already spoken to them. Who knows as he's not here to say.

BuffyinDebt

UKTigerlily wrote: »

Still both can be fatal to the animal. I for one wouldn't cover up for an incompetent colleague & i'm positive Simon had good reason to report them.

you havent read my reply properly. They are 2 completely different things, hence the spade over the head was to kill the cat - an undiagnosed condition was not a murder motive!!!

UKTigerlily

BuffyinDebt wrote: »

you havent read my reply properly. They are 2 completely different things, hence the spade over the head was to kill the cat - an undiagnosed condition was not a murder motive!!!

I have read your reply properly, just I don't share your opinion. If a Vet was doing something potentially dangerous to my Cat i'd want another Vet to report it. I'm sure it wasn't something basic like forgetting to clip nails etc but something potentially serious/dangerous.

BuffyinDebt

UKTigerlily wrote: »

I have read your reply properly, just I don't share your opinion. If a Vet was doing something potentially dangerous to my Cat i'd want another Vet to report it. I'm sure it wasn't something basic like forgetting to clip nails etc but something potentially serious/dangerous.

the reason this thread was started was for a condition missed by the vet. It may have contributed to the death of the cat, which couldnt have been prevented if it was lymphoma. It wasnt done on purpose. We seem to lost the plot and straying away from the original

simontheiceman

I dont think we are so far from the aims of the site here - this is about wallet protection and the general public need some way of fairly accessing information to do this. If this means reclaiming unfair fees from a professional then so be it. If in that discussion, a separate issue arises, then arise it shall. Issues of negligence in a situation where money is involved are necessarily "on topic".

As for my reasons for reporting a vet. I was much younger than I am right now and married with a young child so any action I took could easily have jeopardised my own future. No complain to the RCVS can be made anonymously, and this could have scuppered my early career. I made the decision to so what I did based on a genuine need to protect animals (and the public).

The vet in question was almost permanently inebriated and as such had numerous accidents in his car. Some of these were more serious than others and if you cant see that he might round the pavement and take out a young mother then I could. He had mounted the pavement on more than one occasion and we were in receipt of police complaints about this type of driving. He sought some help but never managed to lay off the booze. I finally lost it over an epileptic dog.

I had returned to the surgery after a full day of calls to find him slumped in the chair with snot running down his face and a bottle of booze in front of him. There was a fitting dog in the consulting room which had had NO treatment. He knew we had no means of treating this patient but had done nothing about it. I then set about sorting the patient out. All he could do was vomit in the toilet. In the end the patient was euthanased but this was after a long evening of much activity. I wont give the exact details but referral was not possible and we were miles from anywhere so you had to get on with it and sort things on your own.

I'd had enough. This patient had been failed more than usual and I couldnt let it pass and I told him so. I did 2 things - I reported him to the RCVS and the next time he got in his car drunk, I rang the police who trapped him on the road to where I said he would be. Without these actions he would not be alive now, I am sure of that. So I saved his life and a great deal of animal welfare on the way. Harsh, but in the end the correct course of action.

The above is greatly abridged. I'm not sorry and never have been. I would do it again tomorrow.

PS - yes we had done all the drying out stuff. several times. This ended up with me having to work on my own for 4 months so I didnt exactly get an easy ride and I stuck with his practice until he came back and was settled again. I still speak to him but we never mention that period.

BuffyinDebt

After reading that, I do agree you were 100% right to do what you done. It could have scuppered your career, yes, but I am glad for you that it didnt. You did do the right thing. I had envisaged a completely different scenario that the one just said. Incidentally, I am in practice also

Soubrette

BuffyinDebt wrote: »

the reason this thread was started was for a condition missed by the vet. It may have contributed to the death of the cat, which couldnt have been prevented if it was lymphoma. It wasnt done on purpose. We seem to lost the plot and straying away from the original

I think there are various issues here with Spaghetti though - first did the initial vets cause needless suffering - he may have died anyway but if the journey there was made harder for him then that needs to be addressed.

Secondly perhaps no needless suffering was caused and his death would have happened exactly as it did, but did the vets in the meantime carry out unjustifiable and expensive treatment? If this is the case then the least I would expect would be a refund.

If the first happened it is a miscarriage of justice against the cat, the second scenario, against the owner.

Sou

MrsTinks

I have to say that I think firstly that Simon did right in reporting the vet in question - I would however have said the same regardless of any drinking issues. I've mentioned often that one of my best friends is a vet so I too get to hear some horror stories of treatments and misconduct and as Simon pointed out - the complaints can't be made annonimously so no vet would complain without good reason and substancial evidence. Calling anyone wiling to report serious misconduct a backstabber is not only against MSE ethics (be nice to all money savers!) but also severely misinformed.

OP - I'm very sorry to hear about spaghetti (although I might struggle with forgiving you for naming a cat after a pasta ) and I hope you do get some response to your complaint. The only thing I'd be a little vary about is that there WAS a delay between the 2 vets seeing the cat and anything could end up being your word against theirs... I'm not saying you shouldn't continue your fight, but be realistic about how far it might go... as soon as something becomes one persons word against anothers then it all becomes very tricky...
However I DO think that the vet in question should be reported - ok this might be a one off - in which case she won't make such a mistake again! and on the other hand it could as you say be that she's had several complaints against her already in which case it certainly could have professional consequences and rightly so.