Vet Negligence?

IcedTea_2

My cat was found on Saturday evening with larcerated foot which looked pretty nasty. I rang the emergency vet for advice and it was decided that I should bring him in at eleven thirty that night.

I knew it would be a hefty price but thought that it was not good to leave Alfie (my cat) until Monday as he could not stand on the leg. The vet examined him and bathed the leg and said he had probably been bitten and that it was not broken.

She gave him a shot of antibiotic and some anti inflammatory for me to administer. She also put a collar on him to stop him licking himself. She advised that should be adequate and that i would not have to take him back. This cost £223.

The cat has been lethargic all week and still limped pretty badly and slept a lot but was going to the toilet ok. Yesterday we noticed that Alfie had a large sac of flesh protruding from his stomach which had fur missing. I googled this and it seemed like he may have a hernia.

So back to the vets this morning who suggested that it probably was not a hernia but to be sure I should leave him to be sedated and an x ray taken. He rang back later to inform me that alfie had a fractured pelvis and that he would need work doing but because it was a week old may have complications.

The next phone call was to tell me that the leg had been sorted but there was now problems with the bladder and that as there was now massive bruising it may also be a further problem.

The bill is now £900 and rising. I feel that it is down to the surgery that all these further complications have arisen because of their misdiagnosis on Saturday evening.

I've tried to complain but they insist that nobody is available until Tuesday to make a decision regard the misdiagnosis on Saturday night. So I am potentially risking the £900 upwards.

Please any suggestions or comments on how to proceed with this as I cant afford the bill but nor do I want Alfie put down.

paddyrg

Firstly - do you have pet insurance?

IcedTea_2

paddyrg wrote: »

Firstly - do you have pet insurance?

Unfortunately not

neilmcl

Can it be proven that any work carried out was a direct result of not making a full diagnosis in the first instance or would these procedures (and the subsequent increased bill) would have occured anyway if the Vet managed to diagnose the fractured pelvis from the outset?

arcon5

It's unclear from your post whether the trailing problems was the result of the Vet missing the original problem 1 week earlier.... or whether the pet has/had many problem but the vet just missed them at the previous appointment....

If the former, my first thought would be professional negligence for which the vet should be insured for. However, this kind of claim could be very complicated as there is the possibility the cat had a series of problems not caused by this - which tbh is more likely.

I can't really help though. These kind of situations can be very complicated, in fact could also be genuine. Just playing with a few thoughts really.

paddyrg

Hmm well I guess you have 2 options - appeal to their better nature saying "xyz treatment is only necessary because your inspection was negligent, so let's bring this bill down, shall we?", or get all legal on them.

If the latter, you will need some expert opinions, work out what you feel you are owed, and take them to court. It would be a pretty horrid case to fight, so the first option may be the better of the two, being firm but keeping it amicable.

lincroft1710

I can't see that there is a connection between a lacerated foot and a bladder problem. If the Sat evening vet was presented with a foot injury, I wouldn't expect her to examine the rest of the cat unless there was something blatantly obvious.

Hintza

lincroft1710 wrote: »

I can't see that there is a connection between a lacerated foot and a bladder problem. If the Sat evening vet was presented with a foot injury, I wouldn't expect her to examine the rest of the cat unless there was something blatantly obvious.

I would agree with this and it is also the practice in the NHS. When I had my kidney out I asked if they had checked the old prostrate at the same time and was told no, they would only look at that if there were symptoms.

Padz_2

For what it is worth I don't think the female vet conducted a thorough enough examination on the Sat night if she missed the broken pelvis!

Surely if an animal is presented with an unexplained injury severe enough to warrant hauling it off at great expense to emergency vet then a very thorough going over to rule out other injuries is in order.

However I do not think it would change how much the final bill came to.

Maybe the surgery will let you pay in installments?

cattie

I'm with Padz on this. The emergency vet obviously didn't thoroughly check the cat over when she saw him. Surely when it became clear he had been bitten it would have been logical to give Alfie a thorough check for any other injuries?

I think if I were you I would concentrate on making sure they know that you feel the emergency vet wasn't thorough enough & because of this, Alfie has had to suffer unnecessarily & it has increased your vets bill because of the multiple consultations etc. that have occurred since.

If the pelvis is broken then it's likely that Alfie had a fall, perhaps after being attacked & although I don't know the internal layout of a cats insides, it seems possible that his bladder could have been affected in such a fall & become bruised.

I wish you luck in getting either the bill lowered, or at least for them to agree to installments for the payment and I wish Alfie well. Do keep us informed of how you get on.

arcon5

As a side note, since op has no means of payment, I do wonder if it could be classed a fraud or something.