My dog bled to death 2 hours after leaving veterinary practice

OlliesDad

The full information Hachette refers to can be found here:

http://www.idexx.com/pubwebresources/pdf/en_us/smallanimal/education/evaluating-platelet-aggregation.pdf

earthstorm

the full info is below

Best Practices When Evaluating
Platelet Aggregation
The automated platelet evaluation is a fundamental component of the CBC and is used to diagnose and monitor platelet disorders,
including thrombocytopenia and abnormalities and variability in the
size of platelets. It is essential to obtain accurate platelet counts for
diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, but the accuracy of automated
platelet counts can be affected by platelet aggregation (clumping),
which will decrease reported counts since clumps of platelets will not
be counted with any automated hematology (in-house or reference
laboratory) analyzers. Unrecognized falsely decreased platelet counts
(pseudothrombocytopenia) can have devastating consequences for
patient care, including costly ancillary diagnostics, as well as potentially
unnecessary medications and treatments.
It is for this reason that every low platelet count detected by any
hematology analyzer
must
be verified by a blood film microscopic
examination. It should take less than 30 seconds total time to determine
if the low platelet count is a true thrombocytopenia or an artifact due to
analyzer and/or sample collection issues.
One can quickly and easily detect platelet clumps by examining the
feathered edge of the blood film. In most situations, the clumps of
platelets will collect along with any other large components of the
blood. In addition, in the monolayer of the blood film, you should see
a minimum of 8 to 10 platelets per 100x oil objective field of view when
thrombocytopenia is not present. A crude estimate of platelet numbers
can be determined when there is no clumping by multiplying the
average number of platelets observed in a 100x oil objective field of
view by 20,000. Although not as precise as an automated count, this
method gives an approximate guide to the platelet count and should
roughly correlate with the analyzer count. While impossible to accurately
determine the platelet count when platelet clumping is noted on a blood
film, it is usually assumed that the platelet count is likely to be adequate
if platelet clumping is present. For a more precise determination, an
additional blood sample may be necessary.
Additional information available at:
https://www.idexx.com/animalhealth/education/library/096394601.pdf

hachette

bod1467 wrote: »

Note the bold part - if it truly is a guideline, then it is a recommendation and not mandatory.

As I said, none of us dispute you probably have a case. But a professional body's opinion will ALWAYS carry more weight in proceedings than even a well-informed layperson.

We can only give you our best advice. Whether you heed that is up to you.

The bold part was must not the guideline. Idexx did not use guideline I did.

hachette

Just wanted to say thank you all for all the advice I have received. I have taken it all on board and decided ( as per some of your advice) that I do need more professional backing. All my documents/clinical records have now gone to forensic veterinarian. He said it will take approx 1 month to do his report. If anybody is still interested of the outcome of this I will post again once I hear from him. I know some of you think I am wasting my time/money and should forgive/forget and move on but I can't .

So I wait and see what the forensic vet has to say.

Slowhand

hachette wrote: »

Just wanted to say thank you all for all the advice I have received. I have taken it all on board and decided ( as per some of your advice) that I do need more professional backing. All my documents/clinical records have now gone to forensic veterinarian. He said it will take approx 1 month to do his report. If anybody is still interested of the outcome of this I will post again once I hear from him. I know some of you think I am wasting my time/money and should forgive/forget and move on but I can't .

So I wait and see what the forensic vet has to say.

I thought you already had a forensic vet report + a legal previous vet opinion + umpteen other vet verbal reports?

hollydays

Painful, but your becoming more objective, we just don't want to see you losing loads of money. As you say you've forwarded your previous vet report etc this second opinion will give you closure on the legal situation.

earthstorm

I wonder if the OP is pushing to to various vets etc. waiting for 1 of them to tell them what they want to hear rather than the actual facts.

hachette

Slowhand wrote: »

I thought you already had a forensic vet report + a legal previous vet opinion + umpteen other vet verbal reports?

I think that lots that I have said has been misunderstood. What I have is Royal College post-mortem report that confirms my dog bled to death. My dog's clinical records inc blood results. The opinions of 4 other vets I have obtained from Ask a Vet web site. I have printed all their replies but this I have not forwarded to Royal College as obviously they are the experts and know that abnormally low plt result should be double checked. However as per RCVS rule re Negligence paragraph 5. "The RCVS has no jurisdiction to adjudicate on claims of negligence..." Therefore my complaint closed however this does not mean that negligence had not happened. I never had any report done by forensic vet before. I approached one only few days ago and he e-mailed me today saying that having looked through all my documents he thinks small claim court action is the best way forward for me in order to put closure to this matter and he will make his report that will help me to proof my case in court.

WTFH

https://www.rcvs.org.uk/document-library/negligence/

2. The outcome of surgery or treatment is not always certain and diagnosis is based on the balancing of probabilities. Therefore, an unsuccessful outcome may not be because the veterinary surgeon has been negligent. In addition, some procedures are inherently risky; some procedures are riskier than others.

4. Claims for negligence may be resolved between the client and veterinary surgeon, sometimes with the involvement of the veterinary surgeon’s professional indemnity insurers, for example, the Veterinary Defence Society. If not, the claim may be taken to the civil courts, where any facts in dispute are decided by the court on the ‘balance of probabilities’. The civil courts will adjudicate on the claim of negligence and may award compensation or damages.
5. The RCVS has no jurisdiction to adjudicate on claims of negligence and no powers to award compensation or damages and most other professional bodies are in the same position.
6. If you think you may have a negligence claim against a veterinary surgeon in the civil courts, you are advised to seek legal advice from your solicitor.

hachette

earthstorm wrote: »

I wonder if the OP is pushing to to various vets etc. waiting for 1 of them to tell them what they want to hear rather than the actual facts.

Actually they all told what I wanted to hear. Vet after vet said the same, there is no way they would proceed without double checking blood result. After 4th opinion I was so angry with my vet for taking such risk with my dog's life that is why it is difficult to stop and forget. Professional people think they can fob us of with any explanations but that was long time ago. We now have lots of information we need at our finger tips and I intend to use it to fight for my consumer rights.