My dog bled to death 2 hours after leaving veterinary practice

OlliesDad

In that case, if you really want to proceed (which it sounds like you are set on) I would contact a solicitor to get legal advice. Some offer 30 minute consultations.

I think you should think realistically about what you want from this though. I don't think a judge would look favourably on you taking action as you wanted some questions answered.

WTFH

Rather than spend money on a court case, would you not be better to go down to the local dogs trust or other animal shelter site, and spend the money on rehoming another dog?

It's very sad when you lose a pet, but money will not replace them. Rehome another dog and pour your love on them.

Takeaway_Addict

hachette wrote: »

As far as I am concerned my vet was in Breach of Contract. This means quote "When you engage the services of veterinarian you are entering into a contract which is likely to have implied into it a term requiring the vet to act with reasonable skill and care in the practice of his/her craft. If the vet acts in a manner in which other reasonably skilled vets wouldn't act then he/she breaches the contract"

These are some replies I had from other vets:
Vet 1 " I would absolutely be repeating the platelets count before moving with any surgery and possibly having a pathologist look at the blood slide to determine if this is real before taking any risk with your beloved friend..."
Vet 2 " I myself cannot imagine being comfortable moving forward with whose results..."
Vet 3 "If the platelets level have been so low that it would be advisable
for the vet to examine the blood smear before any operation...
Vet 4" I can only say that I would not have done surgery until finding out why that count was so low and correcting it..."
The bottom line is if different vet dealt with my dog he still would be alive. How can I just let it go ?

The bottom line is that they are telling you what you want to hear.

As has been mentioned go talk to a dog charity and get their view on it and see if they can support you because it will be a costly experience otherwise

Hermia

hachette wrote: »

The vets in question replied before I have told them the dog has died. I just asked what would be their way forward should their get such blood results. I only quoted some bits of the conversations I had with them. They all found out about my dog's death at the end of the conversation.

Have these vets said they would be willing to say these things in a legal setting? I only say that because I had a terrible dentist and my new dentist agreed the work was shoddy. He said he would not be willing to make an official statement though because it wasn't a black and white issue and there may have been reasons why the dentist mistakenly thought that work was correct etc. What a vet says in an informal conversation does not mean they will necessarily stand up and support any action you take.

I agree with everyone else re: letting this go. It's horrible, but you won't be helping the dog by taking action and you will probably just make yourself ill.

pinkshoes

You clearly have a case.

You could claim for a refund on the surgery and perhaps what you paid for the dog.

Is this what would like to do? Would it give you closure?

Have you sent the vet a letter before action? Do you have what the other vets said in writing?

(Dog owner)

Slowhand

Sorry to hear of your dog passing, Operations do sometimes go wrong especially with older animals that often have underlying conditions.

Vets I know/have known have always done there utmost for animals under there care and do their best but unfortunately things do not always work out.

Gavin83

pinkshoes wrote: »

You clearly have a case.

You could claim for a refund on the surgery and perhaps what you paid for the dog.

Is this what would like to do? Would it give you closure?

Have you sent the vet a letter before action? Do you have what the other vets said in writing?

(Dog owner)

This.

If you take them to court the very best outcome is that you get a full refund on the treatment plus the cost of a new dog of similar breed. That is the best case scenario though. The worst is that you lose the court case and your left with thousands (possibly tens of thousands) in legal fees to pay.

I would imagine that taking this to court would drag up a lot of emotions that you've since recovered from. I've no idea how much the cost of a dog plus the surgery is but it can't be worth all this heartache surely?

Also consider that court action will focus totally on the legal aspect. I'm not sure what it is exactly your aiming to achieve here but I assume from your responses you want some answers as to what happened. You simply won't get this in court.

The only reason to go to court is for financial reasons so based on this alone the potential negatives far outweigh the potential positives, so I'd be leaving it well alone.

ILW

hollydays wrote: »

Would you talk that way about a human being?

It's not a human being though. OP is talking about legal redress and the law is totally different.

hollydays

ILW wrote: »

It's not a human being though. OP is talking about legal redress and the law is totally different.

A poster made a rather thoughtless comment, now removed , saying in effect, just buy another one. My response was in effect saying-if you had a person who's wife died would you tell them they could easily find another wife. Telling someone another dog could be a replacement, albeit kindly, is a little thoughtless too. Would you suggest someone who'd lost a child could have another one to replace it?

Now I've owned dogs throughout my life, but I'm not a rabid animal supporter , but I do know that some dog owners do get very attached to their pets, I'm not one of those , but I have seen other experience grief due to loss of a pet. Other people can have difficulty understanding this. Emotionally , the OP has had a terrible shock, and I would think there should be some recourse for this , there should be..not just that his pet died, but that he couldn't do anything because he didn't know.
Yes thanks-I do realise a dog isn't a human being( rolls eyes).

WTFH

hollydays, I must say that you are coming across just as crass as some others.

I am a poster who suggested getting another dog.
I haven't deleted, edited or changed my post.
I am sitting in my office with my dog on my feet.

So far, we have been told that the OP wants "Justice for my dog", now the RCVS has said it's not professional misconduct.
We don't know exactly what the OP means by "justice for my dog"
Is it financial compensation?
Is it getting the vet struck off or imprisoned?
Is it something else?

What is the "justice" that the OP wants?