I paid a vet over £10,000, do I have rights?

Manxman_in_exile

dinglebert said:

sheramber said:

dinglebert said:

 

I am not reading anywhere she won anything from the first vet or indeed that the first vet admitted liability for anything.

 

Did you miss "I took legal action and he admitted liability before the case reached court, he couldn't deny that he'd given the drug contrary to his practice notes. "

Yes missed it completely.  That important bit of information was not in the original post and I missed it in subsequent posts.  Makes my post rubbish really so I'll delete it.  Mind you I am now completely confused about what and who the OP has done and to who and when.  Think I need a cup of coffee.

Graciously said and, I see, corrected.  Put some whisky in the coffee!

Marlelc

Hi I am new to the site, not sure how to start my own thread but I wanted to share my experience of trying to complain about a vet in case it helps anyone else.
Our cat had been ill for a week. We took him to the vet and explained his symptoms and told them that we thought he may have eaten thread or hair (as we had caught him doing so a few times), the technical term for this is 'linear obstruction', remember that as if we had known it we could have saved our cat as he had the classic symptoms of a linear obstruction. As it was the vet said he had no obstruction, it was most likely gastritis, bring him back if he doesn't get better. The next couple of days he improved a little drank some water and came for a cuddle but, 3rd day he deteriorated badly. Back to the vets and they could not speak when they saw the state of him. Yes, it was a linear obstruction, caught around his tongue into his stomach, we were shown it when it was removed, it was a cord from curtain tape. . He was in kidney failure. They operated the next day but he died, I will spare you the dreadful details.  The vet refuses to take any responsibility and accountability for their error in missing the cord, despite being specifically told we were concerned he had swallowed something like that and have passed me to the Vet Defense Society, their insurance company, who say the vets are not responsible for missing the curtain cord. The Vet Defense Society (VDS) say they carried out an investigation but we are not allowed to see the investigation report or know how the investigation was carried out. The investigation was completely one-sided as we were not invited to participate. The VDS have lied in a letter to me by saying it was a 'very fine thread' caught around our cats tongue when in fact it was a cord from curtain tape 2-3mm thick. The RCVS refuses to consider my complaint and passed me to the VCMS but the vet refuses to enter into mediation and actually refuses to talk to me directly at all. Currently, they want another £960 from us and refuse to give us our cats ashes until we pay it, when in fact I want the £700 I have already paid them back. We now have nowhere to go unless we wish to pay for legal action. Vets are Teflon coated, there is no one to hold them to account.  In the interests of transparency, I will be posting this on any group or forum where I think it might help anyone.

DCFC79

Marlelc said:

Hi I am new to the site, not sure how to start my own thread but I wanted to share my experience of trying to complain about a vet in case it helps anyone else.
Our cat had been ill for a week. We took him to the vet and explained his symptoms and told them that we thought he may have eaten thread or hair (as we had caught him doing so a few times), the technical term for this is 'linear obstruction', remember that as if we had known it we could have saved our cat as he had the classic symptoms of a linear obstruction. As it was the vet said he had no obstruction, it was most likely gastritis, bring him back if he doesn't get better. The next couple of days he improved a little drank some water and came for a cuddle but, 3rd day he deteriorated badly. Back to the vets and they could not speak when they saw the state of him. Yes, it was a linear obstruction, caught around his tongue into his stomach, we were shown it when it was removed, it was a cord from curtain tape. . He was in kidney failure. They operated the next day but he died, I will spare you the dreadful details.  The vet refuses to take any responsibility and accountability for their error in missing the cord, despite being specifically told we were concerned he had swallowed something like that and have passed me to the Vet Defense Society, their insurance company, who say the vets are not responsible for missing the curtain cord. The Vet Defense Society (VDS) say they carried out an investigation but we are not allowed to see the investigation report or know how the investigation was carried out. The investigation was completely one-sided as we were not invited to participate. The VDS have lied in a letter to me by saying it was a 'very fine thread' caught around our cats tongue when in fact it was a cord from curtain tape 2-3mm thick. The RCVS refuses to consider my complaint and passed me to the VCMS but the vet refuses to enter into mediation and actually refuses to talk to me directly at all. Currently, they want another £960 from us and refuse to give us our cats ashes until we pay it, when in fact I want the £700 I have already paid them back. We now have nowhere to go unless we wish to pay for legal action. Vets are Teflon coated, there is no one to hold them to account.  In the interests of transparency, I will be posting this on any group or forum where I think it might help anyone.

Choose the relevant section then near the top of the page click the box that says "New Thread" its a bright colour, same colour as the "Post Comment".

Dr_Crypto

My understanding is that even if negligence can be proven the vet can only be sued for the value of the animal. 

Spank

DCFC79 said:

Marlelc said:

Hi I am new to the site, not sure how to start my own thread but I wanted to share my experience of trying to complain about a vet in case it helps anyone else.
Our cat had been ill for a week. We took him to the vet and explained his symptoms and told them that we thought he may have eaten thread or hair (as we had caught him doing so a few times), the technical term for this is 'linear obstruction', remember that as if we had known it we could have saved our cat as he had the classic symptoms of a linear obstruction. As it was the vet said he had no obstruction, it was most likely gastritis, bring him back if he doesn't get better. The next couple of days he improved a little drank some water and came for a cuddle but, 3rd day he deteriorated badly. Back to the vets and they could not speak when they saw the state of him. Yes, it was a linear obstruction, caught around his tongue into his stomach, we were shown it when it was removed, it was a cord from curtain tape. . He was in kidney failure. They operated the next day but he died, I will spare you the dreadful details.  The vet refuses to take any responsibility and accountability for their error in missing the cord, despite being specifically told we were concerned he had swallowed something like that and have passed me to the Vet Defense Society, their insurance company, who say the vets are not responsible for missing the curtain cord. The Vet Defense Society (VDS) say they carried out an investigation but we are not allowed to see the investigation report or know how the investigation was carried out. The investigation was completely one-sided as we were not invited to participate. The VDS have lied in a letter to me by saying it was a 'very fine thread' caught around our cats tongue when in fact it was a cord from curtain tape 2-3mm thick. The RCVS refuses to consider my complaint and passed me to the VCMS but the vet refuses to enter into mediation and actually refuses to talk to me directly at all. Currently, they want another £960 from us and refuse to give us our cats ashes until we pay it, when in fact I want the £700 I have already paid them back. We now have nowhere to go unless we wish to pay for legal action. Vets are Teflon coated, there is no one to hold them to account.  In the interests of transparency, I will be posting this on any group or forum where I think it might help anyone.

Choose the relevant section then near the top of the page click the box that says "New Thread" its a bright colour, same colour as the "Post Comment".

& when you repost this put some paragraphs it as it's easier to read

Undervalued

Dr_Crypto said:

My understanding is that even if negligence can be proven the vet can only be sued for the value of the animal. 

The law regards an animal (pet) as property. There are additional laws requiring you to treat it humanly which obviously wouldn't apply to your other possessions but other wise it is the same thing! So whilst young pedigree animals may have a high sale value, an elderly mutt is of little financial value at all! 

dogshome

Article in the Telegraph a few months ago, highlighting that in England 40% of vet practices are now owned by just two corporations.

Must be worth the OP checking the ownership of the two involved in his case, because if they are both under the same corporate umbrella, the 2nd opinion is worthless 

fred246

Can't imagine why anyone would want to be a vet with this sort of stuff going on. I was a bit surprised when our local vet took early retirement. I had assumed he had a rewarding job with grateful owners. Now I know what goes on I understand.

sheramber

The suicide rate for vets in 4 times the national average

Yahoo_Mail

sheramber said:

The suicide rate for vets in 4 times the national average

But it's the same for doctors, so what's your point?