Has anyone claimed against a vet for something missed on a vetting?

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Just wondering really. My new horse was 5 stage vetted and 10days later i found a sarcoid which wasn't noted on the vetting - i didn't actually look at him properly in the mean time because it was after work and dark and i wasn't grooming him in that particular area at 8pm, just a quick flick and ride him so I dont actually know if it was there all the time, but I somehow doubt it came up overnight, even though it is fairly small. It hasn't changed in the last 4days so i suspect it had been there a while. Much as I hate to do this, I somehow feel the vets owe me something for missing this, as I quite likely wouldn't have bought him if I'd known, I have to pay for the treatment as insurance wont cover it (only accidents in 1st 14days), he might get more which will need treating and it affects his value.

Just wondered if anyone else had had any successful comeback and how you went about it? I hate doing this because it's my own profession, but I know my boss has to waive fees if I make a mistake/miss something - it does happen - vets are only human after all - I spent all my savings on this horse, cant afford expensive treatment for him without hammering my already dented credit card. just a refund for the cost of the vetting would make a huge difference.
 
i can treat it myself - it's (just) the cost of the Liverpool cream and the sedation that i need to cover.

it's on the inside of his back leg, just behind his stifle - you can feel it easily and see it if you bend down on the opposite side and look over.
 
You definitly have some recourse to them. In the first instance though I would phone them & tell them that they have missed a sarcoid, & that there is no way you'd have brought the horse knowing that, then just see what their reaction is.
Do they know you're a vet?
 
the vet who carried out the vetting does know i'm a vet. i'm not looking to sue them - i'd just like a refund on the cost of the vetting and something towards the treatment. i'm just going to have to deal with the fact i wouldn't have bought him if i'd known about the sarcoid and that it affects his value - hopefully i wont be selling him anyway.
 
Well I'd be looking for a refund & maybe some free treatment.........at the end of the day they haven't done what you paid them to do. I mean fancy messing up on a vetting for another vet!! (Yes I know you guys are only human too but even so...........!!!)
Where abouts on the horse is it?
 
the treatment has to come from Derek Knottenbelt at Liverpool uni as it's the special sarcoid cream - I would like them to refund me for it.

It's on the inside of his backleg, just behind his stifle, not stuck up in his groin out of the way, although to be honest it would be better if it had been because the vet stared up there for ages checking for gelding scars because his passport says he's a stallion still. it's half hidden in his winter coat, but you can feel it easily and see it from the other side - it is quite tiny, only just a bit bigger than a pea.
 
Well good luck with sorting it out.
Could you let us know how get on - with the situation AND the new horse?

(Also try finding a 'wart charmer'.......I know it's hardly scientific but I have witnessed a 'miracle' cure of a confirmed sarcoid........)
 
The thing is you can't be sure it was there when the vet vetted it.. you are a vet as well and no doubt checked the horse yourself? and you missed it
 
I doubt if you will get anywhere with this, the sarcoid is the size of a pea & hid under coat so it would be easy to miss. You have only just found it & you've had the horse for 10 days. I expect there will be something in small print relieving the responsibility for this from the shoulders of the examining vet.

Contact them by all means, but as a vet, you will probably be aware of the likely outcome. You are bound to have discussed this with other vets at your practice. Good Luck
 
Personally I wouldn't be looking to claim against the vet.
Likelihood is it was there at the vetting, but hey you are a vet and you haven't noticed it for not only the time you were trying the horse (and presumably you inspected it yourself) but for 10 days afterwards!!!
I also wouldn't treat it unless there was a problem.
And, although I take your point about resale value, a little sarcoid wouldn't mean your horse isn't fit for purpose.
 
I had a similar incident when I got mine... only it wasn't a sarcoid, it was ringworm and suspected strangles (my horse was vetted on a Wed and picked up on the Fri). I wanted to kill the vet that "vetted" him but, funnily enough, he never returned my calls and I didn't really know what recourse I had. I couldn't sue as I'd just spend a good few thousand pounds. Now I think I should have complained to his governing body but didn't think about this at the time, doh!

Just as an aside... if you are a vet, could you not have vetted the horse yourself? I'm not criticising at all, I just wondered as I suppose then you'd save the money.
 
But if it was there before you brought this horse then thats two vets that have missed it surely? Inwhich case the vet has made the same mistake as you....

I would be pretty pissed off too mind.
 
My friend had exactly the same thing happen to her with a sarcoid and she managed to get the value of the horse back and the cost of the vetting.
Unfortunately, sarcoids do significantly reduce the value of the horse and as such you should be reimbursed for it. You hope to keep the horse but no one can predict what happens in life and it may be that you do in fact have to sell him in the future. At the next vetting it may well be spotted.
As you must be aware as a vet, all vets have insurance to cover them for these eventualities, the question is whether you want to make the claim when you work in the profession.
I'm currently making a claim against the vet who passed my horse last year, unfortunately with the cost of horses these days, it is imperative that the vetting is completely thorough. And of course we all make mistakes and this is why vets have insurance to cover themselves.
 
yes, technically i missed it as well, but i didn't do a very thorough exam on him because i knew i was getting a 5stage vetting done and i presumed that would pick everything up. sarcoids are one of the things they are meant to do a thorough check for. the reason i didn't see it for a week (10days since vetting, but i didn't pick him up for a few days) was because i only saw him after work in the dark - the first day i gave him a proper groom i found it. I e-mailed a photo of it to Derek Knottenbelt at Liverpool Uni who is sarcoid specialist and he thinks it likely that it was there at the time of the vetting. He also does advise treatment, and not leaving it in case it gets worse.

and in answer to one more q - i couldn't vet him myself because my insurance company wanted an independent 5 stage vetting.
 
oh, and yes have discussed it with other vets at the practice, and they agree with me as seemingly does pretty much everyone on Saddle-up.

we do make mistakes, and my boss is quite often giving refunds to clients when we have made mistakes or missed things. it happens to me, so is it wrong for me to want some kind of compensation? i'm just looking for a refund on the vetting really.

i'm also narked at them because they promised to write me a letter confirming that the horse was a gelding so i could send it off with the passport back to the WPCS because it still says he's a stallion and they just haven't sent me this either, despite me badgering them for it.
 
Really sorry Star! I forgot to say that in the talk that Derek gave to us on sarcoids for 3 hours he has now changed his view to treat them as it is a form of cancer. If you had a cancerous say mole would you just leave it & see how it went or have it lopped off straight away???
So ignore me saying to leave it if it doesn't get in the way! Derek changed my view on that!
 
I hate to take the other view on this but how can vets see everything on a horse in 60-90 minutes? Also if you are a vet then you should have seen it & if you didn't then I don't think it's reasonable to expect them to have done. All the horses I have bought I have 'vetted' myself before I asked for a vetting - ie felt all over & asked questions of the owner. If everyone starts sueing for little things, the cost of vets fees will get ridiculous! Most of us already insure our horses cos we can't pay the bills! I know it must be annoying but there's nothing to say it'll cause a problem & you'd have probably still bought him if you knew about the sarcoid, right?
 
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I hate to take the other view on this but how can vets see everything on a horse in 60-90 minutes? Also if you are a vet then you should have seen it & if you didn't then I don't think it's reasonable to expect them to have done. All the horses I have bought I have 'vetted' myself before I asked for a vetting - ie felt all over & asked questions of the owner. If everyone starts sueing for little things, the cost of vets fees will get ridiculous! Most of us already insure our horses cos we can't pay the bills! I know it must be annoying but there's nothing to say it'll cause a problem & you'd have probably still bought him if you knew about the sarcoid, right?

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the vetting took 2.5hrs so that should be enough to see everything. i know i should have looked him over better and noticed it myself, but i really didn't examine him properly - just relied on the vet. never bought a horse before, so that was my mistake. i did pay nearly £300 for the vet to find the things that i missed though.

and i'm not planning on sueing the vets, just asking for a refund on the vetting or the cost of the treatment. it's not covered by my insurance because it's accident only for 1st 14days.

i've been advised to treat it and not just leave it, so it's definitely going to cost me a few hundred to get it treated. and no, i probably wouldn't have bought him if i'd known about it - or at least i would have bargained a fair bit off his price.
 
Umm, I don't think that Star is talking about suing, just getting her money back (poss plus costs of treatment) for a job that was not performed satisfactorily. Quite a different kettle of fish.

Fwiw, I think that it is completely reasonable for you to ask for the fee back Star. Doesn't matter two hoots whether you are a vet or not, you paid for a service that was not satisfactory. Of course vets make mistakes, but they (and their insurance companies) recognise that this is so and will naturally expect to have to compensate clients for those mistakes. I work in a profession where I have to give professional opinions to the public... If I missed something important then it would be a given that the client would be entitled to a refund or at the very least a discount, whether or not the question of negligence came up.

I do wonder whether you would have got the same response if you were not a vet yourself??
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ETS: I took so long replying, that you had already done so yourself!
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I think you should definitely ask for the cost of the treatment and the vetting, TBH I think you are mad not to go after the vet for the full cost of the horse. You paid a lot of money for a service and it wasn't delivered proficiently. You spotted it at the 1st opportunity you had to examine the horse thoroughly. That is what you paid the vet to do. Horses cost alot of money and most people cant afford to replace one for a long time if their value is considerable reduced.
I wouldnt buy a horse with a sarcoid either, they are just too unpredicatable. Fingers crossed it doesnt happen but you could be left with a horse covered in them, worthless and that cant be ridden at all.
FWIW, bearing in mind that you can do the treatment yourself, I was surprised having just had my youngster treated with the Liverpool Cream, for a sarcoid in exactly the same place as yours, it wasnt that expensive. I took mine down to the vets for treatment and she didnt need sedating but it only cost me £130.
I'd phone the vet who did the vetting and just be really calm and collected but voice your concerns and see what they suggest. Good luck
 
thanks KatieA and coedcae - i'm glad someone thinks i have a right to some recourse. I have also been in contact with DK at Liverpool about treating the sarcoid and he does think I have a right to at least question the vets and he is happy to say that he thinks the sarcoid was there at the time of the vetting.

coedcae - how did your treatment go? was it a success? i'm not sure yet if my boy will need sedating but he is a bit touchy about his back legs and i've heard that the Liverpool cream can hurt when applied, so he might need some ACP at least just to take the edge off him. normal costs i think are around £300 but normally you have to pay the vet for the call out fees, so hopefully it wont be too bad for me.
 
you should definitely ask for the vetting and treatment costs. I was told by a vet they should run their hands over every inch of the horse so the vet should have found the sarcoid. It doesn't matter that you are a vet as well-you paid them for a service which they have not delivered.
Incidentally my horse had a suspected sarcoid, I tied it off every day, used camrosa, thuja cream and hilton herbs (can't remember the name) Whatever it was went about 3 years ago and so far so good
x
 
Hi star, my mare only had the treatment at the beginning of Jan, so not sure whether it has been successful yet. It looks like it might have been as the area where it is the skin has lifted like a scab, and looks like when the whole thing drops off will probably take the sarcoid with it. I was told by my vet that it might take a while. It was only tiny, less than pea size, but like you I wanted it treated as soon as I spotted it.
The Liverpool Cream was applied over a course of 5 days I think, four times in all, as I remember. The 1st 2 times she stood fine, by the 3rd time she was getting a little twitchy, by the last time, I had to hold a front leg up, to avoid her kicking the vet
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She was on the lorry, as I took her down to the vets for the treatment, so she was semi confined. It took me a while to get her to load properly afterwards though, so she obviously associated it with pain
 
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