Injured - caused by my vet? Should i Sue?

tinker88 said:
I wasn't even aware that you could sedate. I assumed it would effect the result if the horse was snoozy.

I wasn't given the option either way.

and yes I poss would expect that the vet would sue if they couldn't earn if my horse had stopped them working. that's why we have 3rd party?

as I said im not the type of person to "sue" anyone and to even contemplate it but everyone I know and having seen my injuries are suggesting I do. I just really don't know.
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In that case most vets practices would need to open up their own law department - and over a number of years they wouldn't have any clients left! Our cattle vet is always turning up with limps and black eyes when he has been kicked and squashed by cattle, he once had a month off when he got his hand trapped in our cattle crush and squashed his arm, his reaction - these things happen when you work with large animals, and mine would be the same in your situation. Even if you did have a case your vet's insurance company would no doubt provide a top notch equine soilcitor and veterinary consultant to fight their corner so unless you can afford to spend huge amounts of cash on this (and probably be blacklisted by the vet practices in your area) I really would leave it alone. I don't mean to be blunt but IMO you really can't sue someone for injuries caused by your own horse, practically or morally. Working with horses is risky and in my opinion this was an accident. I'm sorry you got hurt but think you should move on from this.
 
I was kicked on Saturday by someone fairly unhandled 3 year old. I spent Sat night in a&e and back again last night as the haematoma is now infected. I have had to take time off as I'm pretty ill with the infection and really tired. I'm lucky horse was barefoot.
Now I'm really annoyed with the owner for various reasons but taking legal action would get me nowhere. Nobody meant it to happen and it was my free will to go in with it.
Q
 
Sounds very unpleasent OP and I hope you recover quickly. But I don't think you should sue. It was your horse after all which means that you were the best person to predict his behaviour, rather than the vet who has little experience of him and has previously scoped him without sedation. The vet did leave abruptly but it isn't like you were left on your own and the vet isn't qualified to treat your injuries anyway. Also your decision not to wear a hat, boots and gloves (which could actually be contravening your/the yard's H&S policy).
 
I'm really sorry this happened to you, it sounds frightening and extremely painful. However, no, I don't think you should sue and even if you did, you may find yourself even more out of pocket.
If I did the job you do, ie. school and deal horses (not that I remotely have that expertise), I would make sure that I had adequate accident/injury insurance to ensure that if I had an accident and was unable to work, I would be covered so I could still pay my bills.
I'm lucky enough that the company I work for offers this at a reduced rate - just hope I never have to make a claim!
If you do decide to sue, then one of those ambulance chasing companies might take the case on a no win, no fee basis, but from what I hear, they are usually the only ones that 'win', which is why can afford to advertise and bombard people with never ending phishing calls & texts!
Good luck and hope you feel better soon.
 
you back and school horses for a living and did not wear protection for a horse being scoped?

you were not on site when vet arrived:eek: i think that is unforgivable

if i was planning on sending a horse to you for you to work on and even got wind of the idea you were likely to consider suing for this sort of accident then i would go elsewhere rather than risk you wanting to sue me for some thing a horse did being a horse

not vets fault if i have something i think can be sharp/kicks/bites i tell the vet before they ask and before we enter the stable
 
Thats a point, if you didnt wear a hat, gloves and appropriate footwear, you wouldnt have a leg to stand on in the court. Sorry op.
 
When you deal with horses on a day to day basis then you have to accept risk of accidental injury to yourself, fact.

Regarding the scoping, I really do not think it is routine to sedate horses for this procedure, unless they are known to be problematic. My horse was scoped twice last year and neither time was he sedated.

For self employed people the risk of loosing income through being injured is something that must be considered ... it is good practise to either have a rainy day fund for such circumstances or take out adequate personal insurance to cover this if required.

I'm sorry you are injured, but in no way would I consider it appropriate to be suing the vet.
 
I hope you're feeling better now, it sounds horrible.

I don't think you should sue, partly because you were rushing, vet had to wait so the tension may have transferred to the horse. You weren't wearing protective clothing and it's a procedure that is frequently done without sedation.

Problem is, if you sue, the knock on effects affect all of us. Vets would pay higher premiums on liability insurance. Routine procedures would cost more for sedation and time.

I'd be really cheesed off if my horses had to be unnecessarily sedated for a scope or if no one would rasp their teeth without a vet sedating.
Drugs carry a risk and administering a powerful drug should not be done purely to keep insurance premiums down.
 
I think that anyone who works with horses, or for that matter anyone who works for themself, should take out personal accident insurance with income protection if possible. So do you not have any personal accident cover or is it just that it won't cover these more 'minor' injuries?

I am really sorry that you have been hurt, but it was your horse and not the vets fault. As said before it will damage your business reputation if you are thought of as someone who would try to sue if you had a fall off someone's horse.

Try bio oil for your scar, my friend found it very good. Take care of yourself and maybe try to take on more office based work if you can?
 
My 17hh 2 year old ISH recently had 2 months box rest, on his first day out the vet asked me to trot him up. I put a hat on and gloves, said to the vet I thought she (the vet) had a death wish on me and gave it a go. It was very scarey and thank God the flying hooves missed me.
I wouldn't have dreamed of not putting on hat and gloves - even though I did feel a bit silly - but if he had smashed me in the midriff I still wouldn't be sueing the vet.
 
Im really sorry for your accident it sounded horrendous, this is one of the reasons I have personal insurance as accidents happen. My vet always does my horses teeth and I always request sedation which you could have done or at least asked for it. The situation was also made worse by the fact you didnt go straight to A&E which was your choice but I understand the circumstances why you didnt.
 
it was your choice to hold the twitch and it was your horse who was on the end of the twitch so I cant see how on earth you could consider suing the vet! Would you pay damagers if it had been the vet who had been injured?
 
If your vet had jumped on your head I would say yes..but it was your horse. I think maybe we should all have accident cover for loss of earnings ..
 
Have to agree with those who say it was your responsibility to tell the vet if your boy was likely to need sedating, although I can see that you just don't know in cases like this! As you work schooling horses for clients, you really, REALLY should have your own insurance for personal accident. I don't suppose you have it under your own horse's insurance or have BHS Gold membership?

Fairynuff does make a good point. It could very easily have been the vet who was thrown to one side and injured.

It does sound like a nasty injury, but you will heal. As you have accounting experience I would try to bump up your earnings with this, for now and re-evaluate when you're better, which I hope is soon!
 
Would anyone here expect a vet, when scoping a horse, to bring an assistant with him to hold the horse? What would have happened if the owner had not stepped in to help? Would a vet scope a horse single handed? If not, would a vet not be duty bound to make sure his assistant ( his own or the owner) to be properly dressed for the scoping?
 
HappyHooves said:
Would anyone here expect a vet, when scoping a horse, to bring an assistant with him to hold the horse? What would have happened if the owner had not stepped in to help? Would a vet scope a horse single handed? If not, would a vet not be duty bound to make sure his assistant ( his own or the owner) to be properly dressed for the scoping?
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No, the vets assistant would be employeed by the Vet, and in doing so the vet would have a duty of care. However, the owner is not employeed and in doing so has to take her own precautions. A vet can advise, however, the owner has their own sayso over their own safety.

I get fed up with people always blaming someone else!
 
You shouldn't sue - you know your own horse and if you thought you needed protection you should have put it on. You deal with horses for a living so the vet probably assumed you knew what you were doing. Horses are regularly scoped and tubed without sedation.
If you took your dog to the vet and it bit you when the vet examined it would you sue because you hadn't been made to muzzle the dog?
 
Black Beastie said:
The blame culture in this country is starting to rival america, OP you have no claim unless you want to sue yourself or your horse.
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Agreed, I can't imagine why you would believe that there is any liability to your vet here. They simply haven't been negligent.

Regardless, are you haven't suffered a permanant diablement (is that a word??) as a result, surely any compensation or damages would only be relating to the cost of any medical attention recieved, and any lost earnings, which would actually be covered by your personal accident insurance to cover yourself from these losses.

Anyone who deals with horses has rocks in their heads if they don't ensure that they aren't covered in the event of an accident.
 
I'm sorry that happened, it sounded very painful. But I wouldn't claim I'm afraid I agree with the others, horses are big powerful animals and are unpredictable, horse riding in its self is a dangerous sport. As its your occupation do you not have any personal cover on your insurance for when this sort of things happen?
 
tinker88 said:
but people have insurance for this
Exactly so claim on your own personal injury insurance that you will no doubt have being partly self employed in a risky job

You know your horse better than the vet does, no one stopped you giving it a calmer or stopped you donning a hat

I think your original instincts not to claim were quite right and that deep down you must know that

I hope you make a swift and full recovery, it sounded like a scary and painful incident but the vet was not at fault
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HappyHooves said:
Would anyone here expect a vet, when scoping a horse, to bring an assistant with him to hold the horse? What would have happened if the owner had not stepped in to help? Would a vet scope a horse single handed? If not, would a vet not be duty bound to make sure his assistant ( his own or the owner) to be properly dressed for the scoping?
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i would rather hold my own horses and those i work with than pay extra for an assistant to hold them.

no i do not feel any vet is responsible for what safety measures i put in place (or not)when holding my own horse
 
Montyforever said:
You should have asked the vet to sedate the horse. You can't blame anyone in a situation like this, horses will be horses!
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Your horse, so perhaps you should have considered how he would be after such a length of box rest. I don't see who you want to sue: you could have asked for sedation. If my horse hurt me during a procedure, I don't think I'd be after suing the vet!
 
I feel very sorry for you, I hope that you are feeling better, and can emphasise with you greatly. My 17h ISH had a paddy when having his teeth done two years ago, knocking my flying, dislocating my arm, and falling over himself - just landing next to me, thankfully, rather than on me. I didn't have gloves or hat etc on either (truthfully I don't think many of us would). I was off work from my regular job for 20 months (awaiting and recovering from an operation to pin the shoulder), earning 65% of my usual salary in a different job within the company. I didn't, for a minute, consider sueing anyone - it was an accident, part of the risk of being around horses.. I can understand why this is in your head, but I don't think you should, or even could successfully, sue.

This is a situation where you claim from your insurance policy you have as a groom/equine worker..

As an aside, this could just as well have happened if the horse had been sedated. One of my instructors at college years ago, had had her jaw smashed to pieces when a sedated horse she was clipping suddenly, out of nowhere, freaked out and kicked her...

Like I said, I feel for you, and wish you a speedy recovery.

Cinamon Toast, bet your friend is reading this thinking thank god she is not a suer! Hope you're recovering ok too.xx
 
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