Suing my vets

Crikey you are taking some flak on here eh!

I am legally qualified and have experience of a vet causing unnecessary suffering to my horse, although I think it caused me more suffering than the animal in the long term.

I wrote a letter of complaint to the practise and got a lengthy rebuttal back which I did not fight because I was feeling so fragile at the time.

Your vet calling you back and saying you were rude etc was out of order and if you check the RCVS guidelines they are supposed to be respectful and polite.

I think the difficulty in this situation is the emotional involvement.

I'd ring the PM back and calmly explain the situation to her about the vet's reponse.

If you decide not to pursue them legally (they will have insurance to deal with this) then at least if you complain to RCVS will kick them up the arse and hopefully they will re-think their insurance procedures. Expect them to fight back, this is human nature. If you truly believe your cause and have supporting legal advice, be strong and do what you think is right.

With regards to recompense, a specialist lawyer will have to advise you on this but I imagine you are talking hundreds and not thousands and therefore costs may outweigh any 'damages' you could receive.

I sold my horse because he had recurrent colics and my insurance was going to exclude this after one year. Gutted to part with him but it was the right thing to do.

Best of luck whatever you decide.
 
Hope you get your mare sorted out, sounds awful. Similar thing happened to me, my vet asked me to send them my claim form to complete and send to the insurers. They never did and then denied ever saying that despite me having a compliment slip from them with a hand written note saying "claim form to be sent within the week", but that handwritten scribble proves nothing. Its been five years now and I still owe them almost £400. I wouldnt sue them though, its my own stupid fault for trusting them!
 
In your position I would write to the Practice Manager and explain what has happened and the timeframe for completing the form and how the eight week delay has caused you a problem. I don't think it is entirely their fault but having worked in one of the largest UK equine practices processing claim forms, eight weeks is a ridiculously long time. We had a limit of two weeks, the majority were done in 3-5 days depending on the workload of the vet. With a week paternity leave I can't see any reason other than laziness for it not being filled in. I had one vet I used to have to chase constantly and it was a pain in the backside. Maybe as a gesture of goodwill they will credit your account for some of the work they have done.
 
Baked bean - yea i know! Its been very very emotional! I couldnt believe how they responded! I think i will ring the PM again and explain what happened and if they still not willing to take responability i will contact the RCVS and see what they think about it all.

I had a feeling that they wouldnt like it...but at the end of the day they should expect it, and have a system in place to deal with these types of situations. They way they responded was appauling. I still cant believe it! It really upsets me, im not a horrble person, i have not in any way, ignored his professional oppinion, im just not happy with the service and have a right to complain! I think he thought it was personal, its reall not, i just want them to man up! lol

thanks for your reply!

Will let you know how it goes!

Xx
 
OP your not really taking flack, people are just giving their advice (like you asked) horses chocking is stressful to watch and deal with (I've been there!!). BUT, when you take out insurance for any horse you should read everything and familiarise yourself with every step you need to take when making a claim! EVERY horse owner should do this. Also everyone has agreed that the delay in forms being sent off is unacceptable and this matter should be taken up with your vets. Others are merely pointing out the fact IF you were to spend money suing vets, why not spend the money in getting to the bottom of the chocking.
 
"My vet then rang me back and was very rude, and has now said that he will no longer be involved with me. So from making a complaint i have no been cut off from my vet. Now im sorry but i think this is disgusting practise."

Being rude is not on, but they don't *have* to have you as a client!
 
I have probably quite unique perspective as I am a qualified lawyer but am now studying vet med!

I agree with the poster with the cute lab puppies - put your complaint to the practise manager IN WRITING and take it from there. When I have complained to a practise manager in the past about bad treatment I got my bill halved - this may be as much as you can hope for. If you did have a case the proceedure of suing is very emotionally draining, not to mention could cost you a lot of money. Personally, and this is just me, I would threaten plenty but in the end not sue. If you tell them in writing that you will be/have consulted with a solicitor and are suing them I suspect they will have to tell their insurance that a claim may be pending (not sure if they need papers served to tell insurance or just the threat). No practice wants to do this what with premiums being as they are for professional indemnity insurance, and no vet wants the practice manager breathing down their neck - particularly if they are not a partner themselves.

You are changing practice anyway so who cares if you can't use the vet again? The fact he was so rude indicates that maybe he is geting flak from the practice manager so don't give up - write to her and tell her what was said and demand a written appology from the vet in question.

At the end of the day the horse is what matters. Yes, you have been naieve but so have we all at some point or other in our lives and it is a shame if the horse suffers due to all that has happened. Good luck in getting her choke sorted out :)
 
the delay from the vets was horrendous

but if i were you, i would have contacted my insurance company as soon as i wanted to claim..? they would have been the very best people to advise you about the paperwork...

as to the vets- if my vets took 12 months to fill in some paper work i think i would have gone up there personally and actually waited whilst it was filled in to send it myself and also made an official complaint in writing to the practice about how long things were taking.....

in your current position, having left the horse with recurrent choke for 12months (?) and not contacting the insurance company or looked through the literature they send you (which tells you how to make a claim!), i dont think you would be able to claim any money off the vets.....

however, they were very unhelpful to you and i would use another practice if they dont give an appology or explanation why there was such a horrendous delay.

big communication issues between yourself, the vets and the insurance company no matter how or why it happened. you need to take more responability though- all the information was frely available, just like car insurance..... its not the veterinary practices job or responsibility to make sure you communicate to the insurance company or know how to fill out a claims form.

i hope your horse gets better soon and you are able to retrive the situation.
 
Just to make it clear...im not suing the vets.
I really cant be doing with it. I just want them to accept their mistake. Its really upset me how they have treated me and was very angry at how they reacted.

I will be writing to the manager to explain how the vet behaved. And hope that they will get to the bottom of it. Yes i am using another vets now, but i would hate for what happened to me to happen to some one else as it was very very stressful.

Thanks for everyones oppinions.

New vet is visiting her on weds to discuss where to go from here.

XxEmmaxX
 
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