Vet injured my horse! Should he pay?

[TBmare92]

Hi,

Looking for some advice/ similar experiences as want to know where I stand!

My vet came out to do routine dental work on one of my horses, whilst rasping my horse jumped forward slightly the vet let go of the rasp leaving it in my horses mouth. My horse who was heavily sedated then lost balence and head butted the wall whilst rasp was still in his mouth causing it to be driven into his pallet.

He had to be rushed to an equine hospital for treatment.

Does anyone know where I stand regarding who should pay the bill, it's likely to be £1000's which I just don't have/ can't afford as already spent £2000 vets the last few months.

Any help would be appreciated.

They have been great vets and I know horses are unpredictable etc but something so routine has turned into such a nightmare :-(.

Planning on calling BHS legal advise line later.

Thank you so much for reading !

 

[dianchi]

What has vet said?

 

[Molly'sMama]

I would make sure you don't say anything that seems like you accept liability, don't let them fob you off; ie say 'when this happened' you have to say 'no, when the vet did x'/ write down what you believe happened and call bhs sooner rather than later. that really is your best help. Are you insured?

 

[TBmare92]

I told him I couldn't afford to spend thousands getting him better when he said he needed to go to the equine hospital. He said that I shouldn't worry about the money as there are ways of sorting it, he didn't say he would pay himself but heavily implied it.

Vet hasn't mentioned anything since about it and his wife who's also a vet was out doing routine stuff for the other horses yesterday and seemed very cagey and distant about the whole subject which made me worry, he may still be willing to help. I'm just trying to get feelers of where I stand and if he is liable for any of the costs as need to be prepared if he isn't.

xxx

 

[Wagtail]

I have not had any similar experience but if that happened to me then absolutely, I would expect the vet to pay for it. They have insurance for such things. The cageyness is probably due to what the insurers have informed them, i.e. they would void their policy if they admit responsibility. Just like in a car accident, you are not supposed to admit any liability. Is your horse insured at all? If so then you should contact your insurers and they will sort it out with your vet's insurers. If not, you could try ringing the BHS for advice.

 

[TBmare92]

Nope I cancelled their insurance not long ago after my mare had an accident - they wouldn't cover as that leg was excluded from a previous injury but they still put premium up and added more exclusions, I got fed up and cancelled my policies.

I know I might get stick for this but Iv always been of the mind frame that if anything is bad enough to need hospitalisation/ £1000s of treatment, then I would consider pts as both horses have other underlying medical issues especially my TB who has been through so much it wouldn't be fair to put her through much more :-(.

But this was obviously different to any scenario I could have imagined.

 

[be positive]

Your vets will be insured for just this type of incident so will not be out of pocket if you claim off of them, in a similar scenario a vet doing routine rasping gave a pony too much sedative, then left it alone in the stable where it fell and it bashed its face into the ground cutting through its lip requiring several stitches, no charge to owner, far less than for your horse but it was done without question as it was the vets fault.

 

[Goldenstar]

I fear it will come under one of those things type situation however I would expect the vets to at least charge you it at cost or at no cost .
I would seek advice ASAP so you know where you stand .
I hope they can fix your horse that's a terrible thing to happen .
Sedating horses is unpredictable I mostly have mine done in the stocks at the surgery if a lot of sedation is going to be needed.
As said above don't say anything that they can use against you be friendly it will lull them into a sense of security if they are going to do the dirty on you .
But at some point pretty quickly you may need to have the conversation on costs and options for the horse get that proper advice quickly .

 

[TBmare92]

Thank you for all your comments . Goldenstar problem is is they referred him to another vets straight after the accident meaning that the cost of hospitalisation/ treatment isn't in their hands and I will be billed separately. X

 

[Goldenstar]

Thank you for all your comments . Goldenstar problem is is they referred him to another vets straight after the accident meaning that the cost of hospitalisation/ treatment isn't in their hands and I will be billed separately. X

Get that advice fast because it's only fair to the other vet that they know the situation .
As Be positive says they will be insured .

 

[ester]

Presumably this is why vets are insured though!?

 

[Northern Hare]

Really sorry about the problems you're having.

I have not had any similar experience, but as per other suggestions above, and if you have not done so already, I would urge you to write to the vets asap, documenting in detail the accident - with date/times etc, and stating that you are not expecting to have to fund the costs. If possible hand deliver the letter and get them to sign to say they've received it - alternatively send it via Recorded Delivery.

It just puts a line in the sand and gives them notice in writing that you are not expecting to foot the bill. They can then forward this onto their insurer and discussions will no doubt lead on from there.

Good luck!

 

[FfionWinnie]

I don't think you should use the words horse jumped forward at any stage.

That implies the horse caused it. What caused a heavily sedated horse to jump forward, presumably whatever the vet was doing.

It's a tricky one. You need legal advice for sure.

 

[smellsofhorse]

How long before horse jumped and vet let go and horse head butted the wall?
Could the rasp have been grabbed?

I don't think it is the vets fault, it's not like he was negligent.
It's just one of those things.
You should be adequaty insured or have a vet fund for unexpected bills.
Speak to the vets and they may offer you a payment plan.

I hope your horse is on the mend.

 

[ester]

I don't think they have to have been negligent for their insurance to pay for an accident??

 

[Tiddlypom]

Planning on calling BHS legal advise line later.

Do this asap, before you have any more contact with your vets. I would think this needs to be thrashed out between insurance companies. Meanwhile, don't say or do anything which may compromise your case.

Hope your horse soon makes a full recovery, what a nasty thing to happen.

 

[jrp204]

After an incident where a vet tried to lamb a pedigree sheep of mine, she subsequently died and we lost all 3 lambs, this was down mostly to the vet cocking things up. I asked about insurance and was told they didn't have insurance for that sort of thing, you write your description of the incident and it is sent to another independent vet who looks at both sides (this may be just how our practice does things) I decided not to go that way as we have a very good relationship with our vets and didn't want to sour things, they did reduce our bill.
I think you need to write down what you feel happened. I would then either write or email the practice manager/owner and discuss the issue. There is possibly blame on both sides.

 

[TBmare92]

Yeah the vet was rasping the very back teeth he's normally so good so something must have hurt him to make him react plus the vet also jumped back really quick and let go of his hold on the gag making him loose balance it all happened so quick. Definitely will ring BHS!

Just been told he can come home today he's now eating soft stuff with no complications and has even had a small amount of haylage xxx

 

[TBmare92]

The vet practice is closing as of Saturday, we have always had a great relationship with them but obviously due to them closing Iv had to register to be with another vet anyway. There was very little I could do to restrain him as vet had insisted that I just have the head collar round his neck I did ask whether he wanted me to hold his head but vet said no. So when my boy moved forward there was no way of holding him. Xx

 

[Cortez]

Surely this is an unfortunate accident, with no one to blame? What was the vet, or yourself, supposed to do to prevent it happening? No-one can "hold up" a full sized horse. These things do happen, and that is why vets have insurance.

Is the vet practice closing permanently? Why? If it is, then you need to pursue any claim IMMEDIATELY and phoning the BHS might be your best place for advice.

 

[TBmare92]

They are closing due to personal circumstances (husband and wife team). It was such an unfortunate accident. I will be going down BHS route- I just wanted to see if anyone had experienced similar and what the outcome was. If I had pots of money then it wouldn't be an issue.

Xx

 

[ihatework]

BHS legal line and also ask your vets who the bill for the hospitalisation should be made out to - their practice or their insurance company.
That way you present it as not open for discussion, you expect them to cover the bill somehow.

 

[Henry02]

Probably an unfortunate accident, but then on the other hand I don't think the owner should be footing all of the bill if it's £1000's

 

[BorgRae]

Yes it was an accident... But shouldn't the vet have kept hold of the rasp??

Had the horse jumped forward, then fell and hit his head against the wall (without the rasp in his mouth) and caused damage to himself, this is just an accident, no one to blame, and owner has to pay. But surely because the vet didn't keep hold of the rasp, that is where the issue is.

That's how I see it anyway. As others have said, I would contact the BHS to confirm where you stand. Good Luck and I hope your horse make a full and speedy recovery.

 

[Zero00000]

My mare is a nightmare with the dentist, but never, in all the years Ive had her, has any of the dentists let go of the rasp, and she gets pretty agitated.

Hope your horse has a swift recovery, keep us updated.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

The vet should NOT have left the rasp in regardless of what the horse did. Definitely as for their insurance company details. No different from a car claim in my eyes.

 

[Red-1]

I agree with others, if the horse jumped forward and impaled itself then accident and pay the bill yourself. If the vet let go of the rasp in the mouth and that was the cause of the injury then dispute the bill.

I am glad your horse is recovering.

 

[Marydoll]

I would absolutely expect the vet to be insured for situations like this therefore id expect them to pay for this injury and also possibly pay compensation if it lead to other issues developing, to leave the rasp in situ was unfortunate but also poor practice imo, the horse was sedated so hardly lashing around

 

[Firefly9410]

Here is my experience of power rasping under sedation.

1. Having never seen power tools used the vet demonstrated for me on her skin the damage is less by accidentally rasping the skin with a power tool than with a manual rasp. If your vet was using a power tool why did he not pull it out of the horses mouth when the incident occurred, which I would have expected to cause minimal damage? Even with a manual tool surely a graze to the skin is preferable to leaving it hanging in the mouth. Better still, why not step to the side, keeping hold of the rasp and the horses head?
2. My vet brought with her an assistant. My horse is quiet and I was not asked if an assistant was needed this was standard procedure. Why did your vet not have an assistant? The horses head once sedated was placed on a block on a stand and the assistant kept him paying attention so his head did not move off the block.
3. The headcollar was loosened enough so the mouth could open properly but was left on and held by the noseband by the assistant. Why was the headcollar not used on the head of your horse? Mine wore the headcollar and the tooth gag with no problem of tangling or obstruction.
4. My horse was done in the stable, backed upto a wall with about 3' space in front and plenty to the sides. I do not think it would have been possible to jump forward and bang his head on the wall. Could your horse have been positioned better?

I agree with others you need legal advice.

 

[ester]

I didn't see power rasping mentioned?