Vets Wrong Diagnosis...

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CVSHotShot

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Say your horse had been injured and you phoned your usual vet only to find he was out of the country, and on his emergency line he had a contact number of another vet.
You call this number and fair enough this other vet comes out, examines the horse, diagnoses and gives appropriate painkillers etc... tells you that you are going to have to have scans done and possibly xrays (Which we all know are not cheap!)

When original vet returns to look at different horse and says 'Hows the foal?...I'll have a look at it later' Then proceeds to examine, only to give a different diagnosis than previous vet.

Few weeks later vets bill arrives, £100 for first visit & £30 for second. Then I discover the first vet is in fact a 'small animal' vet and has minimal experience with horses!...

Question is...Should I really have to pay the first (Obv I will pay for painkillers & call out as it was christmas day
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) But surely I shouldnt have to pay for the examination etc? Also Im not terribly sure about the 2nd one as it was him who suggested looking at the foal & he spent 5mins examining his back...
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Do you think this is unreasonable?...x
 
It's too bad, sorry, you'll have to pay the bill if you don't want a bad name. This has happened to me, which is why I never use another vet except my own. My own vet lives a long way away and is frequently not available for many hours when I have emergencies, however by experience, unless a horse needs killing, then I won't use any of the other vets in the area. My own vet is very good though and even when he is out of the country, I can usually get in touch with him and he will help me figure out the best plan of action; sometimes I can't so have to go off my own experience and knowledge and hope like heck that it works.

I had an absolutely massive bill from the local vets practice (3 minutes away) which I used initially on moving here, for misdiagnosis, incorrect treatment and their calling for my horse to be killed. I was not suckered in by them and managed to find the vet I use now, who helped me save my boy. I did still pay the humoungous bill though, and went quietly as you never know when you might need them again ... as I did this summer when I needed to have one of mine put to sleep.

You could talk to the receptionist, or a lead partner and see if they are willing to lower the price? I didn't bother, I just grinned and beared it.
 
Firstly, £100 for a visit on Christmas Day - to include examination and painkillers - amazingly cheap!

First vet was examining presumably when inflammation was at its worst and also the foal wasn't behaving well IIRC so less conducive to a correct diagnosis. The opinion given was, again IIRC, conservative and didn't cause any harm. You should pay because he could not have prescribed POM painkillers without the examination.

The second visit, I'm not sure if it was your own vet or the "other" vet from your OP. Again for call out and examiniation it's a good price.

IMHO pay up - you got the vet out, twice, and your foal was not harmed and his pain was relieved. If you normally use an equine specialist / large animal practice then you might want to query your own vet about why he arranged cover with a small animal vet.
 
I think for me it would depend on how straightforward the problem was. If making the wrong diagnosis in the circumstances was a reasonable mistake to make then I would keep my mouth shut and pay the bill.
If however the problem should have been easily diagnosed by a reasonable vet I would ring/write to the practice and ask if you could come to some arrangement regarding the bill.
 
I had to pay a whole series of bills where the diagnosis was ultimately wrong & when eventually referred to Equine Hospital the horse had to be PTS. I paid up as the situation was awful anyway & it was a very rare condition.
 
Lol yeah I was actually quite shocked that he didnt at least double the price for a christmas day visit.

The first vet diagnosed a fractured pelvis and had told me he needed to do scans (£200) And xrays (Dont know exactly how much that would have cost me but a friend had xrays done costing her £1000)
If the second vet hadnt of looked at him then I would have sent him in to have scans/xrays done & it would have cost me a fortune.
Second vet diagnosed muscel spasms starting at the wither. I am no vet but id say that muscle spasms are rather differnt than fractures-but I stand to be corrected.

Whilst the first vet was carrying out the examination Booty was vell behaved, it wasnt until he started the injections that he freaked out, so I honestly dont think he can blame bad behaviour for an incorrect diagnosis.

Anyhoo, just thought id see what you all thought, I will probably just end up paying the thing as I dont like having to confront people about things like this! lol x
 
I am afraid that you should just pay the bill. Failure to reach a diagnosis or making a misdiagnosis is not a reason to withhold payment. If the first vet's diagnosis was so incompetent as to be negligent then you could reasonably refuse to pay, however it just sounds like they got it wrong. Payment being dependent on making the "right" diagnosis is muddleheaded on several fronts 1) Who would arbitrate between right and wrong (an animal may recover in-spite of incorrect diagnosis and conversely may remain ill/lame even with correct diagnosis and treatment), 2)veterinary fees would go up to compensate for lost income from "wrong" diagnoses 3) There will be a group of animals that vets refuse to see for fear of working without getting paid 4) Vets will practice "defensive medicine" with an increasing battery of further tests to ensure the correct diagnosis is reached instead of relying on clinical acumen- increasing costs to clients.
 
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