Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in California

Dog Care

Vet did chemo, catheter leaked chemo into her digestive system made her terribly sick and ended up costing $4,000 more to make her better. Out of money now for the rest of her treatments.


Asked on 4/24/08, 5:07 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Robert L. Bennett Law offices of Robert L. Bennett

Re: Dog Care

I agree with Mr. Roth, and feel your pain (I just had a $3,500 vet bill to cure a Siberian Husky puppy who had contracted Parvo).

You have been given options as to suing.

Have you tried to work out a deal with the vet for installment payments.

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Answered on 6/26/08, 3:19 pm
Mitchell Roth MW Roth, Professional Law Corporation

Re: Dog Care

So? If the injury to you dog occured because of the professional negligence of the vet, you can recover damages for negligence. But, you willh ave to have expert testimony to prove it, and you still might lose. The problem may have been due to a defective catheter. In that case you could sue the maker of the catheter. But, the cost of llitigating this one is far more thant the $4000, so you are pretty much out of luck. You could sue both the vet and the maker of the catheter in small claims court, asserting the doctrineo of "res ipsa loquitor" (meaning the thing speaks for itself.) Your argument is tha between the vet and the maker of the catheter, someone must be liable, and the burden of coming forward with evidence switches to them. Good luck.

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Answered on 4/26/08, 2:56 pm


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