January 5, 2023
How Can I Sue A Veterinarian For Malpractice?
What to do if a veterinarian has harmed or killed your pet in Kansas or Missouri
You bring your pet to the veterinarian for care and treatment, to keep them well. But sometimes a veterinarian makes an egregious error that hurts your pet, or even kills them. Or the vet may even intentionally hurt or kill your pet. It seems unbelievable, but it happens.
In a world where unexpected harm occurs, our office often gives grace to medical professionals. We work with veterinarians every day who do incredible work to save our beloved pets from injury and disease, and work long hours to perform spay/neuter surgeries and other critical procedures for our clients.
Sometimes, though, a veterinarian’s clear negligence and indifference to the harm caused is so egregious that we feel compelled to seek justice for pets.
This blog will take you through the basics of what you need to know about bringing a lawsuit for veterinary malpractice in the states of Kansas and Missouri.
If you have questions, or seek a consultation, call Barnett Law Office at 785-727-9789. We are licensed to practice law in Kansas and Missouri.
What is Veterinary Malpractice?
Veterinary malpractice is like medical malpractice, except for pets instead of people. You can sue a veterinarian for veterinary malpractice (sometimes called “professional malpractice”) if their negligence, incompetence, or carelessness causes harm or death to your pet.
Some examples could include:
Misdiagnosing a pet's illness
Failing to advise a pet owner about the risks of a recommended treatment
Making an error during surgery that leads to the death of the pet
Carelessly prescribing a pet the wrong medication
Allowing untrained staff to perform complicated procedures on your pet
How Can I Sue for Veterinary Malpractice?
The first step is to file a complaint with the state veterinary board. In Kansas, that's the Kansas Board of Veterinary Examiners. In Missouri, it's the Missouri Veterinary Medical Board.
Both Boards have their complaint forms online: Here's the Kansas Board of Veterinary Examiners's complaint form. The Missouri Veterinary Medical Board's complaint form is here.
On the form, you'll be asked, among other things, for the names of the veterinarian or veterinarians involved and a detailed description of what happened. If you consulted another veterinarian for their opinion, you should include those records, too.
Don't get intimidated or overwhelmed by this stage of the process! Tell the story of what happened to you and your pet, in your words. Be as detailed and precise as you can be, including names, dates, diagnoses, and any other information and records you have that will help the Board understand the complaint.
The Board will process your complaint. They may then launch an investigation—which could lead to disciplinary action against the veterinarian. The veterinarian could even lose their license.
Veterinary boards do not award financial damages—that is, they cannot tell the veterinarian they owe you money. However, if the Board finds that your complaint is valid and substantiated, this informs and can encourage the insurance company that represents the veterinarian to settle with you, once a demand letter is sent or a lawsuit is filed. (Stay tuned, we'll get into what a demand letter is in a moment.)
The second step is to contact Barnett Law Office at 785-727-9789, once the state veterinary board issues a finding.
You’ll show us the complaint you filed with the state board, as well as their findings, so we can evaluate if there is a potential recovery—that is, if it's likely that a court or jury will order the veterinarian to pay you some amount of money, or if an insurance company will offer a settlement.
We may then bring a lawsuit against the veterinarian or veterinarians who hurt your pet.
In both Kansas and Missouri, veterinary malpractice claims must be brought within two years from the injury or death of your pet. So time is of the essence!
How Much Will I Recover, for a Veterinary Malpractice Lawsuit?
In Shampooch, the Kansas Court of Appeals was specifically asked to decide that pets, as a matter of law, have "market value"—meaning, they could be bought or sold for a certain amount of money. The Court declined, holding there is no marketplace for previously owned dogs. It is "difficult, if not impossible" to appraise in purely economic terms, as the Court put it.
The Court found instead that the "real value of a household pet is noneconomic"—meaning not just what you paid for the pet when you purchased or adopted them, but their value to their owner as a member of the family and a companion.
Shampooch explains a court can look at a number of factors when determining value, including vet bills and a pet's intrinsic value. Kansas case law also considers sentimental value for other forms of personal property, which is in line with how Kansas views pets.
In the end, Shampooch holds that the "value to the owner" is left to the trier of fact—in other words, it is up to the judge or the jury to decide the amount.
Your beloved pet is of infinite value to you, but the law hasn't always seen it that way. In the past, claims for veterinary malpractice were limited to the monetary value of the pet. That means if you adopted your dog for $25 at the local shelter, you might only be able to recover $25 in a malpractice lawsuit against a negligent veterinarian. Shocking and wrong, isn't it?
Pets are family, and thanks to the tireless advocacy of the Barnett Law Office's animal lawyers, and our animal law colleagues across the nation, the law is beginning to catch up to that view.
One measure of this progress is that courts now allow what's called "noneconomic damages" for pets who are injured or killed. In fact, a 2006 Kansas case, Burgess v. Shampooch Pet Industries, helped establish the precedent that damages awards for an injured pet can be well above the monetary value of the pet.
In addition to the Shampooch ruling, judges and juries across the country allow for intrinsic value awards for household pets, even those who were once feral, in the general range from $10,000 to $35,000.
Today, there is really no upper limit to the amount that can now be recovered for a veterinary malpractice case. The recovery for any individual veterinary malpractice lawsuit will vary, depending on different factors, including:
How hurt your pet is
How the pet's harm has affected your life, such as if you've had to take time off from work to care for them
Whether the veterinarian's behavior was especially egregious
How much it's cost for you to repair the damage caused by the veterinarian, with further veterinary treatments
Future or continued care that your pet will require due to their injury from the veterinarian
The economic value of your pet—if they are a prized show dog, for example
How eager the veterinarian or insurance company is to settle
Based on our experience litigating veterinary malpractice cases, we can give you our best estimate of what award is likely for your lawsuit.
The Demand Letter
There are a couple of more steps to filing a demand letter, if the Board finds in favor of the veterinarian. In that case, an expert veterinary witness may be necessary to validate your claim. They will examine the records and write an opinion on why the veterinarian’s conduct was unacceptable and how it caused harm to your pet.
With this information, we can proceed to write the demand letter, which is sent to the veterinarian.
If the appropriate veterinary board finds that your veterinarian’s treatment was below an acceptable standard, then our first step is to contact the veterinarian with a demand letter.
The demand letter details the events of your claim and your damages. If the veterinarian and insurance company are open to settling, we negotiate an amount based on your damages, and the documentation we have to substantiate your damages (such as invoices, receipts, secondary veterinary opinions, etc.).
The length of this process can vary greatly depending on the insurance company’s internal processes, and how eager the individuals handling your claim are to settle.
One of our clients successfully obtained a settlement after their dog received negligent treatment from an emergency clinic. Their dog had metal fragments lodged in her foot, and the veterinarian failed to take an X-ray to ensure all fragments were removed before sending the dog home. A secondary surgery was necessary to remove the remaining fragments. Luckily, the dog made a full recovery.
Initially, the emergency clinic offered to settle for only a refund of their initial visit. Our clients declined the offer, and reached out to our office for help. After weeks of negotiation, our clients were reimbursed for the cost of both surgeries, medications, lost income for time taken off work, and supplies purchased during recovery.
If we cannot come to an agreed settlement amount with the insurance company, the next step is to file a lawsuit in district court. This process is longer and more expensive than obtaining a settlement, but some of our clients feel it is well worth it to hold their veterinarian accountable and receive a fair judgment for their pet.
Small Claims Court Is an Option for Some Veterinary Malpractice Claims
Small claims court can be an excellent option for veterinary malpractice cases, so long as the lawsuit is for no more than the court's maximum allowed dollar amount.
Anyone can file an action in small claims court to recover money or property worth $4,000 or less in Kansas, or $5,000 or less in Missouri.
You must file your claim in the state where the veterinarian lives or where the business is located—if you live in Kansas, for example, but the veterinarian is in Missouri, you will file your small claims case in Missouri.
You don't need a lawyer to file a small claims action, though Missouri allows parties to be represented by attorneys, if they wish. In Kansas, you're not allowed to bring a lawyer with you to small claims court unless the other party is a lawyer.
Small claims court is designed to allow you to bring your case inexpensively, quickly, and easily. The procedures are user-friendly, informal, and don't require special expertise.
You can find out almost everything you need to know about filing a small claims lawsuit in Kansas on the Kansas Judicial Branch website.
Information about filing a small claims lawsuit in Missouri is on the Missouri Courts website.
We value veterinarians and the lifesaving care they provide. When we agree to take action, it's because a veterinarian has committed an act that is especially egregious.
Call Barnett Law Office's animal lawyers at 785-727-9789 to discuss your veterinary malpractice case—and give your pets a big hug from us, too (if they're huggers).