Vet screwed up big time-what should I do?

[Anonymous]

We brought out beloved 14.5 year old dog to our vet of 10 yrs (original vet left and sold practice over summer to new vet but we stayed on and were happy there), for her monthly shot (dog has Addisons disease) and to ask about very recent lethargy and a bout of severe constipation which I had to finally after 40 min of straining help the dog by pulling some poop out and shower massaging the rest off. Dog felt much better but when vet did exam, stated that there was a sever anal tear from when I helped dog, I inadvertently caused a massive rectal tear and dog needs surgery costing 5 grand or to be immediately euthanized. Vet was going to close soon so other than rushing over there (spouse brought dog to appt.), we opted to pay more and go to an emergency clinic to do the euthanizing.

We spent day crying hysterically, consoling our hysterical children, and me feeling the worst guilt and despair ever, to the point of feeling like how will I live with knowing I killed my beloved pet, while trying to help them. Rough day for sure-we took dog to park, for a burger (not eaten), to our former home (dog seemed to remember and seemed comforted by that visit), in an effort to make their last day on earth a good one.

We get to ER vet center-and decide to pay for second opinion at the last minute ($$ we don't really have) just to be sure, as I could not bring myself to euthanize dog/stalling. ER vet comes back to say there is no injury at all to anus, second vet there confirms this. Dog given steroids and fluids and bounces back with more energy. We take dog home and feel relieved, confused and shocked. We know dog is old, has other medical issues and will likely not live past another year, However, we start to feel like what a screw up and serious misdiagnosis from our vet.

We call our vet the next business day, and vet not there. Receptionist defensive but agreed to waive our bill which was about $300. The ER vet bill was closer to $600. I'm thinking they should compensate us for that too, and even wondered if we should sue for the emotional distress they caused our family. I am not the litigious type, and feel bad as I think vet made an honest mistake, but feel lost right now as to how to proceed. This was a vet in Northern MOCO, ER vet in Rockville. BTW-we love ER vet place and had other pets brought there in past-they are extremely expensive, but excellent.

Thanks for any input on what you think.

[Anonymous]

I think getting you bill waived was fine. Why should they pay your ER bill? Did your dog not need steroids and fluids?

[Anonymous]

I think right now you are upset, rightfully so. I would just wait and get your refund, whatever that may be, then write up some online reviews on Yelp, etc.

Right now I'd be looking for a new vet and be grateful you still have a healthy dog. I mean really, the outcome wasn't so terrible all things considered. And good on you for getting a second opinion. Sorry this happened to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think getting you bill waived was fine. Why should they pay your ER bill? Did your dog not need steroids and fluids?

We would not have needed to go to the ER had they diagnosed correctly and given cheap steroids and fluids themselves-it would not have been $600. Also we almost killed our dog for no reason-due to their misdiagnosis. Perhaps they should at least pay for the second opinion/exam and new bloodwork (reg. vet took blood but did not run it) which is the bulk of the ER bill.

[Anonymous]

I think you've been made whole again. Your dog still needed the treatment it got at the second vet.

I also think that if you're having to pull poop from your dog, his quality of life is questionable and putting him down may have been more humane anyway

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think getting you bill waived was fine. Why should they pay your ER bill? Did your dog not need steroids and fluids?

We would not have needed to go to the ER had they diagnosed correctly and given cheap steroids and fluids themselves-it would not have been $600. Also we almost killed our dog for no reason-due to their misdiagnosis. Perhaps they should at least pay for the second opinion/exam and new bloodwork (reg. vet took blood but did not run it) which is the bulk of the ER bill.

I thought they were about to close. At any rate, they refunded your bill. You have no losses.

[Anonymous]

We almost killed our dog for no reason! Give us 600$

Jesus lady, you had my sympathy but this is flat out extortion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you've been made whole again. Your dog still needed the treatment it got at the second vet.

I also think that if you're having to pull poop from your dog, his quality of life is questionable and putting him down may have been more humane anyway

It was a one time constipation issue-dogs poop was loose or normal prior to that time which happened night before dogs monthly appointment.

[Anonymous]

I think getting the money back from your vet is enough. You didn't NEED to take him to the ER vet, although I completely understood why you did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We almost killed our dog for no reason! Give us 600$

Jesus lady, you had my sympathy but this is flat out extortion.

We spent the day in distress, me thinking I killed my dog, feeling guilty, young kids crying hysterically over loosing their pet they had their entire lives-people sue for emotional distress/pain and suffering over much less. I'm just looking for opinions, not to extort $$ from our vet. BTW, I doubt this would ever have happened with the original vet who was great, and just retired 2 months ago. Vet who misdiagnosed was there a few years also, obviously made a big diagnostic error. I do feel bad as that vet seems very nice it is a tough situation.

[Anonymous]

[b]

Anonymous wrote:I think getting the money back from your vet is enough. You didn't NEED to take him to the ER vet, although I completely understood why you did.

I did need to take dog to ER to euthanize-our primary vet advised us to put dog down ASAP-and they were closing so could not do it.

[Anonymous]

They screwed up, absolutely, but they aren't going to pay the ER bill and it isn't worth your time to pursue it. Just be grateful they were wrong.

I don't say that casually. I had a pretty awful time when I hired a well-regarded professional to care for my elderly cat when we needed to go out of town. She ignored obvious symptoms and went completely against my care instructions and lied about it. I was at the emergency vet 10 minutes after arriving home and finding my pet unresponsive. It was awful and I really, really wanted to punish this person for negligence and costing me my cat plus thousands of dollars on top of her exorbitant fees that were pre-paid, but nothing was going to change what had happened.

It sounds like you know you still have a rough year ahead with a sick dog. Save your energy and enjoy the time you have.

[Anonymous]

Also, primary vet was going to stay open for us me to get over there, but I felt too rushed and needed to digest it all and decided to just pay more and euthanize at the ER vet.

[Anonymous]

Think about it. They made one error after seeing 500 animals with no error. The doc isn't perfect.

Vets are well trained, see a crap load more of experience than human docs do. They usually know a lot, get it right. Sometimes there's a mistake. You got your refund. Leave a review if you must. But they're not responsible for everything your dog is going through, every decision you make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We almost killed our dog for no reason! Give us 600$

Jesus lady, you had my sympathy but this is flat out extortion.

We spent the day in distress, me thinking I killed my dog, feeling guilty, young kids crying hysterically over loosing their pet they had their entire lives-people sue for emotional distress/pain and suffering over much less. I'm just looking for opinions, not to extort $$ from our vet. BTW, I doubt this would ever have happened with the original vet who was great, and just retired 2 months ago. Vet who misdiagnosed was there a few years also, obviously made a big diagnostic error. I do feel bad as that vet seems very nice it is a tough situation.

I feel for you, I really do, but I also don't think that this is the sort of thing that you get compensated for. I have no idea how the first vet made such a glaring mistake - that is scary.

Maybe write a bad review of this vet so that others will be forewarned?