Where To Complain When There Is A Wrong Veterinary Procedure?

A physician’s inexperience, recklessness, or lack of practice can be fatal to their patients. This also applies to pets. Is there any way to identify a bad veterinary procedure? How can we complain about this? In this article we deal with the subject.

How to detect a bad veterinary procedure

When choosing a doctor for our pets, we must consider many important issues. This person is responsible, in a way, for the health and well-being of our dear friend.

First, the owner must ensure that the animal does not lack anything. And, secondly, the professional must be sufficiently reputable to guarantee a treatment or cure if the animal becomes ill or has any problems.

Often, pet owners are dissatisfied with the performance and attention received, but in some cases, they can even guarantee that, due to a wrong veterinary procedure, the animal suffered the consequences (it may even have died).

Although they can make mistakes because they are human beings, the problem exists if the lack of experience or knowledge puts the lives of more than one animal at risk. Clumsiness, abuse and lack of “common sense” can be lethal to our dog, cat or any pet we have at home.

According to an Ethics Court judge, veterinary misconduct includes many aspects and cannot be defined in a single sentence. For example, those procedures that led to death, trying to save the animal’s life, are discarded. Many owners are used to accusing doctors when their pet dies, but often it wasn’t the professional’s fault.

No veterinarian should attend a patient with the intention of causing him harm or not curing him. It is assumed that they studied based on their vocation and that they are able to care for a patient. The decisions taken by them and their actions are in favor of the improvement of the animal and the evolution of its frame in the best possible way.

Practices considered bad veterinary procedure

But there are also practices that can be considered bad veterinary procedure, and among them are:

• Offer or perform medical, surgical or clinical services without being trained to do so.
• Do not perform complete medical exams (laboratory exams, radiography, etc.) before the operative procedure.
• Not explaining correctly to owners about the health of their pet or the procedures that will be performed, as well as not clarifying the expectation of recovery or the risks that certain procedures bring.
• Forget to ask for an alternative consultation with another professional in case the response to a treatment is not efficient or generates opposite effects.

• Perform procedures that are unnecessary,  just to profit from the patient’s health problem.

How can I act in the face of a veterinary error

If you think your pet’s doctor has done poorly, you can file a complaint against him. It will only have an “effect” if it is a serious fact, that is, if the animal dies, is burned, suffers mutilation or unnecessary removal of a part of its body.

It is necessary to avoid “just because” complaints and be absolutely sure that an incorrect or inappropriate procedure has occurred. In addition, it is essential to have a copy of the medical history so that the complaint is taken seriously.

You need to answer a series of questions, such as:

Was the problem caused by a veterinary or cosmetic procedure? When they take place in establishments such as hairdressing salons or beauty centers for dogs, or in day care centers, they are not included in the veterinary medicine laws.

Does the situation deserve a legal complaint? This means whether the non-conformity can be a reason for a complaint that can be presented to a court or simply to the veterinary center in question. For example, if the doctor didn’t treat us well, we can sort it out instead.

How can you prove that there was a wrong veterinary procedure? The pet owner must have at least one proof, demonstrating that the practice was contrary to professional ethics.