I’ll make this quick because I’m heading up to the vet’s now. But my dog was being treated for Sever HGE and was give 10 times the dose of antibiotic’s. The vet tried to convince us they were making up for this major error by “Not charging us for the Kidney and Liver function tests” which were now necessary due to the extreme overdose given.
I’m furious.
Obviously all pet owners love their pets, and I’m no different, My dog isn’t any more special to me than any other owner’s pet is to them. (Even though I like to believe he is =P)
But when I give an establishment over $700.00 to be sure my friend is properly treated, I would expect it to be properly treated. I understand mistakes happen, but the fact that they tried to belittle the “error” by saying “A Higher than normal dose”, Upset me greatly as well. When we asked them exactly how severe the overdose was, they said “Quite a bit more”.. We asked more specifically. “Is it like three, four, five times the amount?” and They responded with “No… Ten times the dose was administered”
Not to mention prior to the error, we had overheard an assistant there “confessing” that very same day to another colleague about how “I’m so lucky, I messed up earlier and gave a dog a huge overdose of meds, It very easily could have killed him.”
The fact that this conveniently happened TWICE at the same vet’s office in the same day (as the one being “gossiped” about was not our case) obviously means I’ll be switching offices.
My overall question is, Shouldn’t they offer to take some ADDITIONAL money off of the bill, at least as a gesture. Basically saying, “We messed up, were sorry, and we’d like to show you you’re valued as a patient here”
I work in a pharmacy, and when this happens (rarely) we do EVERYTHING we can to make the patient emotionally and financially happy.. and want to stay with us because we “made it right” in a sense..
I know it’s apples and oranges but the cost, and the error combined leaves a sour taste..
Opinions please?
Thanks a lot!
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
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If you decide to look into litigation you first need to find out which medications were given, and the doses of each (including the amount and number of times administered).
There are a lot of variables in administering medications, and some drugs offer a wide range of dosing for different ailments, as administered with other medications, and some times for different breed dogs or cats (for example, collies and other herding breeds shouldn’t really get Ivermectin, and if they do the dosages and number of doses are altered since they are sensitive to the drug).
You should also talk with the vet, in person. Always try to remain calm, and get your points across without getting to emotional. It is really hard to rationalize with someone who is irate or bawling.
good luck
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If you can prove that your dog was over dosed by the vet, you should report the vet to the proper regulatory authorities. I would also tell the vet that he/she should be responsible for any and all treatments and meds that occur as acresult of their mistake, including another vet. If the vet would not agree, I would retain legal counsel and pursue it in court. I’ll bet your vet’s malpractice insurer would not let it get to court.
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I can understand your being upset about your animal and the mistake. You are worried about your pet and care about her a great deal. Rest assured, though, that most antibiotics do not cause harm when given in massive doses (a few do), and it was reasonable for the vet to give you free bloodwork to be sure your pet was not harmed by the overdose. If the bloodwork was fine, then the vet has acted perfectly reasonably. Bloodwork itself can cost $100-$200, so the vet has done quite a bit already to assure your pet’s health, and if the pet was harmed by the overdose I am sure they would have treated that problem for free. But if your pet was being treated for a different problem and went home well, then it isn’t reasonable for you to expect them to forgive most of your bill when they have honestly tried to treat your pet well for the tricky disease of HGE. Vets don’t give the meds themselves, the assistants do, and it does occasionally happen that one will mess up. That assistant was most likely talking to the other one about your pet, it is quite rare for this to happen often, and she was probably glad she hadn’t been fired. Or maybe she was consoling the asst that made the error by telling about a story that happened to her quite awhile back, maybe not even at that clinic.
In my opinion, that vet was fair and honest with you. They told you the truth, they did what was necessary to assure your pet’s health, and they apologized. I have worked at several vet clinics (not the one I am at now, thank GOD) that would have covered that up at all costs on the advice of their malpractice carrier. If you had wanted more to happen, you should have spoken with the practice owner and told them what you wanted to happen specifically, they cannot read your mind. Most people recognize that mistakes happen and are more forgiving in situations like these. If you tell them what you want, they will likely provide it. Then they will be delighted that you went elsewhere because you have been unreasonable in your expectations. You are within your rights to sue for malpractice, but you will be penalizing an honest hardworking vet for a mistake made by someone else, and making that person stop wanting to help animals and their owners.
On a side note, I have not experienced ANY accommodations by our local pharmacies when they mess up something, which they seem to do on a regular basis.
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If the vet had not been honest with you about the mistake, would you have known anything was wrong? Has your dog suffered any temporary or permanent damages? If your dog has not suffered any damage from the dosage error, then what would the money be about? Hearing about what happened scared you and you want them to be punished for having an employee who made a mistake. A little more cash in your wallet would make you happy? I don’t think you’re that superficial, are you?
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