By Katherine Jarve

As an attorney, I’ve seen many medical malpractice cases against doctors and other medical professionals for harm that they’ve negligently caused to their patients.   Medical malpractice cases are often difficult and very complicated.   Veterinary malpractice cases are no different. However, veterinary malpractice cases are filed far less often than medical malpractice cases.  Why is that?

Veterinary malpractice cases, like medical malpractice cases, can be tremendously expensive to litigate.   This fact alone often discourages potential claimants.   In addition, the law looks at horses differently than people.  Horses are considered property in the eyes of the law.  This means that losses for “pain and suffering” of your horse are not recoverable no matter how egregious the veterinarian’s mistake may be.   As a result, cases involving veterinary malpractice often result in a settlement or verdict significantly less than medical malpractice claims.

Although veterinary malpractice claims are not filed as frequently, it does not mean that they do not have merit.  There are certainly instances when a horse owner has suffered substantial damages due to veterinary negligence.   Each state varies on the laws for pursuing a veterinary malpractice claim.  Generally, you will be required to prove the following:

(1) The veterinarian owed a duty of reasonable, professional care.  If your veterinarian agrees to provide care to your horse, then he or she has the duty to provide such care in accordance with the accepted standards of veterinary medicine.

(2) The veterinarian breached or violated the duty of care.  If the care that your veterinarian gives your horse falls below the accepted professional standard of care, then he or she has “breached” the duty owed to you.  How do you prove this breach?   In most cases, expert testimony of a similarly qualified veterinarian will be required.  He or she will need to opine that your veterinarian acted negligently and in deviation of accepted standards of care.   The expert will also need to support his or her opinion with facts, data, and recognized equine medical literature.

(3) The veterinarian’s wrongful conduct caused the horse’s injury or death.  This may seem obvious, but you must demonstrate that what the veterinarian did (or didn’t do) caused injury or death to the horse.  In some instances, the connection is clear.  For example, the veterinarian administers the wrong dosage of a sedative to a horse and the horse immediately dies.  However, not all cases are that clear.  What if in the above example, the horse is fine immediately after being administered the dose, but then dies 3 days later?  In that instance, the owner may need to have an necropsy performed to show that there was a causal connection between the sedative and death.

 (4) You suffered economic damages as a result of the horse’s injury or death.  As previously mentioned, you are not entitled to “pain and suffering” damages for you or your horse in a veterinary malpractice case.  Rather, you must show a sum of money lost as a result of the malpractice.   Damages are typically limited to the fair market value of the horse and any related consequential damages (i.e., lost profits or the cost of special medication or feed).   The fair market value of the horse takes into account not only the purchase costs, but also any special attributes (i.e., was this horse a multiple World Champion?).  The age and general health of the horse prior to the malpractice will also be taken into account.   A qualified equine appraiser will be required to prove the horse’s value.

In today’s world, most veterinarians carry malpractice insurance.  If you make a claim of veterinary malpractice, in all likelihood, the insurance company will employ a team of lawyers to vigorously defend the case.  This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pursue the case if you believe it has merit.  But it does mean that you should do your homework.  Talk to other veterinarians to find out their honest opinion about what happened.  Realistically assess the damages you’ve suffered.  Your horse might be more than just “property” in your eyes, but that is not the way the law sees it.

Katherine Jarve is a partner at the Marlton, New Jersey law firm of Jarve Kaplan Granato Starr, LLC. She is licensed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and maintains a practice in personal injury and civil litigation, including equine related issues. Katherine spent her childhood competing on the national AQHA show circuit. This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice. If you have a specific legal question or problem, consult with an experienced equine law attorney. Questions, comments or suggestions can be e-mailed to kjarve@nj-triallawyers.com.