My Cat Kitten was blinded because of a bad veternarian overdosing her with Baytril

[kittens mom]

You have no idea how much this little pep rally means to us. At the end of the day this is for Kitten and her right as a living being. Or at least she was until we took her to this vet. She had a right to her eyes and her life. As her guardians and personally as her Mommy we are the only voice she has. My hope is the veterinarian doing the investigation on her death can find the trail from that first visit to the end result. This part we can do for ourselves.

 

[handsome kitty]

I'm not good at pep talks, but I'm here too.  I hope you get to see the vet shaking in her boots!

 

[margd]

 
I'm not good at pep talks, but I'm here too.  I hope you get to see the vet shaking in her boots!

Shaking in her boots with the book thrown at her! 

 

[misterwhiskers]

It's here. I'm so glad it's here. It will be interesting. For too long the pet industry has siphoned off the money off of pet owners; but we have become a powerful lobby. You are there for Kitten in theory, but in reality this truly could be a groundbreaking case. I've no doubt Bayer will be keeping a closer eye on this than you'd think. Their reputation is in the mud if they don't protest a non Bayer drug being passed off as the real deal, and with such little oversight. (((Hugs)).

 

[LotsOfFur]

I agree with misterwiskers! You have so many of us standing with you in solidarity and sending you lots of love and support for something that you should NEVER have had to deal with!

 

[kittens mom]

It's here. I'm so glad it's here. It will be interesting. For too long the pet industry has siphoned off the money off of pet owners; but we have become a powerful lobby. You are there for Kitten in theory, but in reality this truly could be a groundbreaking case. I've no doubt Bayer will be keeping a closer eye on this than you'd think. Their reputation is in the mud if they don't protest a non Bayer drug being passed off as the real deal, and with such little oversight. (((Hugs)).

It's important to understand that this is a hearing to determine the vets miscalculation of the medication or simply her personal choice to ignore all the warnings and medicate at her pleasure. While the mislabeled drugs will no doubt come into play to help demonstrate her credibility the legality of what she did is not on the chopping block here. That information is with the two manufacturers and the State Veterinary Board to deal with.  I am going to file a consumer complaint with the State Attorney General for fraud.

I would love to have a lawyer doing all this for us. We can't afford to plop down a massive retainer and keep adding to it.  I am the legal clerk, medical researcher and general gopher for the whole shebang. I have had my computer open with my tablet next to it learning and looking up medical terms and reading papers that make my brain hurt.

Unlike a human medical malpractice case there weren't a herd of lawyers lurking outside the vet clinic want to take the case on. Unless we report it to the SVB they are not aware of her behavior. For all the pets are family and pet parents and furkids you pet is pretty much worthless legally. I guess what pet owners really need to do is stop buying into the fluff and start demanding their pets have reasonable rights under the law. You should be able to recover a reasonable amount for your pets pain and suffering when its due to a professionals negligence of malpractice. That puny amount we might recover is pocket change

 

[foxxycat]

I forgot to come on here yesterday and show support but I am here today. Thank you for standing up to big money. Sadly some vets/companies are in it only to make money off of us. So we do need to stand up against this. And start changing laws to show that pets are living, breathing and hurt like people when abused. i really hope you get good results out of this. If nothing else at least give another lurker the courage to stand up and fight against injustice.

 

[kittens mom]

So we had the preliminary hearing. Unless we settle this between ourselves I have 45 days to provide a witness list , her and her employees. and 90 days until the trial. Giving me plenty of time to get all of my documents authenticated for court so they can be admitted as evidence. I felt I spoke well to our claim. The judge seemed willing to entertain some punitive damages if we win. I felt scared this morning. What if I couldn't get the story out in a coherent way that made sense. I practiced and fretted and made myself sick. And then simply spoke from my heart to what had happened. Not one tear. Not even a twitch of the eye. choke in the back of the throat. Yeah we can do this.

 

[margd]

Good for you!  I knew you could do it.  It sounds like the hearing went well - that's great the judge is willing to consider punitive damages.  

  Was the vet actually there?  I'm curious to hear what kind of defense she had to offer.  Frankly, I don't see that she's got one, which is why I'm so curious.  You'll be able to go the distance with this, no question.  You're motivated and have truth on your side, plus you're an excellent researcher.  This vet should settle now, if she knows what's good for her.  

GOOD JOB, KITTENS MOM!!!!!!

 

[kittens mom]

Yes she was there. Aside from answering a few questions and her telling her lawyer what a great cat expert she was there was very little from the other side. She did say good morning to us as she came into the courtroom while we were waiting for the judge. She seemed very focused on the out come of the investigation by the SVB which operates by it's own set of rules so I highly doubt it would play into my case or hers no matter the outcome. She did manage to mention that she had received her renewal for her license in the mail.  Which since she hasn't been censured by the SVB is normal.

It can feel intimidating to go through this process. Civil court is there for people to get justice without having to hire a lawyer. I jokingly told my husband I'll do what I need to in order to authenticate documents , vet reports and then bill myself 500 dollars. Folks we have our pre paid legal to answer questions and the internet at our fingertips.

 

[margd]

Five hundred dollars is a bargain.  Tell yourself to increase your fees!  

Do you know what's going on with the SVB investigation?   

 

[kittens mom]

 
Five hundred dollars is a bargain.  Tell yourself to increase your fees!  

Do you know what's going on with the SVB investigation?   

No they move on their own time schedule. I will call them next week. I've learned to limit my overload on this. Sadly I'm also my own bereaved client. I'll see if anything shakes out of the trees this week. Much to be said for some mental health time.

A judgment against her in civil court would probably bear no weight on their investigation. And the other way around. There are different standards for each entity. I think it would be a foolish thing for either side to hang their hopes on. Even if they find in favor of her I have veterinary reports stating the vision loss is most likely due to the overdose of enrofloxacin. That doesn't become worthless despite what a board of veterinarians who discipline themselves have to say.  She screwed the pooch and sent us home with a massive dose of antibiotic know to cause retinal toxicity in cats. Understand she failed to even send us home with a verbal warning of side effects to watch for. The Rx bottle doesn't even include the type of drug enrofloxacin along with Baytril. It doesn't tell how long to use the drug. WE still don't know, but soon will , how much she injected into Kitten. Her and her lawyer can figure out some terms we can live with or she can take her chances.

One thing that happened today. Being able to tell a Judge what happened and have ' HER' have to sit there and listen released a lot of anger. In a quiet gentle way. It faded. Our voice was heard. So was Kitten's . SHE couldn't hide. SHE had to listen.

 

[margd]

That's an interesting point about the vet having to sit there and listen to you describe what happened.  I can understand why that would be so therapeutic  -   at last she was forced to hear Kitten's story and see how much pain and loss she (the vet) caused.   I hope she goes home and reflects on it.  You have really done right by Kitten - it is the rare cat who has such a fierce advocate.  

 

[kittens mom]

I heard no defense today. The Judge went through their reply. Aside from the vet denying any responsibility.  The process of getting documents authenticated sounds daunting but when you take all the lawyer words out it's about getting original copies and an affidavit from the person who keeps the records. VCA. Boom easy. Tedious and probably time consuming since I'm sure I'll have to go in. And I'm sure there will be  cost in there somewhere. If we have to hire a vet as an expert witness she's going to end up eating that cost too. Along with mileage.

Now for the truth. I wish she would own up so we could back down.  As mad as we are. We don't need to ruin her life to make ourselves feel better. Because nothing can fix this mess. But we'll be damned if she just gets to go on her merry way either.  Maybe that lawyer will talk some sense into her.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I am beyond proud of you. 

 

[LotsOfFur]

So proud of you!

 

[handsome kitty]

You say you don't want to ruin her, but I wonder how many other animals she has mistreated and who also suffered.  Her losing her license could be the best thing for pets in your area.  You're not just standing up for Kitten even though that is your objective.

There are so many sad stories on TCS that begin with 'my vet . . .'  It's scary to go to a vet and not be positive your friend will get the best care.  Thank you for forcing this vet to see that her care is . . . well, not really care at all.  She needs to know that people really care about theirs pets and that Kitten wasn't 'just a cat'.

 

[ginny]

 
I heard no defense today. The Judge went through their reply. Aside from the vet denying any responsibility....

That's the part I don't get.  What, was she having an OBE when she wrote that script, therefore she's not responsible?  Only a psychopath could dare to give such an absurd statement expecting others to believe it.  

 

[kittens mom]

 
You say you don't want to ruin her, but I wonder how many other animals she has mistreated and who also suffered.  Her losing her license could be the best thing for pets in your area.  You're not just standing up for Kitten even though that is your objective.

There are so many sad stories on TCS that begin with 'my vet . . .'  It's scary to go to a vet and not be positive your friend will get the best care.  Thank you for forcing this vet to see that her care is . . . well, not really care at all.  She needs to know that people really care about theirs pets and that Kitten wasn't 'just a cat'.

That might not have been the best way to word it. WE are not lawyers and have to do all of this ourselves. Even with some legal help it's a lot. We are also grieving pet owners If we had a pro bono animal attorney chewing up the carpet or 20K to plunk down on a retainer I might feel different.  The real problem here is not just this vet. It's the antiquated laws concerning our pets. And that is where the change starts and that is what will shut down lots of bad veterinarians.

The next time your local humane society , animal charity , pet food rep in a store asks for your $$$. Ask them where they stand on real animal rights and what they are doing to secure them. The pet industry doesn't care if your pet beyond how much stuff they can sell you. Veterinarians are afraid of finding themselves liable beyond the vet bills and a new pet. I intend to take this much further than just a civil case. This is a case for change. Win or lose.

 

[margd]

 
That's the part I don't get.  What, was she having an OBE when she wrote that script, therefore she's not responsible?  Only a psychopath could dare to give such an absurd statement expecting others to believe it.  

My daily learning experience on TCS.  Had to look up OBE because the only OBE I knew of involved being honored by the Queen of England and I figured that probably wasn't right!