I'm not sure if this is a possible malpractice or not, so before talking to the clinic or possibly a JAG attorney I thought I would check here.
Me and my wife had a Border Collie born on June 12. This past Saturday on October 2, she had an an appointment with a vet for shots and an exam. It was discovered she had roundworm so the doctor had given us a tablet of Interceptor and 3 syringes of Panacur to be given orally, daily. That afternoon I had given her the Panacur. Sunday night just before bed I gave her the Interceptor tablet.
Monday morning when I woke up for work she had gotten sick and there was about 4 areas of diarrhea on the floor. Monday evening when I returned my wife had told me she was still sick, she had became a little lethargic and stopped eating and drinking. So I called the vet's office and told him the story about how she had taken the Interceptor the night before. He asked if her legs were cold, I said not really. He asked what color her gums were, I said a pale pink with splotches of white. He then told me this was a normal reaction to the Interceptor, her being sick was her body's way of getting rid of the parasites.
Tuesday she was worse. She had a very foul smelling diarhea, was vomiting, and she became very lethargic. She would just lay down, or stand in one spot and not move. She would occasionally walk over to me or my wife, but then just lay down and not move. So I called the vet's office again, and explained what was happening. The girl had told me this was still her body's reaction to the Interceptor, she was getting rid of the roundworms.
Wednesday when I came home for lunch my wife was almost hysterical. The dog had stopped moving completely, had very severe diarrhea, was frothing at the mouth, her gums were nearly all white, and she had cold legs. I had the called the vet's for the third time and they said bring her in right now.
We went to the vet's and he gave her a Parvo test which came back negative. He said she must have gotten poisoned by some kind of chemical. But he said her symptoms are exactly that of Parvo so he will run the test again. A couple hours later we were informed she did have Parvo. They were giving her saline, anti-biotics, and vitamins. After a little of that she was up and walking in her kennel a little bit.
The next morning (Thursday, October 7) I called the vet's to check on her condition. They said she was the same as the day before. Still having bouts of diarrhea, but she had stopped vomitting. At 11:30am I got a call from the office telling me she passed away. They said in a matter of 10 minutes her health just detoriated and she passed on. They tried CPR but nothing worked. Me and my wife are absolutely devastated by this.
So here's where the legal questions start coming in:
Should the veterinarian take some responsibility for her death? On Monday when I called and gave her symptoms he had said this was a normal reaction to the Interceptor. On Tuesday when I called and gave her symptoms (which again had gotten worse) he had said again she was having a normal reaction. On Wednesday she was in extremely bad shape and it was too late to do a whole lot for her.
So shouldn't the office have had told me to bring her in for a test, any test on Monday or Tuesday? Especially when they knew her condition had gotten worse since Monday. The only action they said that needed to be taken was to continue giving her her Panacur for the round worms.
I am being charged $ 725 for the medical care, and $ 75 for the disposal of the body. Me and my wife only want the office to take partial blame. We would be willing to pay $ 500 of the $ 800.
So is this a small case of veterinarian malpractice? Should the veterinarian be partially responsible? If it was discovered on Monday or Tuesday she had Parvo she may have had a better shot at recovery. Instead it was discovered on Wednesday, already three days into the sickness.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I don't want this to seem like it's all about money. Me and my wife are completely devastated over this. It just doesn't seem right to either of us for us to take 100% of the blame and cost when we were depending on them for her medical care.
The shots she recieved that Saturday were her first set of shots. I'm in the Army and the schedule we've had lately has been horrendous, so that day was the first we had a chance to get her first set.
The shots she recieved that Saturday were her first set of shots. I'm in the Army and the schedule we've had lately has been horrendous, so that day was the first we had a chance to get her first set.
I wasn't trying to get a phone diagnosis. I was merely calling the office to see if she was having a normal reaction to the Interceptor and Panacur.
crack_wh0re_x
This happened to a friend of mine to their puppy got parvo (from the vets office) even though their dog had all the shots , speak to the vets office say you where unhappy with the treatment and see if they come up with a different price . l am sorry about your dog how devastating
Barefoottrimmer
As long as the vet exercised the "accepted standard of care", there would be no malpractice or liability. Determining that standard would be the key. So very very sorry about your puppy. Heartbreakng.
Single Worker 1230
I'm so sorry that this has happened. If you feel that you were wronged by your vet, you can contact your state veterinary board and file a complaint. This is kind of the first step as far malpractice is concerned. Below is a website that has links to state practice acts as well as contact numbers to call the people in charge.
A Great Dane Lady
Dogs who get Parvo are taken to the vet's. You took your dog to the vet. Shots put the immune system into overdrive. The immune system was so busy that it couldn't fight off a real infection.
Another possibility is that the shot actually gave the dog Parvo. The Parvo vaccine is a modified live virus. They don't know why, but some dogs actually catch the disease that they were vaccinated for. This IS in the Merck manual and it is online. Check it out for yourself.
I'm sorry that this happened to you. It's hard to lose a little one.
Annie
I Interceptor and panacur do NOT cause this reaction -- at least not when I've ever seen. Your vet should have known that.
I'd report him or her to the state vet.
Did she have her distemper/parvo shots? Three sets?
This was really terrible.
Aussies are my ♥ Dogs
Well, those symptoms *are* listed as possible side effects to the interceptor. However, I'm more worried about the MDR1 gene drug sensitivity on your border collie.
Isn't interceptor a heartworm medication? Somebody else may correct me, but I think this particular drug is one of the avoid-at-all-costs meds for herding breeds.
joanplus4dogs
Actually hardly any state allow owner to sue vets for malpractice. Unless there is hard evidence of mistreatment,abuse or specific lack of care, it is next to impossible to prove malpractice for a patient that cannot speak & diagnosis is a matter of good guesswork for the most part.
I would suggest speaking with the office manager first before filing complaint with state board. Since the test on Wed first came back negative, not sure why you feel Mon/Tues test would come back positive. There are very good reasons why vets don't want to or like to give phone diagnosis since it is based on owner description of ailments which can vary greatly between ppl & what they see. Likely close from birth & worms her body immune system was too low to fight off virus. You also need to contact breeder so every puppy's new owner to inform them there is a good possibility of parvo. Parvo takes time(weeks) before the symptoms can appear. Vet office may be willing to work with a regular patient who comes in & discussed in a calm reasonable manner. They hate to lose patients also though obviously not as much as the owner.
Fur and Fiction
While your vet's advice was questionable, I do wonder why you did not seek a different opinion when your vet's receptionist told you on Tuesday that lethargy and severe diarrhea were normal reactions to Intercepter and Panacur. It sounds like a lot of the communication here was between you and the receptionist of this vet office. You should know that, while receptionists are usually fairly experienced, they are not certified and, in most states, don't even require a degree in veterinary science before they begin working at a vet's office.
Your vet was right to tell you to wait it out on the first day. The second day, the dog should have been looked at. I don't consider that mal-practice, especially since it doesn't sound like you even spoke with your vet on the second day.
Why did they test for parvo? Did your puppy have all of its vaccinations? Unless she had a great deal of blood in her stool, parvovirus seems like an unlikely conclusion.
EDIT: Saw your note on having not vaccinated her before. I'll make no further comment on the subject.
Aussies- Interceptor contains milbemycin, Heartguard and Iverhart contain Ivermectin. The MDR1 gene causes severe reactions to ivermectin and milbemycin, but in monthly doses is usually safe. The concern is during the accelerated treatment for heartworm, when a high dosage of ivermectin must be administered at the end of the treatment.
More information on the MDR1 gene: http://www.awca.net/drug.htm
"Which drugs cause reactions?
Ivermectin was the first drug recognized to cause a reaction, but it is far from the only one. Ivermectin at low dosage, as found in heartworm medications, will not cause a reaction. The larger doses needed for worming will. Other commonly administered drugs on the list include acepromazine and Imodium. Fortunately, there are alternative medications available if your dog requires treatment."
-http://www.ashgi.org/articles/mdr1.htm
Jessie
Those are not normal reactions to Interceptor or to Panacur, no. When you said there were white splotches on her gums and that you had a lethargic puppy, they should have told you to bring her back to the office, IMO. White splotches on gums and poor capillary refill are EMERGENCY signs, and a lethargic puppy is always bad.
However, and I know you don't want to hear this, this is your fault. Puppies who aren't properly vaccinated get Parvo pretty regularly and it is usually fatal. I'm sorry if it seems as though I am kicking you when you're down, as that is not my intent. My intent is to educate you so that you do not make the same mistake again if you get another dog. This was an avoidable tragedy. As soon as you said 'foul smelling diarrhea', I was guessing it was going to be Parvo, as there is a very characteristic foul odor to stools.
Even if the vet had guessed right away that your dog had Parvo, she still may well have died. Most of them do.
There is no excuse in the world to be getting first shots for a puppy at 15 weeks. If you had followed the proper veterinary protocols, she would have been fully vaccinated against Parvo by now, would have been on a heartworm preventative that also controls intestinal worms for several weeks ( and yes, that is what Interceptor is) and have been highly unlikely to be carrying a roundworm load.
You didn't realize how important it was to get the appropriate veterinary care early on, and it cost you your puppy. I'm so sorry that you learned the hard way, but this is all your doing. You can't hang this one on the vet.
Also be aware that your home and yard are carrying the Parvo virus. You can't let ANY unvaccinated dogs onto your property or into your home as they will also be exposed to the virus. That would include neighbor's dogs or a new puppy. If you took her to other people's homes, yep, the virus is there too. The dog park? You also left Parvo there as a little present to all the other dogs who will go there.
There are good reasons to vaccinate your puppy ON TIME and FULLY. You not only lost your own dog, you created a hazard to many other dogs in all likelihood. :(
Here is a very thorough page on Parvo: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/canine_parvovirus.html
Orignal From: Possible Vet Malpractice?
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