Page 40 - Zoo Animal Learning and Training

24 Tasks for the Veterinary Assistant

relationship. It stipulates that in order to treat an animal Animals are considered as property in the same way as
the veterinarian must have first‐hand knowledge of the a house or car. Owners have rights when property is
animal, have met the owner personally, and be available stolen, damaged, or destroyed by accident, neglect, or
for follow‐up care. Without this a veterinarian may not on purpose. A malpractice suit may be brought against a
provide medications or treatment options by law. veterinarian because of a perceived substandard of prac-
Each state has laws that govern the shipment of live- tice, whether willful, because of negligence, ignorance,
stock and companion animals across state lines. This and/or disregard of the client’s wishes. If the actions the
requires that an animal is inspected by and if necessary veterinarian took led to a decrease in value of, injury to,
vaccinated for communicable diseases by a veterinarian. or death of a companion or livestock animal, the owner
A health certificate is filled out for each companion has a right to file a malpractice suit. This could result in
animal and livestock health certificates can be for 10–20 two outcomes: a malpractice suit in a civil court which
animals per certificate. In most states this certificate is could result in a high settlement and/or the loss of the
good for at least 30 days. veterinarian’s license to practice from the veterinary
medical board if found guilty.
Another instance of legal proceedings stem from staff
members accidently or mistakenly harming or killing an
Learning Exercise animal. The veterinarian is legally responsible for the
actions taken by all staff members employed by the prac-
Utilize the internet to find your state’s practice act. tice. This is true even if the staff member acted without
In your own words answer these questions: the knowledge of the veterinarian or overstepped the
• What is the definition of “practice veterinary boundaries set by practice law or policies set by the prac-
medicine?” tice. The consequences for the veterinarian are the same
• What does the practice of veterinary medicine as described in the previous paragraph. The conse-
include? quences for the employee will depend entirely on the
• Are there specific levels of supervision for veteri- actions taken by the employee. Was it an accident, a mis-
nary technicians or specific tasks they can per- take, or a willful disregard of rules, policy, and procedure?
form in your practice act? The employee may find themselves being sued or losing
• What does the practice act in your state say their job.
about veterinarian–client–patient relationships? What can a veterinarian and his/her staff do to pro-
• How many days does a health certificate last in tect themselves from liability or malpractice? Adherence
your state?
to policies and procedures is one way of minimizing the
risk. For example:

• Placing wet floor warning signs out and cleaning up
Common or Case Law accidents quickly in the reception area reduces the
chances of someone falling (Figure 2.1). Check
Decisions made by judges over the years have created outside for potential hazards, like ice or a water hose
legal precedence which is used by other lawyers to bring, for the grass on the sidewalk, and fix immediately.
defend, or not accept future cases in court. Of interest in • Multiple suits have been filed because an animal
veterinary practice are laws related to business practices escaped from the clinic or staff member. Make sure
and those that govern the relationships between people doors and windows are latched securely, double
and property. In a litigious society, veterinarians protect leashing works especially well with large dogs that
themselves from lawsuits by practicing good medicine, pull excessively. Assisting clients out to their cars with
delegating staff appropriately, and making sure safety is large bags of food and or other take home items
a number one priority. Even with the best of intentions rather than having them juggle a dog on a leash or a
things happen that can lead to a lawsuit being brought cat in a carrier plus the items will also reduce the
against the veterinarian. It is because of this that veteri- chance of escape.
narians carry liability insurance to cover the cost of legal • Properly identifying animals that are housed in the
fees and fines. Here are some examples of past legal facility. Utilize the patient files to confirm what
cases in which a veterinarian was sued. treatments or procedures are to be carried out,
A client slips and falls on a wet floor, doesn’t matter double check the description of the animal against
who or what caused it, if it happens in a business there is the one in the kennel or pen. Several previous
legal precedence of suing for bodily injury. Another lawsuits were due to treating the wrong “black lab” or
common case is if an owner is injured by an animal, even the castrating the “lighter” (owner meant weight) of
their own, while in the veterinary facility they can sue for the two colts – the vet thought it was the lighter
bodily injury. colored of the two.