To ask whether vet should pay for this?

[TempusEedjit]

I took my dog to the vet this morning for his vaccination. During the appointment he became very distressed and jumped off the examination table, landing on the side of his face. He's only a small dog so it was quite a drop for him. Both vet and I had been holding him (I was helping to hold him at vet's request) but at that point had let go. He just jumped off without warning, he's never done similar before. He appears to have concussion, a possible bruised spine and blood was coming from his mouth.

The vet thinks there is no long term damage but is keeping him in for today to keep an eye on him anyway, however they asked whether I have insurance? As well as being worried about my dog I am also worried about this as I have a £75 excess on my policy which will be a stretch to find the money for as I'm not working right now. As the accident happened in the vet's care are they liable? Or is it just a genuine accident? I just tried calling my insurance provider but they just said they would cover any treatment if the vet didn't but I would still need to pay the excess.

Sorry I feel awful talking about money whilst my dog's poorly but I am really anxious about this and don't want an unnecessary argument about payment with the vet

Hope your dog is ok , in answer to the question I don't think the vet is liable , unless you have asked the vet to get an assistant because you don't want to hold the dog I think you are responsible for holding it . The vet is not going to be holding the dog and giving vaccinations .

Just an update, dog has improved over the day but I've had to take him to a referral hospital where they're keeping him in overnight on a drip and monitoring him as a precaution. He's still dragging his back leg along the floor even though he didn't fall on it - they reckon the part of his brain which controls movement might be bruised/inflamed. Hopefully he'll recover in a week or so.

I decided not to query responsibility with vet, they have agreed to give me a payment plan as needed. In future I will stand well back for any appointments and insist they get a professional if they need help.

Thanks for all the well wishes, it's been really comforting.

I'm so sorry, sending positive vibes xx

Very tricky one indeed. I would hope the vet would 'cap' any costs for the treatment, or do it for free even, out of good will. However, I don't see this happening. They will not see it as their fault, and won't want to lose any money.

Hope your doggy is ok.

I really hope it is just bruising and he will be ok in a week.

I think it's ridiculous that they're charging you for an injury that happened whilst in their care. Disgusting.

Hope he improves, poor wee thing x

Poor pup and what a shock to you. Hope he recovers quickly.

Hope your dog is ok.

I am a vet. If everything happened exactly as you said and there was no unreasonable behaviour on your part leading up to it, I think they are being very cheeky expecting you to pay for this. It does occasionally happen that an animal gets injured in the consult - most often rabbits that jump suddenly and break their spines. Vets are required to have insurance to cover these kind of eventualities, which we all occasionally need to claim from.

This situation sounds very unlucky. However my understanding is the vet is liable for anything that happens in the consult room. Even if a dog bites its owner after the owner has refused to muzzle it, it is still our fault. This is because we (vets) are expected to know that animals may panic etc whereas owners may not know as they normally only see their animal in less stressful environments. I would ask them to pay for the treatment costs. Perhaps start by writing a polite letter outlining your position and see how they respond.

Also you should be aware that if you claim for this your premiums will go up and the insurer will possibly make exclusions or you will have less money left to claim for other conditions that may arise - it isn't just the £75 excess you need to consider.

I agree. The vet will be insured. I'd politely ask them to pay as it happened on their premises. It would be the same if you'd fallen over in there - they will have public liability insurance. It's worth a try.
Sending lots of love to you and your lovely dog. Don't let the shock let them push you into paying bills you can't afford.

If it comes to it, I'd speak to your local newspaper, or at least mention that's your intention. Might shame them into claiming on their insurance.

Any news OP? Hope your dog is ok.

MRIs are almost £2000 and not necessarily covered if you haven't told your insurance, so please read the policy carefully.

Thinking of you op

Poor pup, hope he's feeling better now

Not all policies carefreeeee; Petplan don't increase premiums in line with claims, although of course they can go up with age etc. Good point about not having enough money left to claim for other things though.

This thread has been interesting. care do you rely on owners to restrain their pets under normal circumstances? I must say I've never had a nurse in to hold them as routine - only if the pet is particularly wriggly, if the owner has specific difficulty or if they make a point of requesting it. It would be nice to have a nurse in all the time but they have their own jobs to be getting on with.

OP I'm so sorry to hear the update on your dog. Keeping everything crossed for a speedy recovery xxx

Run good to know about PP!

Yes generally the owner holds their own pet, and they do occasionally jump off but getting injured as a result is very rare.

I didn't mean to say that the vet had done anything wrong - freak accidents can happen to any of us and that's why we have insurance. I just meant that the liability for the incident should lie with the vet. I'd be interested to know what the VDS would say! I suspect they would just pay out though - unless there was evidence that the owner had refused to have a nurse hold the dog or something like that.

I agree, would be worth the vet speaking to VDS in case they can help.

Apologies for the late update. In the end my dog spent two nights at the referral hospital and came home yesterday. He's still under the weather but is gradually recovering (touchwood) - I'm taking him back to the regular vets tomorrow for a further check up.

I went through my insurance in the end because I wasn't in any fit state to challenge the vet and my priority was getting my dog treated without delay - I had asked them whether their own insurance would cover it but they replied "not unless you're saying we were negligent?" I suffer from anxiety and mild depression and I know that my mental health is not going to cope with fighting this when they've already indicated "no." However I have learnt my lesson in that for any future appointments I will not get involved at all and insist that everything is done by them to remove ambiguity.

Thanks again for all the good wishes/advice, it's been much appreciated.

@TempusEedjit
That sounds like a positive update. Wishing your dog full health soon. I can certainly understand why you don't want to "fight" this right now but want to focus on your dearly loved pet. I think insisting they do al future restraining etc will make things clear and reduce your anxiety.
Heal fast Tempusdog!

ime, all complications that happen at vets or private dentist: the client pays for the additional treatment. That's just how system works.

Sucks, I know. I have to take cat in for something tomorrow. Wish me luck.