Can I sue the vet for killing my cat?
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Can I sue the vet for killing my cat?
After sedation, my cat was placed in his carrier by the vet, along with some cloth padding. The
Vet tech assured me that my cat was completely out of sedation and that I could take him
to another place to finish treatment .Unbeknownst to me, my cat was still sedated and he ended up suffocating in the cloth padding they placed him in. The second place I took my cat too informed me of this. They also informed me that,proper vet protocol was not followed. My cat should not have been placed back in a carrier after being sedated, especially given his large size. According to the second place I took him to, they should have instructed me to place my cat on my lap because his lungs were too weak from sedation. The second place tried to revive him but my cat ended up dying right in front of me. With documents providing the first hospital was at fault, do I have a case?
Asked on October 31, 2016 under Malpractice Law, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Yes, you can, but unless your cat was a very valuable purebreed, breeder, or winning show animal--and you can prove that fact--you will spend more on the lawsuit than you get back. Unfortunately, the law does not recognize or provide compensation for the animal's suffering or the pet parent's emotional loss: all you can recover for wrongful animal death is the economic value of the animal, which for many (e.g. shelter animals or rescues) is essentially zero.
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