Texas Horse Lawyer & Attorney : Alison Rowe Law Firm : Equine Legal Matters, Racing, Thoroughbreds : Dallas, Bryan, Texas

Veterinarians may have several legal defenses to claims of malpractice. One of the most important procedural defenses is that of the statute of limitations. A statute of limitations is a state law that puts a limit on the amount of time a plaintiff has to file a lawsuit, usually from the time the injury occurred or when he or she discovered the injury. If the statute of limitations runs out before the lawsuit is filed, then no legal action may be taken.  Any attempt to do so will result in the judge dismissing the suit without hearing the merits of the claim. In order to "toll" the statute of limitations (i.e. make the limitations period stop running), the plaintiff must actually file suit.  Demand letters sent to the vet or the verbal notification of a future claim do not act to toll the statute of limitations.

With veterinary malpractice cases for injury to or death of a horse, the applicable statute of limitations may be based on claims for injury to personal property in that state, as domestic animals are considered personal property of the owner.  Those cases usually have a statute of limitations of four (4) years.

For states that include veterinarians under the list of professions covered by malpractice statutes, they may be based upon statutes that set time limits for malpractice. These statues of limitations are usually shorter, typically two (2) years.

For instance, Georgia law provides a two (2) year statute of limitations for medical malpractice actions.  However, veterinarians are not included in the definition of malpractice actions, because those involve injuries to people only.  Georgia has a four (4) year statute of limitations for injuries to personal property, which would arguably apply to a veterinary malpractice claim brought in Georgia.

Importantly, the manner in which a plaintiff pleads his or her claim (i.e., whether he or she claims common negligence or malpractice) may dictate the statute of limitations.  If a negligence claim is not barred by limitations and a malpractice action is barred, a court would allow the negligence action to go forward and dismiss the malpractice action.

For more information on vet malpractice actions and the applicable statute of limitations, see Veterinarian Malpractice by Davis S. Favre.

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Someone recently asked me if he had a case against an equine surgery clinic that told his local vet during a telephone conversation to not send them the mare because they did not have room for her at the clinic.  The mare died 4 hours later of colic complications, and the owner stated that she would have lived if the vet clinic had admitted her and performed colic surgery.  The mare in that case was not a current patient of the clinic.  The owner would not have a valid claim against the clinic in that case.

The decision of whether to accept an animal as a patient is at the sole discretion of a veterinarian.  This rule is set forth in Article II.E. of the the Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics of the American Veterinary Medical Association, which applies to all veterinarians in the United States.  The Texas Rules of Professional Conduct for veterinarians codifies that rule for vets practicing in Texas.  Therefore, even in emergency situations, vets do not have to take your horse if, for example, you cannot pay for the treatment or they simply do not have time to treat your horse.

For a vet to be potentially liable to a horse owner for injury or death of their horse, a veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) must first exist.  The VCPR is established when all of the following conditions are met:

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