Making a complaint about a vet/admissions of liability etc

I know I've seen a few threads but can't think of how to search successfully for them.

The situation - I adopted a rabbit from [withholding name] who give free neutering vouchers for use at a vet practice associated with them. [no naming them if you think you know who I'm talking about, please ]

The neutering happened but said bunny had an infection which was not picked up on post-op check up, though I wasn't happy with the advice I received to monitor (one of his scrotal sacs was swollen, it was actually full of pus). I, of course, got a second opinion from my own vet who was immediately aware of 'something serious' and took said rabbit into surgery within a few hours to clean out the infection.

It's clear to me that this infection should have been picked up on the post-op check up at the original vets. If I'd have waited for the external signs they suggested I am strongly of the belief that the infection would have been so bad it would have killed him. I am strongly of the belief that my seeking the second opinion saved his life.

There's been an exchange of letters between myself and the original vets, I've been offered a 'not admission of liability' payment from the charity concerned (about 60% of the bill in question).

Since starting this I want them to admit liability, it was originally about re-embursing the fee but I'm now livid that they won't accept that their 'care'/advice fell far short of appropriate and could have killed him. They say if I wasn't happy with the advice I should have sought a second opinion through their network (understandable) but I wanted to take him to someone whose opinion/knowledge I value and trust - I wanted the rabbit to live for god's sake! I personally think it is reasonable that I got a second opinion from a known and trusted party and the fact that they were WRONG in their advice should mean that legally, by whatever means, I should be entitled to re-embursement. I'd really like an acknowledgment that they got it wrong and that would mean far more to me than the money. But, legally, I don't know if, because I chose to get a second opinion through a third party I have no rights of claim.

Any wise people able to advise whether I have any sort of legal claim and how to pursue it?

Also, does anyone know if that fact that I didn't pay for it, it was done through a charity makes any difference to my claim for any of this :?

Oh, and another question - if I accept the 'not admission of liability' payment, can I still take action against them for the failings in their service? It's two separate issues to me, one the charity seeing through their commitment to the neutering and my taking up issue with the vets in question. It's times like this I wish I had a camera on my phone and had taken some pictures as evidence.


I've kept quiet on this issue for 3 months to give them a chance but I'm livid at this point :evil:

What an awful experience Thank goodness you obtained a second opinion

Unfortunately I dont think you are going to receive an admission of liability. That seldom happens in out of court settlements. If that issue is very important to you then I think you are going to have to seek advice from a Solicitor. This would of course incur expense. I may be wrong, but I seem to recall that on an Adoption Agreement there is mention of having to approach them re Veterinary attention rather than taking the Rabbit to another Vet - ie not the ones they work with.

I think you are within your rights to claim reimbursement for the surgery/medication to sort out the infection, but not for the actual Neuter as that was funded via the Charity.

I am glad the poor Bunny is OK xx

Jack's-Jane said:

What an awful experience Thank goodness you obtained a second opinion

Unfortunately I dont think you are going to receive an admission of liability. That seldom happens in out of court settlements. If that issue is very important to you then I think you are going to have to seek advice from a Solicitor. This would of course incur expense. I may be wrong, but I seem to recall that on an Adoption Agreement there is mention of having to approach them re Veterinary attention rather than taking the Rabbit to another Vet - ie not the ones they work with.

I think you are within your rights to claim reimbursement for the surgery/medication to sort out the infection, but not for the actual Neuter as that was funded via the Charity.

I am glad the poor Bunny is OK xx

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Thanks. It was against my better judgement to go anywhere else, of course, but it was 'free' and I thought that they've be able to manage to remove a couple of testicles without any trouble :? The 'free' neuter cost nearly £300. I'm so glad I adopted him though... if it was somebody who had just gone with their advice and not sought that second opinion.....

I can't afford a solicitor, I'm probably just going to have to rant to get it out of my system but they put this precious little soul's life at risk and I wanted acknowledgement :evil:

:evil: what an awful situation. Do you have legal cover through say your house insurance? You may be able to use that if so to get a solicitor involved :thumb:

I don't think it matters that you had it done 'free' they still have a duty of care to the animal to provide adequate veterinary attention which it sounds like they fell way short of.

Presumably in wanting them to admit liability you also want that particular vet to do extra training?

In the context of this issue, yes you were 'wrong' (In their eyes) to seek assistance from another vet but you also have to argue the point that as it was missed first time, they could have missed it again and potentially killed the animal. I'm not sure that's a preferable outcome as you could have then gone on to the papers and made it public.

I'm really glad little bunny is now going to be okay and I'm sorry you're having to go through this

What a horrible ordeal. Sorry no advice but guess you would want them to pay 100% of the £300 vet bill. How could you miss an infection like that.

Good luck.

You could make a complaint about the vet to the RCVS. I know they have a complaints service and at least then, there would be a record of it. It won't cost you anything.

Zoobec said:

:evil: what an awful situation. Do you have legal cover through say your house insurance? You may be able to use that if so to get a solicitor involved :thumb:

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Very basic house insurance unfortunately, definitely don’t have anything like that available.

Gem said:

I don't think it matters that you had it done 'free' they still have a duty of care to the animal to provide adequate veterinary attention which it sounds like they fell way short of.

Presumably in wanting them to admit liability you also want that particular vet to do extra training?

In the context of this issue, yes you were 'wrong' (In their eyes) to seek assistance from another vet but you also have to argue the point that as it was missed first time, they could have missed it again and potentially killed the animal. I'm not sure that's a preferable outcome as you could have then gone on to the papers and made it public.

I'm really glad little bunny is now going to be okay and I'm sorry you're having to go through this

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Thanks. I’m not even sure about the extra training, just an acknowledgement that she should have taken the appearance of his ‘swollen’ scrotum more seriously. They are not even acknowledging it now, just saying that she didn’t feel it warranted further attention etc. It clearly did, there’s no question she was wrong. I had it explained to me, when I went for the second opinion, that the marked difference in the two sides of the scrotum were a cause for concern. Though the skin wasn’t ‘blackened and crispy’ (what I was told to look out for), that it should have been obvious it wasn’t just ‘swollen’.

Barn Yard Bunnies said:

What a horrible ordeal. Sorry no advice but guess you would want them to pay 100% of the £300 vet bill. How could you miss an infection like that.

Good luck.

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Yes, I want every penny back. I think they are trying to guilt trip me by saying it’s the charity that is paying for it, but it won’t wash - they made a serious mistake. I ought to be adding a few noughts for the stress of it all.

ripply said:

You could make a complaint about the vet to the RCVS. I know they have a complaints service and at least then, there would be a record of it. It won't cost you anything.

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Yes, I think this is the way to go. If they had just acknowledged that it should have been taken more seriously I would have let it go but the persistence of the line that I should have taken my concerns to them, second opinion from them and them not even acknowledging that they made a mistake leaves me with very little other option.



I do not intend to let him down, he's a very dear little soul and he deserves far better. The thought that I could have lost him through such negligence makes me so angry.

Bunny Buddy said:

Very basic house insurance unfortunately, definitely don’t have anything like that available.

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What about on your car insurance/health insurance, sometimes you have legal cover on those. Failing that you could get a free hours session with a solicitor usually, get them to give advice, and then pay for them to do a letter for you, they aren't to know you won't be taking it further, it might make them cough up :thumb:

Zoobec said:

What about on your car insurance/health insurance, sometimes you have legal cover on those. Failing that you could get a free hours session with a solicitor usually, get them to give advice, and then pay for them to do a letter for you, they aren't to know you won't be taking it further, it might make them cough up :thumb:

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Yes this is excellent advice I had to resort to that a few years ago over my two boa constrictors someone wouldn't return to me. Didn't cost me anything & got one back. The other allegedly "died" :roll:

You should complain to the RCVS as the vet does sound as though she has been negligent. You need to read the terms of the neuter and the adoption re the second opinion but I am pretty sure that in order to receive the outcome you want, you would have to go through the official complaints channel set by the company and probably should have gone to them for the second opinion.

It's a shame that you and your new bun have experienced this problem I adopted through this company and the first vet checked Py over and said that his testicles were pushed up (something like that ) so the operation would be an extra £150. I wasn't too pleased about this and then the surgeon, who was head at the practice, said he will fight for the cost to be paid by the charity as he said this problem should have been picked up when Py was checked pre adoption. It was a bit of a battle for him but I didn't have to pay a thing in the end. So I just want to point out that not all of these veterinary practices are hopeless.

I hope that you get at least some kind of closure and also that the vet in question was just having a bad day :?

Rab-bit said:

You should complain to the RCVS as the vet does sound as though she has been negligent. You need to read the terms of the neuter and the adoption re the second opinion but I am pretty sure that in order to receive the outcome you want, you would have to go through the official complaints channel set by the company and probably should have gone to them for the second opinion.

It's a shame that you and your new bun have experienced this problem I adopted through this company and the first vet checked Py over and said that his testicles were pushed up (something like that ) so the operation would be an extra £150. I wasn't too pleased about this and then the surgeon, who was head at the practice, said he will fight for the cost to be paid by the charity as he said this problem should have been picked up when Py was checked pre adoption. It was a bit of a battle for him but I didn't have to pay a thing in the end. So I just want to point out that not all of these veterinary practices are hopeless.

I hope that you get at least some kind of closure and also that the vet in question was just having a bad day :?

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Thanks. If the vet in question was having a bad day they've had chance to apologise for it but are refusing to accept they have done anything wrong, even though I've described what each vet saw (same thing) and how each vet responded to the appearance of his scrotum. I still just got the reply that she felt there was no need for intervention. I already know she felt there was no need for intervention, that's the whole issue!! Yes, they are all franchises so will vary such a lot.

They can say what they like about where I should have got the second opinion, at the time I pursued the second opinion I didn't give a stuff about the money I just wanted my vet to give her opinion so that I could stop stressing about checking for the situation to have deteriorated when I was convinced there was something wrong already. I was happy to pay the money just to get it resolved but it was only later I decided to pursue the money. Given that he could have died and I have resolved this situation what I'm asking is actually a very small amount. Their most recent letter strongly emphasises it't the charity that would be paying but it shouldn't be - it should be the vet practice, maybe through some liability insurance or something such.

They'll never admit liability, our local hospital killed my Nan... it's all there written in black and white and they still won't admit it was their fault.

It's a sad, sad state of affairs when people can't just apologise and say they made a mistake.

chloemurray said:

They'll never admit liability, our local hospital killed my Nan... it's all there written in black and white and they still won't admit it was their fault.

It's a sad, sad state of affairs when people can't just apologise and say they made a mistake.

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Closure is often so much easier if people accept responsibility.

I can understand as it opens them up to litigation if they admit it but just as a decent, human thing to do, then it means involved parties can start to think of moving on.

How awful So glad bunny is doing ok now.

Sad thing is it probably will be the charity who have to foot the bill Have you spoken to the charity, as oppose to the charities vet? I know if it was one of our bunnies I would want the adopter to be calling and speaking to me rather than getting a second opinion and then potentially asking for the money back. I know that isn't your main point btw (I understand the charity vet is at fault), just wondering if you'd contacted the charity directly

Becky86 said:

How awful So glad bunny is doing ok now.

Sad thing is it probably will be the charity who have to foot the bill Have you spoken to the charity, as oppose to the charities vet? I know if it was one of our bunnies I would want the adopter to be calling and speaking to me rather than getting a second opinion and then potentially asking for the money back. I know that isn't your main point btw (I understand the charity vet is at fault), just wondering if you'd contacted the charity directly

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No, same organisation as far as I'm concerned. I would expect them just to back each other up.

All that was going on in my head when I got the second opinion was that I was worried that they were wrong and that it could be serious. I was told that there was potential for it to become a hernia. When I'd had time to think about that for a while I thought surely, if they think it might not be right, (reading between the lines that the internal stitch had not held) then *maybe* they should be looking into what's happening now rather than just monitoring it and waiting for the skin to go black and him to look in pain and withdrawn/not eating etc :evil: as advised. It was just instinct to get the second opinion from my vet, it was more a 'reassurance' appointment than anything - I was totally shocked when he needed to go into surgery ASAP and then realising the consequences of it all. I can definitely see their point about second opinion from them but they were so wrong - how do I know the second opinion wouldn't just be a covering their backsides exercise - something I couldn't risk.

Someone knowledgeable (don't want to name them) has advised me that the vet's insurance should cover it, not the charity pay for it. It was a bad phone line so I want to get more clarification on this. The last thing I want to do is get the charity to pay for it. It does say in my letter that the charity would have paid for it under normal circumstances if they had done the post-infection surgery, just at the charity discount rate it would be £160.

This sounds very similar to the experience I had with two Kirkby rabbits who suffered appalling castrations at the hand of a vet who had never performed the procedure before. Both rabbits were discharged in a shocking state, bleeding and swollen. Despite being taken straight back and kept in overnight they were discharged the following morning in the same appalling condition. No medication was prescribed, so no pain relief, no antibiotics.

Both rabbits were severely infected and I ended up taking them to my own vets where they had emergency surgery to remove all the infected tissue (scrotal ablation) as by this point Celia had no confidence in the original vets.

One was so bad that my vet couldn't be sure that he would pull through. Both rabbits survived, although Wallace lost his fight against pasteurella earlier this year. We will never prove it, but I believe Wallace's illness is linked to the trauma he experienced at the hands of this incompetent vet.

On behalf of the rescue I took this to the RCVS as an official complaint. Part of the process involved me having a meeting with the Clinical Director of the offending practice, an experience I never want to repeat again.

We had graphic photos of the shocking state of the rabbits, witnesses, reports from my vets who did the emergency surgery, emails from the Clinical Director apologising for the errors. I thought there was no way that they would get away with such incompetence, but they did. We never got justice, she is still out there practicing. They lied through their teeth and got away with it.

I told the offending practice that I wanted them to reimburse Celia with the £500 it cost to rectify their errors. They refused.

To add insult to injury, Celia also had to pay for the original appalling castrations. They threatened her with court action when she withheld payment.

Sorry for rambling on. This angers me as much now as it did then.

If you want any info on the complaints procedure that we went through, just give me a shout. More than happy for you to see my completed complaint form and photos etc if you think it might help you do yours. I spent hours on it.

Tracy said:

This sounds very similar to the experience I had with two Kirkby rabbits who suffered appalling castrations at the hand of a vet who had never performed the procedure before. Both rabbits were discharged in a shocking state, bleeding and swollen. Despite being taken straight back and kept in overnight they were discharged the following morning in the same appalling condition. No medication was prescribed, so no pain relief, no antibiotics.

Both rabbits were severely infected and I ended up taking them to my own vets where they had emergency surgery to remove all the infected tissue (scrotal ablation) as by this point Celia had no confidence in the original vets.

One was so bad that my vet couldn't be sure that he would pull through. Both rabbits survived, although Wallace lost his fight against pasteurella earlier this year. We will never prove it, but I believe Wallace's illness is linked to the trauma he experienced at the hands of this incompetent vet.

On behalf of the rescue I took this to the RCVS as an official complaint. Part of the process involved me having a meeting with the Clinical Director of the offending practice, an experience I never want to repeat again.

We had graphic photos of the shocking state of the rabbits, witnesses, reports from my vets who did the emergency surgery, emails from the Clinical Director apologising for the errors. I thought there was no way that they would get away with such incompetence, but they did. We never got justice, she is still out there practicing. They lied through their teeth and got away with it.

I told the offending practice that I wanted them to reimburse Celia with the £500 it cost to rectify their errors. They refused.

To add insult to injury, Celia also had to pay for the original appalling castrations. They threatened her with court action when she withheld payment.

Sorry for rambling on. This angers me as much now as it did then.

If you want any info on the complaints procedure that we went through, just give me a shout. More than happy for you to see my completed complaint form and photos etc if you think it might help you do yours. I spent hours on it.

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I can't believe you didn't win this :evil: Poor Wallace. I remember how fragile he was but I'd forgotten he was one of the bodged neuter bunnies. So unfair.

Bunny Buddy said:

Closure is often so much easier if people accept responsibility.

I can understand as it opens them up to litigation if they admit it but just as a decent, human thing to do, then it means involved parties can start to think of moving on.

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Exactly I really hope you get the outcome you and the little bunny deserve xx

No advice here but just wanted to say, Bunny Buddy, what a beautiful little boy and I hope something works out for you concerning his case. ((((((((Hugs))))))))) xxxxx
I have to wonder if post neuter infection/substandard care was the eventual cause of the demise of one of my Bridge dogs as he had been in decent health up until that point, but since it was a few months later that he passed we couldn't pinpoint anything as the cause. I've since been very critical of any surgical procedure for my pets that seems 'off' in any way.

Tracy, I am so sorry reading your account of the Kirkby rabbits. What an horrible situation and you have my sympathies. ((((((((Hugs))))))) xxxx