Quantitative and qualitative analysis of lawsuits against veterinarians and correlation of potential risk factors with court decisions.

The increase in lawsuits against veterinarians based on recklessness, negligence and malpractice is a current trend since pets are increasingly viewed as part of the family, and legal action is sought if the owner is frustrated with the services rendered by the veterinarian. However, since scarce data exists on this issue, this study aims to quantify and qualify lawsuits filed against veterinarians in the state of São Paulo, Brazil to identify and correlate potential risk factors that may lead to conviction or acquittal of defendants. For this purpose, the methodology employed a search for lawsuits on the website of the São Paulo State Court of Justice, sorted by year; proceedings (summary or special civil court); plaintiff's claim (non-economic damages, economic damages, malpractice, negligence or recklessness); court decision (case granted or denied); reason for judgment (sufficient or insufficient evidence); reverse burden of proof (present or absent); type of evidence (deposition, documentary and expert testimony); value of damages claimed and awarded; location (greater São Paulo or inner state), and whether the lawsuit was filed against a veterinary clinic or hospital. These categories shed light, through bivariate and Poisson regression analyses, on the potential risk factors relative to court decisions. Results demonstrate that reverse burden of proof and insufficient evidence as the basis for judgment were, respectively, risk factors for conviction and acquittal of veterinary practitioners, and the number of lawsuits increased by 533 % over eight years.

Fratura proximal de tíbia após cirurgia extracapsular para correção de ruptura de ligamento cruzado cranial em cão / Tibial fracture caused by complications after an extracapsular suture for the repair of cranial cruciate ligament rupture in a dog

Ruptura de ligamento cruzado cranial (RLCCr) é a afecção ortopédica mais frequente no joelho de cães e a sutura fabelo-tibial é frequentemente utilizada na sua correção. Essa técnica pode estar associada com complicações incisionais, lesão tardia de menisco, edema associado ao material de sutura e infecção. O objetivo desta nota foi relatar a ocorrência de fratura proximal de tíbia em um cão, causada por complicação em sutura fabelo-tibial para correção de RLCCr. Um canino atendido em outro serviço foi submetido à osteossíntese com placa 2,0mm para correção de complicação em técnica extra-capsular, na qual houve fratura da tíbia na região do orifício criado para confecção da sutura fabelo-tibial. Houve falha dos implantes e a placa foi removida. A fratura foi estabilizada com fixador esquelético externo circular, sendo constatada, após 120 dias, consolidação.

Cranial cruciate ligament rupture (CCLR) is one of the most common orthopedic diseases in dogs and extracapsular suture with nylon is often used for its correction. This technique may be associated with incisional complications, post-surgical meniscus injury, swelling associated with suture material and infection. The objective of this study is to report a tibial fracture in a dog, caused by complications after an extracapsular suture for the repair of CCLR. An adult dog, which suffered a tibial fracture after an extracapsular fixation for a CCLR, underwent surgery for the fixation of the fracture with a 2.0mm plate, by a referring veterinarian, but the implant failed. The plate was removed and the fracture was stabilized with a circular fixator. Bone consolidation was observed after 120 days.