Stefanie Capps, of the Ft. Myers office, obtained a defense verdict in a veterinary malpractice case.  The Plaintiff had an eight year old Labrador Retriever who had terminal cancer.  The Defendant, a board certified veterinary surgeon, performed a life saving splenectomy on the dog to stop internal bleeding caused by cancerous tumors in his spleen.  The Plaintiff alleged that the surgery caused the dog to suffer a neurological injury to his back right leg and thus, the remainder of the dog’s life was marred by the injury.  The Plaintiff was seeking reimbursement for the bills to treat the dog’s foot condition and $16,000.00 for the air ambulance.

At trial, the Plaintiff had two treating veterinarians testify, however, during cross examination, both admitted that they could not provide a link between the surgery and the cause of the neurological defect.  As a result, the Judge entered a directed verdict in favor of the defense.