We Paused Vet Malpractice Cases. Here’s Why We’re Taking Them Again.

At Boston Dog Lawyers, we recently hit pause on accepting veterinary malpractice cases—and after careful reflection, we’ve decided to press play again.

This wasn’t a decision we took lightly. It was the result of taking a step back to assess how we can best advocate for pet owners in different situations.

The Reality

Under current law, pet owners can't receive financial compensation for emotional distress or hurt feelings when something goes wrong at a vet hospital. It’s a law we’d love to see changed. Until then, if your goal is to receive money for the loss or injury of a pet, we are not the right firm for you. 

But if you're seeking answers, truth and accountability—we can absolutely help.

We’ve decided to reopen our doors to take on vet malpractice cases a bit differently. 

Here's Why

Most of the time, we’ve found that the veterinarian didn’t necessarily do anything wrong in their medical treatment when something goes wrong. But after something tragic happens, they shut down. Communication stops. Pet owners are left in the dark—not because vets are hiding something, but because their insurance companies tell them to stop talking.

That silence? It’s devastating. We've told many vets: if you’d just sit down with the pet owner, show some care, talk it through—they'd probably never call us. But when people who should take responsibility don’t, it creates deeper wounds. Pet owners are left grieving, confused, and angry, not only about losing their beloved pet but about the cold response that follows.

Our Goal

When we do take on these cases, our goal is not to sue for thousands of dollars. It’s to break that silence. If we can clear the initial legal threshold and find substance in the case, we’ll move forward—filing suit, staying through depositions and demanding direct answers in face-to-face interviews (often via Zoom). We aim to hold veterinarians accountable by getting real answers—not just legal ones, but moral ones.

In pursuing these cases, we've learned a lot. Through depositions and casework, we’ve discovered that veterinary recordkeeping isn’t always what it should be. Notes can be incomplete, altered after the fact, or kept in secret parts of the firm’s software not turned over in discovery. We’ve taken seminars on these issues. We've seen it with our own eyes. And when something feels off—we know how to find the truth.

Another Hard Truth

Pursuing these cases takes time, money and emotional energy. Because courts don’t recognize pets as family members in the same way we do, legal fees are rarely recoverable. And sometimes, clients spend more trying to find answers than they ever could win in a court ruling.

That’s why we no longer take these cases on a contingency basis. Veterinary-related matters are treated like all other pet legal cases in our office—we charge an hourly fee. That transparency is part of our commitment to you.

We may not take every case. But if what matters most to you is getting an answer, or making sure your voice is heard—we’re here to help you do that. We know your pet matters, and we’ll do everything we can to get the answers you need.