Department of Pathology of School Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo (USP), Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, n. 87, Cidade Universitária, CEP 05508-270, São Paulo, Brazil.
Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health of School Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science of University of São Paulo (USP), Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, n. 87, Cidade Universitária, CEP 05508-270, São Paulo, Brazil.
Forensic Sci Int. 2020 May;310:110233. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110233. Epub 2020 Mar 2.
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.
近年来，随着宠物越来越被视为家庭的一部分，如果主人对兽医提供的服务感到不满，他们会通过法律手段追究责任，因此针对兽医的疏忽、过失和不当行为的诉讼有所增加，这是当前的一个趋势。然而，由于关于这个问题的数据很少，本研究旨在量化和定性巴西圣保罗州对兽医提起的诉讼，以确定并关联可能导致被告被判有罪或无罪的潜在风险因素。为此，该方法在圣保罗州法院网站上按年份搜索诉讼案件；诉讼程序（简易或特别民事法院）；原告的诉求（非经济损害赔偿、经济损害赔偿、医疗事故、过失或疏忽）；法院判决（案件被批准或驳回）；判决理由（证据充分或不足）；举证责任倒置（存在或不存在）；证据类型（证言、书面证据和专家证言）；诉求和裁定的损害赔偿价值；地点（大圣保罗或内陆州），以及诉讼是针对兽医诊所还是医院提起的。通过双变量和泊松回归分析，这些类别揭示了与法院判决相关的潜在风险因素。结果表明，举证责任倒置和证据不足作为判决依据分别是兽医从业者被判有罪和无罪的风险因素，并且在八年期间，诉讼数量增加了 533%。
