ComplaintsforAllegheny Veterinary Emergency Trauma & Specialty

• Initial Complaint

  01/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  My dog started vomiting and had out of the norm behaviors late last evening we felt it would be in the best interest to go to Avets to have her checked out. When we arrived @ 940ish pm, there seemed to be some level of concern and urgency but that quickly changed. They brought her back after checking her vitals stating she was stable, but had thrown up in the back but it was only food and that there would possibly be a 2-4 hrs wait prior to seeing the Vet. We decided we would wait just to be sure for Lulus safety. Roughly an hour and half in, **** begins to throw up again but this time there is a significant amount of blood and she is struggling to stop. The front desk worker requested a tech to come out. She kept referring to **** as a boy, which is concerning because she then states that she had blood in her vomit when they had her in back earlier, remember the original tech never mentioned that! When returning she took the time to stop at the front desk proceeding to look at someones finances stating I wish I had that much money as I am standing there on the verge of tears because my dog is throwing up BLOOD! She continues to state that this isnt concerning the doctor and he is currently replacing a cath in a cat, and we are only in our 1 and half hour quoted time of being seen. **** continues to have another episode of blood vomiting with no one checking on her or putting any effort into checking her vitals. At 230 am, we are finally taken back to see a vet! Who does a 10 min physical exam, suggesting that we have an X-ray done but that she has two new admits and they are backed up. It would take hours before it would be done. She proceeds to just treat the symptoms as I had mentioned that I would just take her to her vet as soon as they are able the same day. They give **** some medication and fluids. As they bring her back to us she starts the vomiting of blood again. Again, no concern and ready to discharge us at 330 in the morning!

• Initial Complaint

  04/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  ***** was a 12 month old Great Dane. She turned 1 on 3/21/2023. A baby, still. Fully vaccinated, in perfect health. Thursday 3/30, my sister-in-law texted me that ***** had massive diarrhea overnight Wednesday to Thursday. Throughout the day she got sicker - throwing up yellow bile, lethargic, still not eating. When she threw up a 2nd time we decided to try and get her in to emergency vet. Cheat Lake was not seeing patients due to lack of staff. PVSEC and Blue Pearl had 10+ hour wait times. Finally, I called Avets. Because ***** is a giant breed and her stomach was tender, they said she would be considered a critical case and to bring her in. As I was on my way to pick her up, she had diarrhea again which my SIL placed in a baggie for me. I completed the online registration at 7:32 pm and drove over to Monroeville. I presented ***** at around 8 pm the front desk. Lethargic, drooling, eyes sunken in from dehydration, nose and eyes running with red mucus. We sat in the waiting room at Avets for over 3 hours. The vet tech who saw her determined her condition to be “concerning.” ***** died the next day at her veterinarian’s office of parvovirus.

• Initial Complaint

  08/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  AVETS quoted 4500 to 6500 for the stay for my dog in hospital. They said it would be about $1k per day. But then they buried us with all kinds of unauthorized charges leading to over $2K per day WITHOUT our permission for a total of $13,000. That's $6500 more than their highest estimate. They also charged us for life saving blood transfusions (two!) that they did not give me dog. They admitted they made a mistake and shot the blood under his skin causing terrible bruising and NOT delivering needed blood into his veins. Two different vets admitted that as well as an ICU nurse. That is a INCOMPLETE SERVICE that they charged for which contributed to the morbidity and mortality of my dog. They then charged 2K per day without getting our permission. We are asking them to honor the original price of $1K per day and give us a refund of $6500. Otherwise they do not have our signature/permission for the additional charges and we will be forced to get a lawyer involved.

  Business response

  08/24/2022

  August 22nd, 2022 *** ******** ***** ***** * ****** ******** *** ***** *** ******* ***** 

  AVETS' RESPONSE TO COMPLAINT: RECAP OF VISIT INFO: 

  The female owner and her son presented their dog, ******* to Avets on 8/3/2022. They presented ****** to the hospital for having a distended abdomen. ****** was diagnosed from his primary vet the previous day with diabetes, pancreatitis, and a possible infection of some kind. Patient was not doing better, so presented to Avets. After an examination by Dr. B****** bloodwork and radiographs were 

  done showing significant electrolyte imbalances, and acidosis, with the possibility of turning into ketoacidosis. Hospitalization was recommended with an estimate of $4500-$6500. Owners consented and ****** was hospitalized. The next morning ****** declined and needed a blood transfusion. Dr. N***** spoke to ******* who consented to the transfusion and increase of estimate. 

  Assessment By: Christopher N****** DVM, DACVAA, CVPP DACVECC 8/4/2022 10:15 am "Client Education: Phone call to male owner. Spoke at length (25 minutes). ****** is a very sick dog with numerous serious problems. All of these problems could result in decline or death and all will require continued ongoing care beyond this current hospitalization. Charges are expected to exceed 6k estimate in total. Electrolytes and hydration are improved today. BGs still remain very high and we are now starting insulin therapy. Patient's anemia has worsened. Suspect anemia of chronic disease. Transfusion is recommended today. Patient has never had a transfusion before per owner. There are risks associated with this including acute and delayed transfusion reaction, infection, anaphylaxis, death, TACO, TRALI, other. In this case the benefits outweigh the risks. Reviewed AUS. Pancreatitis. Supportive care is recommended for this issue including pain medication, nutrition, and potentially pentoxifylline as used in people. Enlarged Radrenal. Could be functional and cause Cushing's. Could be neoplastic as well although less likely. Recommend LDDST in the future with IM department or RDVM. Very likely panc, possible UTI, and Cushing's disease may complicate diabetes. Emphysemetous cholecystitis. Can be associated with DM. Risk for GB rupture. Often associated with infection. Will attempt to collect GB sample but this may not be feasible. Will begin broad spectrum ABs. Once stable, removal of GB is recommended. This could be 5-7k+ and is not without risk for complications. Many risks for decline exist including SIRS/Sepsis, MODS, aspiration, ARDS, blood clots, sudden death. Owner consents to procedures and continued care. He has no questions but reports he is overwhelmed. Supervising Specialist: C. Norkus, DVM, DACVAA, DACVECC" 

  The next day ****** needed additional care that Dr. N***** went over with male owner. Again, male owner consented to care and the estimate increase of $8000-$10,000. 

  Client Communication By: Christopher N****** DVM, DACVAA,CVPP DACVECC 8/5/2022 11:50 am "Phone call to male owner. Spoke at length. ****** is doing "okay". He remains in critical condition. He still has the potential to decline or die at any point. First thing this morning we noted that his PCV after the transfusion yesterday did not increase much and that there was some bruising around his hind leg catheter. A second transfusion was started. Shortly after this was started we identified that the PICC 

  line that was receiving the transfusion was blown and thus I suspect some of his transfusion from last night and some from this morning when SQ which therefore didn't get into the system. This is unlikely to hurt ****** but just means that he didnt get what we intended him to get. I have requested management remove the charges for the two transfusions as i dont believe he received the full transfusion. In some ways this is good news as it explains why his PCV continued to decrease. I rechecked BW this am. Ketones and DKA are better. From the DKA, his phosphorous is now very low and this is likely contributing to his anemia. We are treating this and expect this to stabilize over the next 12 hours or so. His kidney function has markedly worsened. Some of this could be pre-renal/dehydration so we are increasing his fluid therapy however an AKI/MODS is also possible. No specific treatment for AKI here beyond what we are already doing for him. Will continue to monitor. If AKI, this would also complicate recovery. 50:50 survival with AKI and 50% of the cases surviving can have CKD. Comfortable and taking NG tube feeding well. Still remains a very sick dog. I discussed that charges are currently at 7600$ on a 6500$ estimate however this includes the two transfusions so the charges are not accurate. I would expect ****** care is going to enter into the 8-10k range or more. I see him staying in hospital >48h. Male owner understands this and verbally consents to continued care. No questions." 

  The next day ****** continued to be in critical condition. Dr. N***** explained that the blood transfusions was unsuccessful and the cost will be removed from their invoice. In addition, while this blood transfusion was less than ideal, it did not cause any further decline in health. Our doctor again spoke to male owner and male owner consented to continued care and an increased estimate: 

  Client Communication By: Christopher N****** DVM, DACVAA,CVPP DACVECC 8/6/2022 11:32 am "Phone call to male owner. Updated him that ****** remains in stable but critical condition today. Still very weak and prefers not to stand. Electrolytes, acid-base balance, and ketone levels are largely back to normal. Thus our DKA is much improved. Pancreatitis is also improving as now very comfortable upon abdominal palpation and no adverse GI signs. Tolerating NG tube at full RER as of this morning. Will continue to wean down pain medications. No obvious worsening of gall bladder. Trivial abdominal effusion and normal tbili. All diagnostics still pending. Anemia remains at PCV of 17% following transfusion and patient appears to have adequate oxygen carryin capacity. Will need to monitor closely. Biggest new concern is that Crea has risen and consistent with IRIS Stage 3 (moderate to severe) AKI. Will be watching BPs closely as could become hypertensive. AKI has a ~50:50 survival rate with 50% of 

  the dogs surviving having CKD. Thus this is a bit of a set back. Right now continued care remains recommended. I would see ****** needing several additional days in hospital. Charges are currently at 8600 which includes refund of 75% off of the previous two transfusions which were not administered intravenously. I anticipate ****** charges being in the 8-12k range as previously discussed. Invited owners to come visit today. Dr. B***** to take over care tomorrow." 

  ****** remained hospitalized for a few days, but continued to decline. Dr. B***** spoke to male owner and female owner: 

  Assessment By: Amy B*****, DVM, MS, DACVECC 8/8/2022 9:49 am "Client Education: 

  - Called male owner at 10am. ****** is hanging in there but does not look great. Last night, pt likely had a small stoke. Respiratory rate and effort increased, eyes moving back and forth. Tried to update o last night, was unable to contact, so discussed with O's mother. Pt is more depressed than yesterday, able to get pt to sit up for a second. Still a high respiratory rate and effort. Do not know why this happened as lungs are still clear - top differential is a clot in the lungs, but requires CT contrast to diagnose. Pt is already on blood thinners to help prevent clotting, can add additional anticoagulants, but would get to 

  the point of being dangerously anticoagulant with more meds. O asked about bringing pt home - pt case is much more complicated, his passing will not be pretty, not just gently passing away in sleep. Pt is one step forward and two steps back. Overnight was a very big step back. Pt will likely not make it out of this hospital, think it is time to stop. Will discuss with O when he comes. - TSV, scribe. 

  Scribe: TSV, for Dr. B****** 

  Spoke with owners at great length during visit - discussed that he is having a hard time breathing, even in oxygen. I more suspect a thrombotic event than a transfusion reaction (was cross-matched negative), and worry that he continues to shower PTEs. Given the current clinical course, I recommend humane euthanasia. Male owner wants to euth, Female Owner does not. Discussed all problems again, reviewed SIRS and how it causes MODS and affects distant organs. Currently, have failure of multiple organs - hematologic, GI, renal, pulmonary and +/- neuro systems. I do not think he is likely to survive, as he keeps getting sicker and sicker despite our best efforts. Reviewed again all systems and problem list. Likely to be in hospital for weeks, Gave financial update of $12K currently, and that will continue to go up rapidly given how sick he is. Female owner was not informed by male owner that the estimate had been increased (he admitted that he knew and did not tell her). She does not have enough to cover the remaining bill, and refuses to use CareCredit since they asked for pictures of her driver's license. Discussed funding sources at length, advised that they need to pay their balance. I will see what charges I can combine to decrease it, but the invoices are audited and I don't have much control over it. After lengthy discussion, they agree to euthanize. 

  3ml Propofol IV 3mL Euthasol IV The owners witnessed the procedure The owners elected to take the body home." 

  In this communication we can see that male owner did in fact consent to care and the increasing estimates, however, did not inform female owner about the costs. All treatments were provided to ****** and despite our best efforts, euthanasia was elected by the owners. All charges are valid. In addition to the $8000 the client has paid, they also have an outstanding balance of $4487.00 for care and treatments that were provided. 

  In conclusion, all services and treatments were provided to ******* In addition to this letter, there is a signed credit card slip from female owner, an itemized invoice, and the complete medical record for ******'s stay. 

  If you have any questions, or need clarification on any aspect of the information provided, please feel free to reach out to me directly at ************ * **** 

  Thank you, 

  Lisa P*********** Special Projects Coordinator

  Customer response

  08/24/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  This vet is blowing smoke to distract from THEIR OWN ADMISSION of malpractice Saturday August 13th, 2022 morning buy the lead doctor who ADMITTED and apologized that they failed TWICE to successfully administer an emergency transfusion into our dog's vein. He said they missed the vein...twice! The catheter failed...TWICE. Our dog died! And an additional ER tech and female doctor admitted the same thing to us (two failed transfusions). This vet knows they are at fault and they are trying to bury BBB in extraneous info. Period. To add insult to injury...they insisted on $4000 more or they wouldn't give us our dog's body to take for burial. THAT is just evil. We have photographic evidence of their malpractice. After the doctor on Saturday August 13th admitted the failed transfusions he warned us that the blood instead filled the patient's stomach subcutaneously and would appear very red. THAT is the pic you will find attached. The transfusions clearly failed. We are getting a lawyer as well as reporting this vet to the State board for investigation into their malpractice. The vet has no interest in negotiating with us, thus we have no choice. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ********* *****

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩