The Bad Vet Daily: What Do We Do with the Drugged Out Veterinarian, Installment #3

Monday, April 28, 2008

What Do We Do with the Drugged Out Veterinarian, Installment #3

This one from Texas.

Because . . . old habits die hard.

In June 2007, the Texas Board of Veterinary Medicine issued Findings of Fact stating that:

"The Board . . . opened a complaint against Erik Gallegos, D.V.M., San Antonio, for possible illegal prescription of a controlled substance, hydrocodone, for self-use . . . Dr. Gallegos admitted that he had a substance abuse problem and that he had attempted to obtain the hydrocodone for self-use. He also admitted that he had taken buphrenophrine from his clinic for self-use."

Dr. Gallegos surrendered his DPS and DEA certificate. Gallegos entered a peer assistance program for "substance abuse recovery" and signed a 5-year contract to participate in the program and be subject to periodic drug screening.

But 6 months after signing this contract and surrendering his DEA license, Gallegos again tried to obtain hydrocodone for personal use. The Texas Department of Public Safety filed criminal charges against him.

At that time, all the Board did was fine him $500, reprimand him, and give him a "stayed" suspension (that is -- a suspension that is not enforced).

Lo and behold, the Texas Veterinary Board "Notes" released in April 2008 cited yet another violation and enforcement action against Gallegos. The Notes say: "The Board found that Gallegos violated rule 573.62, Violation of a Board Order/Negotiated Settlements, Disciplinary Action: Dr. Gallegos received a 60 month suspension, all of which was stayed and probated, must submit to random drug testing, and a formal reprimand."

Question: When in the heck will the Texas Vet Board ever ENFORCE a suspension? How many times can a vet do the same thing over and over and get NO more severe discipline than the time before?

Isn't this the exact same disciplinary action they took the last time, and yet the guy keeps it up?

Links:

http://www.thetooncesproject.com/images/TX_2007_Gallegos_Erik_2007-28.pdf

http://www.tbvme.state.tx.us/Board%20Notes/04-2008%20Board%20Notes.pdf

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I suggest a vet for you to feature on this blog? Yes. However, for my own legal protection I can only write about veterinarians for whom there is "public record." That means that either there must be one or more: Veterinary Board action, court case/records, public police record, or news story about the vet. Everything on this blog is either a recitation of public record or my personal opinion based on public records. I cannot print your opinion or your version of events. If there is no public record related to a veterinarian, I cannot blog about them. However, that doesn't prevent you from doing so, and I encourage you to tell your story.

Why don't you print comments on this blog? You would not believe the hateful, hurtful remarks that veterinarians and their "fans" post about grieving pet owners and dead pets, even when public record shows them to be at fault in actions surrounding the injury or death of a pet. I will not provide a forum for attacks on victims. This characterizes the majority of comments I got when I did allow them. I feel that it is best that I not allow comments either from victims or veterinarians. I want to make it clear: This blog presents public record and MY opinions based on public record. Period.

Will you revise or remove blogs about a vet if we send you more information or tell you how wonderful the vet is and why the "public record" does not reflect the true character of the vet? Probably not. I won't say "never" -- I did revise a blog ONCE in light of a very impassioned email I received from a rescue group about a vet. I did not, however, remove the blog. Out of deference to a rescue's heartfelt email, I chose to "tone down" the blog post voluntarily and remove references to items which were in the public record, but which were of a highly personal nature. But for the most part, no, I don't/won't do this. The public record, and my opinion based on it, stands.

If you have public record that is more recent, that sheds further light on events described in a blog post (for example, if a vet subsequently appealed a board decision and had it reversed or modified, but this is not mentioned in the post) then I would be happy to receive that information and will likely add an update to the bottom of the post to reflect it.

The Bad Vet Daily Goes Weekly . . . Monthly, etc.

Yes, regular readers: I'm sure you've noticed. I haven't been able to do this blog daily. Why? Is it because there aren't enough bad vets to fill 365 days a year?

Unfortunately, NO, that's not the reason, and YES, there are more than enough bad vets to fill 365 days a year.

It is because each of these posts has taken me no less than 1 1/2 hours, and sometimes, up to 4 hours. This includes identifying a case, researching readily available information on the vet's violations, and then doing a search to see if I can figure out where the vet is now.

Therefore, with pets to tend to and a job to keep, I bow to the suggestion of friends that I admit to myself this is just going to need to be a more occasional.

But in return . . . I promise to feature at LEAST 365 vets over the life of this blog.

Thank you for caring about your pets.

About State Veterinary Boards

Although most of the stories told here will be taken from State Veterinary Board disciplinary files -- don't let this lull you into thinking that Veterinary Boards are doing a good job of pursuing cases of veterinary negligence and malpractice or of protecting your pets. In fact, in many states, 90% of consumer complaints filed against vets are dismissed without action. Equally shocking -- when the vet board actually do something, it's very little. Small fines. "Stayed" suspensions where the vet loses not ONE day of work. No matter how egregious the vets behavior, no matter how long the record and how many dead pets, these vets almost never have their licenses taken away.

With a couple of exceptions, you could be going to any of the bad vets featured on this blog right now. Moreover, your vet may have a long history of consumer complaints, and yet the board may never have disciplined him.

Bad vets continue to be a problem because veterinary medicine is virtually unregulated, with negligent practitioners being allowed to continue to pry their trades as more victims are lured in the door.

Why 365 Days of Bad Vets?

The biggest threat to our pets is our own naiivete.

In spite of numerous reports of malpractice and worse, veterinarians continue to enjoy one of the highest ratings for "honesty" among all professions. They are universally -- and blindly trusted. Those of us who have learned the hard way that blind trust is dangerous for our pets are struggling to break through to the consciousness of our fellow loving pet owners, to inspire some healthy skepticism, before they and their pets too fall victim.

If reading this blog gets one pet owner to admit the thought into their minds that maybe -- just maybe -- they shouldn't blindly trust their vet, it will have been worth it. We need to become proactive in evaluating vets and their care, not waiting for a tragedy. We need to ask questions like: "Who will be there overnight? What are his credentials? Let me speak with him," or, "What are my pet's kidney values, and what are the potential side effects of that drug?"

We shouldn't need to do these things but we do because
. . .well, because there are so many bad vets.

Disclaimer

The use of the word "bad" on this site does not necessarily mean that the veterinarians featured here are incompetent or negligent, etc. It may mean they have bad hair, it may simply mean I don't like them.

All of the blog posts here will draw on public record, especially veterinary board documents, for content. In addition, I will comment on that content. All of my comments should be understood by the reader to be my opinions and my opinions only. Readers are not only invited, but encouraged, to use their discernment in making decisions about vets.

The Bad Vet Daily