Another problem is the value of the animal in a lawsuit if someone negligently or intentionally kills your animal. In these cases, courts usually award only fair market value to compensate for the loss of the animal. To determine fair market value, courts consider factors like the animal’s pedigree, purchase price, special training, and other factors that would affect the animal’s price if you were to sell him. For most mixed breed dogs and cats, fair market value is practically nothing. Even for prize-winning purebreds, fair market value is probably no more than a few thousand dollars – hardly worth the expenses of a lawsuit. (In the U.S., the losing party in a lawsuit is rarely ordered to pay the attorney’s fees of the winning side.) While courts typically award fair market value if someone kills your pet, they rarely award non-economic damages. Non-economic damages would include loss of companionship.
Only two states, Illinois and Tennessee, have statutes that allow for non-economic damages for the death of a pet, although courts in other jurisdictions have awarded non-economic damages where not explicitly allowed by statute.
Organizations that represent veterinarians, such as the American Veterinary Medical Association, tend to oppose non-economic damages because veterinarians would be exposed to more liability in veterinary malpractice cases. However, without non-economic damages, there is little incentive to file a lawsuit for veterinary malpractice, which makes it easier for incompetent veterinarians to continue practicing.
The information on this website is not legal advice and is not a substitute for legal advice. For legal advice, please consult an attorney.
