The Kentucky Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's dismissal of a civil claim by owner/trainer Tom Swearingen against Hagyard Equine Medical Institute and a handful of its partners regarding the misdating of radiographs.
A Fayette Circuit Court judge dismissed the 2019 case, which was based on the practice of some veterinarians of forward-dating pre-sale radiographs to make them appear to fall in the required window in relation to a horse's sale date. A handful of veterinarians from Hagyard self-reported to the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners for engaging in the misdating or for being aware of others using the practice and not reporting them. Those veterinarians indicated they misdated the records in order to help manage large caseloads ahead of major public auctions.
Swearingen had claimed in his original case that had he known he was potentially bidding on horses whose radiographs were not presented accurately that he would not have participated in the public auctions in question.
According to a report by the Lexington Herald-Leader, an appeals court found though that Swearingen and other buyers “did not suffer any traditionally quantifiable or calculable damages, did not purchase any injured horse in reliance upon an incorrectly dated x-ray, did not lose money on a horse purchased and, seemingly, had no regrets regarding their purchase.”
In a proceeding in the lower court, Swearingen admitted he didn't use the digital repository at auction, and did not send a veterinarian to do so on his behalf. He later tried to file an amended complaint against the plaintiffs, which included the hospital, several individual veterinarians, and the hospital's computer and IT services provider, but was prevented from doing so.
Swearingen has the opportunity to petition for a rehearing and has until March 3 to notify the court if he wants to do so.
Read more at the Lexington Herald-Leader
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