Vet battles board for his reputation

Friday, March 24, 2000 | 11:35 a.m.

It was a pet owners' nightmare for Fred and Hope Slensky.

The Henderson couple took their 3-year-old beagle mix named Gardner to the Green Valley Animal Hospital in October 1998 for shots and an exam. Three hours later they got back a sick dog, who was taken to another animal hospital where he died that night.

The Slenskys complained to the Nevada State Board of Veterinary Medicine. The board, at a December hearing, found Bradley Gilman, chief veterinarian and owner of Green Valley Animal Hospital, incompetent and grossly negligent in Gardner's death.

Gilman has filed a motion in District Court to stay a two-month suspension and an $18,093 levy to reimburse the board for investigation costs. That matter is scheduled to be heard Monday by District Court Judge Michael Cherry.

Eventually, a judicial review hearing could be held. Should Gilman prevail there, it could change the way many state and local boards conduct hearings.

Adam Levine, Gilman's attorney, contends that the state veterinary board should not serve as judges because they benefit from the levies they issue. For a veterinarian to get due process, he says, independent, impartial hearing masters should be used.

"I wouldn't ask a District Court judge to spay my cat. Why should we expect a board of veterinarians to do a good job sitting as judges?" Levine said.

Louis Ling, a senior deputy attorney general who serves as legal counsel for the veterinarian board and a dozen other state boards -- and who prosecuted Gilman before the veterinarian board -- said that argument does not hold water.

"The board's job is to take complaints, investigate them and, if necessary, hold hearings," Ling said. "The majority of boards I represent conduct hearings that way. Most of the cases -- possibly seven of 10 -- are dismissed or settled."

The Gardner incident was the second incompetency finding against Gilman in five years. The first was for record keeping and surgery record violations in June 1995. Gilman says he now regrets making the settlement.

Levine maintains that such settlements are meant to discourage veterinarians from seeking to clear their names at fair hearings.

"This is not about this dog dying. This is about a board making an example of one of its licensees who refused to buckle under," Levine said.

Settlement rejected

Before the December hearing, Gilman was offered a settlement in which he would admit to gross negligence and pay a $2,000 to $3,000 fine. His decision to take his chances before the board could wind up costing him more than six times that amount.

Levine argues that veterinary board hearings, as they now exist, are a "rubber stamp" for prosecutors. Ling disagrees, noting that, "the board was no rubber stamp for me because I was arguing to have Dr. Gilman's license revoked."

Ling said the board also could have assessed up to a $10,000 fine in addition to the $18,000 in reimbursement costs, but declined to do so.

"It is only fair that the licensee who commits the violation pays for the investigative costs, not all of the licensees," Ling said.

But Levine believes the $18,000 for an investigation and a two-day hearing is excessive.

"It's an absurd and punitive amount," Levine contends, noting that among those costs were $7,611 for an expert witness flown in from Pennsylvania, $6,630 for the attorney general's legal fees and $1,737 for board expenses.

"Even if this mixed-breed dog was valued at $500, the assessment would amount to 36 times the dog's value," Levine said.

Ling said investigations are not based on the value of an animal or to vindicate an animal's death.

"Our investigations and hearings are based on the principle that every consumer has a right to expect quality care," Ling said. "It was Dr. Gilman's errant practice that caused the dog to die. Our concern is for his future customers."

In court papers, Levine argues that Nevada law "does not authorize the board to award itself its own attorney fees ... There was no proof at the hearing, and the board did not find, that Dr. Gilman's conduct was the proximate cause of the dog's death."

Cause of death?

Seemingly lost in such legal entanglements is what happened to Gardner -- specifically, the actual cause of his death.

"I truly believed they did something to Gardner at Green Valley and were covering it up," said Fred Slensky, who had purchased Gardner for $35 from a Florida animal shelter when he was a puppy. "This dog was in perfect health at 3 p.m. and he was dead before 7:30 p.m."

At the veterinary board hearing it was learned that one of Gilman's technicians, who did not have a license, dropped the struggling dog while taking X-rays, causing it to hit its head on an exam table.

Gilman, who has been a veterinarian since 1987 -- the year he came to Las Vegas after graduating from Iowa State University-- says he acted properly in the Gardner incident.

"I'm being portrayed as a monster, and I am not a monster," said Gilman, who bought the Green Valley Animal Hospital, 6150 Mountain Vista St., in 1993 and treats 15,000 animals a year. "I cannot stop until I am vindicated and the terms 'incompetency' and 'gross negligence' are removed from my record."

Gilman, who conducted blood tests on Gardner after the dog fell on the exam table, says: "Gardner died of acute liver necrosis." But Hope Slensky, who says she was trained in nursing, disputes that diagnosis.

"The results of the blood tests were tainted because Gardner was in shock," she said. "You don't need a medical degree to know that death by liver disease is long and slow and we would have seen symptoms over weeks. Although his bowels were a little loose, he was a happy, vibrant dog who was eating and playing."

But Gilman said there is a big difference between symptoms of a chronic liver ailment, as Hope describes, and the symptoms of an acute liver ailment: "With an acute ailment, the animal can appear perfectly normal and still be quite ill. We don't know what causes such a problem until tests are taken."

Gilman said a stressful situation, like a visit to a veterinarian, can cause a sick animal "to begin a downward spiral," as he contends happened to Gardner.

Stacy Gold, a former Green Valley Animal Hospital employee, said that when Hope and her 15-year-old daughter, Ashley, came to pick up Gardner on Oct. 23, 1998, "he walked a few steps then collapsed on his side."

Gilman said he checked the dog for shock and told the Slenskys to take Gardner to the Animal Emergency Center, a 24-hour facility that he and other vets throughout the valley recommend for overnight observations.

The board says Gilman did not do enough to save Gardner's life.

"Dr. Gilman did not administer any treatment upon the collapse of Gardner in the exam room," according to the board's written findings of fact. "Dr. Gilman did not recognize the severity of the problem and administered absolutely no emergency treatment to Gardner at his animal hospital."

Unlicensed techs

The use of unlicensed technicians is another bone of contention over which Levine and Ling are arguing. Ling insists that Nevada law is clear that veterinary technicians must be licensed. Levine argues in court papers that the definitions set forth in state law and general industry practices do not require such licensing.

Ling said he will argue before Cherry that a stay should not be issued because Gilman agreed to the date when the suspension would begin and should go through with it. Gilman denies making such an agreement and says he decided to appeal directly after the board's decision was announced.

Levine said a stay is necessary because if Gilman prevails at a judicial review, there would be no way to compensate him if he serves the suspension and is required to hire another veterinarian to keep his hospital in business during his absence.

The Slenskys have until late October to take civil action against Gilman to get reimbursed for Gardner's loss, but have made no plans to do so.

"This has never been about money or compensation -- this has been about justice," Hope Slensky said. "We don't want to see this happen to other people's pets."

Ed Koch is a reporter for the Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4090 or by e-mail at koch@lasvegassun.com.

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