By T. D. Thornton
Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings has filed a malpractice lawsuit against Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital over the 2017 death of a 12-hour-old foal that was a half-sibling to the 2010 GI Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver.
The Blood-Horse first reported news of the Fayette Circuit Court lawsuit in Kentucky Tuesday, noting that a jury trial has been set for July 23. The story included a comment from Rood & Riddle's attorney, who said veterinarians at the clinic “complied fully with the standard of care, and we believe that the hospital will be exonerated in the lawsuit.”
The case involves the mare Supercharger, who, according to the Blood-Horse, had a 2016 foal that died after not being ideally positioned in the womb. Because of this, Supercharger was sent to Rood & Riddle as a precaution to deliver her subsequent Curlin foal in early March 2017.
According to the Blood-Horse, “Supercharger went into labor the evening of March 8, 2017. Dr. Bonnie Barr, the lead veterinarian on the case, and Dr. Brett Woodie determined this foal also was awkwardly positioned, and they placed Supercharger under anesthesia in order to perform a controlled vaginal delivery, in which they manually pulled the foal out of the mare.”
Citing the lawsuit, the Blood-Horse reported that Barr “observed an indentation at the base of the foal's rib cage on its left side that she subsequently, after repeated palpations, could no longer detect.”
The Blood-Horse wrote that “the foal was moved to the hospital's intensive care unit, and by 6 a.m. the following morning was showing signs of discomfort. The foal died at approximately 7:30 a.m., and a subsequent necropsy performed at the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory revealed six fractured ribs on the foal's left side as well as acute internal bleeding.”
The lawsuit, according to the Blood-Horse story, charges that the foal should have had an ultrasound performed on it instead of relying on manual palpations, and that overnight vet technicians “should have notified Dr. Barr when the foal's heart and respiration rates both rose dramatically.”
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