June 2004 (magazine article)
All-Care Animal Referral Center and veterinarians Robert Rooks has been under investigation for over a decade.
All-Care Animal Referral Center and veterinarians Robert Rooks and Craig Bergstrom have been under investigation for over a decade.
In January, The Veterinary Medical Board of California revoked Rooks' permit to operate the All-Care Animal Referral Center in Fountain Valley, CA, and ordered him to pay over $83,000 in fines and court costs. The revocation is stayed, so Rooks is still allowed to practice veterinary medicine; however, the judge refused Rooks' request to stop the fine from coming due and to prevent the terms of his probation from going into effect. Under the conditions of Rooks' probation, he is required to notify other veterinarians about his violations of the law but is not required to notify prospective clients.
Complaints against All-Care included assertions that they had a heavy equipment operator with no veterinary training administering anesthesia, making incisions, putting in drainage tubes, suturing wounds, and closing abdominal incisions. Rooks was also accused of passing off staff members as "specialists," causing many clients to submit their animals to potentially dangerous and more expensive procedures because they believed the doctors had skills and education they did not have, and of falsifying medical records when clients sued for malpractice after the unnecessary death of a beloved animal companion.
In a precedent-setting ruling on February 20 an Orange County, CA, Superior Court awarded animal guardian Marc Bluestone $39,000 in a civil case against All-Care Animal Referral Center veterinarian Craig Bergstrom for malpractice and wrong-doing. The jury found that Shane had a "special unique value" as a companion, and that Bergstrom was aware of that fact; so the court awarded Mr. Bluestone more than "market value" in compensation for the loss. Shane spent two and a half months at All-Care and was given over 30 drugs during that time. Marc traveled several hours a day to be with Shane, and spent tens hours a day at the hospital. After four years in litigation and over $375,000 in legal fees, he has finally gotten Justice.
Terri Macellaro, the prosecuting attorney, stated "This is a landmark case because it's the first time that our legal system has recognized that animals have tremendous value," Terri said. "The jury ruled that Shane had a five-digit value to her guardian even though her 'market— value' was only $10. Animals are beings with intrinsic worth and with far more value to their guardian than the amount of money that person paid to adopt them from a shelter.
A catalogue of complaints against All-Care can be found at http://www.geocities.com/allcarelawsuits
