Dr. Salzsieder has been a practicing veterinarian for 29 years, a practicing veterinary consultant for 27 years and a member of the bar in Washington and Oregon for 14 years. He does employee contracts, practice valuations, management consulting and facilitation of practice sales. Dr. Salzsieder is one of the founders and former president of both the AVMLA and the AVPMCA, and has owned seven mixed or small animal practices (only four at one time). He was a corporate manager for VetSmart, now Banfield, and was the first VetSmart charter practice owner. He is also a Veterinary Economics Editorial Advisory Board member and a founding member of the Washington State Bar Association Animal Law Section, formed in 2002. Dr. Salzsieder is the owner of one three-doctor small animal practice and owns one golden retriever, Buddy, and two cats, Tigger and Moma Kitty.
Too often practitioners who thought they were on the doorstep of retirement are finding they need to work three to five years longer than they thought-or even more. The problem: When they have the practice valued, they find a gap between the retirement they envision and what they can actually afford.
"If the unrestrained animal is the hospital's pet, the responsibility is clearly the hospital's," says Veterinary Economics Editorial Advisory Board member Dr. Karl Salzsieder, JD, a consultant with Salzsieder Consulting and Legal Service in Kelso, Wash. "If it's a client's pet, the liability depends on how the injury happened."
My assistant dispenses advice liberally. While it's typically correct, I don't think she should be giving medical advice without my approval. What sort of guidelines should I set?
Q: How can I protect my nonveterinarian significant other's investments in the practice—both monetary and sweat equity—in the case of my death?
"Never practice without liability insurance," says Dr. Karl Salzsieder, JD, a Veterinary Economics Editorial Advisory Board member and a consultant in Kelso, Wash. "I know of one veterinarian who inadvertently let his insurance expire. Within two weeks, he had a suit that cost him $7,000 to settle."
What signs should I watch for to head off employee embezzlement?
Is it legal to leave a message on a client's answering machine saying that you received a returned check? What's the best way to handle this situation?
Dr. Susan calls my consulting office in distress because her first employer DVM, after only six months on the job, has met with her and explained she?s not working enough hours, she?s not being active enough in civic and community activities and he doesn?t understand why she wants every-other weekend off.
