Substandard care led to suspension of vet's license

Substandard care led to suspension of vet's license

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(Update, Kalamazoo, January 9, 2006, 5:49 p.m.)

24 Hour News 8 dug deeper into why a Kalamazoo veterinarian has had his license suspended for the second time in less than five years.

Dr. Steven Ginsberg's license was suspended in 2001 on charges of negligence and substandard care.

A complaint shows a client brought in two kittens to the Crestview Animal Hospital on Gull Road. One of the kittens was a male that was to be neutered. The other was a female that was to be spayed.

Dr. Ginsberg neutered one and started to spay the other. He realized in the middle of surgery that the animal too was a male.

The owner of the cats complained to the state that Ginsberg should have known and should have checked. Investigators agreed and suspended the doctor's license for 30 days, fined him $5,000, and required him to take continuing education classes during a two-year probation.

But the veterinarian filling in for Ginsberg says the punishment is too tough for a mistake. He says it is fairly common. And although he agrees, he says Ginsberg should have double-checked the cats.

"All of us do that, but you still have some slip through the cracks. It's going to happen again somewhere. And I bet what I'm saying will be supported by any vet who's been in business for ten years," Dr. Dick Dorner, told 24 Hour News 8.

24 Hour News 8 talked to the state and the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association and found out mistakes like this can happen, but no one can tell us how often.

On the Net:
Check out your veterinarian's license: http://www.cis.state.mi.us/free/default.asp