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A veterinary practice can be a highly emotional environment. This is understandable; after all, veterinarians treat people’s beloved pets—often under less-than-ideal circumstances. Therefore, as a veterinary practice owner, you must be prepared to deal with challenging situations. In this article, we provide tips for dealing with difficult clients at your veterinary practice. 

Remain Calm 

The first thing to do when dealing with a difficult client is to remain calm. Although this may be easier said than done, remaining calm can help ensure that things don’t escalate further. If you allow yourself to become angry, the odds of a successful resolution of the problem significantly decline. One way to remain calm when dealing with an angry client is to remember that his or her anger is likely coming from a place of concern for his or her pet. 

Listen

It’s normal to become defensive when dealing with a difficult client, especially if he or she is personally attacking you or your practice. However, by allowing the client to vent—and actually listening to what he or she has to say—you’ll be much better equipped to address his or her problem. 

Don’t Take it Personally 

As a practice owner, it can be difficult to listen to someone criticize you, your practice, or your staff. However, as noted above, you must keep in mind that upset clients are often highly emotional due to issues involving their pets. Therefore, you should do your best not to take the criticism personally. In fact, when you do your best to address an upset client’s concerns, he or she will likely appreciate the effort and may even apologize for his or her behavior. 

Remain Compassionate 

As noted above, difficult clients are usually upset due to an issue involving a beloved pet. Therefore, you should always remain compassionate—even when a client is irate. After all, your clients entrust you with their pets, and they expect you to provide them with excellent care. So, even if your client is in the wrong, remember that he or she is ultimately acting out of deep concern for a pet. 

Try to Identify and Solve the Problem 

Finally, when a client is being difficult, you should do your best to attempt to identify and solve his or her problem. Sometimes, this involves looking beyond what the client is saying and doing. For example, a client who is complaining about a small issue, such as a minor billing discrepancy, may actually be doing so out of concern for his or her pet. Regardless, by doing your best to address your clients’ concerns, you will demonstrate that you actually care about making them happy, and you will increase your odds of retaining their business.  

Contact Our Experienced Veterinary Lawyers

At Mahan Law, we can help you address the challenges of running a veterinary practice. Regardless of your unique needs, our talented attorneys have the knowledge and experience necessary to assist you. At Mahan Law, we are seasoned veterans of the veterinary industry, and we can help you address your issues—whatever they may be. Please contact us to arrange an initial consultation with one of our experienced attorneys.

Regardless of the industry, conflict at work is inevitable. And in an emotionally charged setting, such as a veterinary practice, the odds of conflict increase. Based on survey results, the following factors are common contributors to conflict in the workplace:

• Miscommunication
• Lack of communication
• Lack of clear policies and procedures 
• Lack of enforcement of policies and procedures
• Poor overall working conditions

Fortunately, if you are a veterinary practice owner, there are steps you can take to manage conflict among your employees when it arises. In this article, we share several tips for managing employee conflict in your veterinary practice. 

Encourage Positive Communication 

First, you should encourage positive communication among your employees. In furtherance of this, you should request ideas and feedback from staff. This will demonstrate that you value the opinions of your employees, and it will make conflict more manageable when it arises. 

Don’t Jump to Conclusions

Next, you should never jump to conclusions when addressing an employee conflict. Rather, you should always assume positive intent, thereby creating an environment that is conducive to conflict resolution. And although it is important to put a stop to poor employee behavior, it is equally important to ensure that you fully understand the situation before taking action. 

Address Conflict in Person

As the owner of a business, you must learn to be comfortable dealing with uncomfortable situations—in person. In other words, you should never address employee conflicts via email or phone. Rather, you should speak to those involved face to face and encourage them to share their sides of the story. 

Remind Employees of the Importance of Teamwork

Teamwork is necessary for a veterinary practice to thrive. Therefore, you should routinely remind your employees of the importance of working together. Not only will this help prevent conflict, but it will make conflict resolution easier. 

Choose Your Battles

Finally, you must remember to choose your battles. Minor workplace conflicts often work themselves out without managerial intervention. In fact, by inserting yourself into a minor conflict too early, you run the risk of making matters worse. On the other hand, if you get involved too late, the conflict may spin out of control. Therefore, you must work to develop the skill of identifying workplace conflict and assessing whether the time is right for you to get involved. Example of situations that typically require intervention include:

• An employee disagreement is becoming personal
• One or more employees are threatening to quit
• A conflict is affecting group morale 

Contact Our Experienced Veterinary Lawyers 

At Mahan Law, our veterinary attorneys are here to help you address the challenges that accompany running a veterinary practice. Regardless of your unique needs, our lawyers have the experience and knowledge necessary to help you address your issues. At Mahan Law, we are veterinary industry veterans, and we can help you take steps to protect your practice and resolve pending legal issues. Please contact us today to arrange a free initial consultation with a talented veterinary lawyer. 

Whether you are seeking to start, buy, or sell a veterinary practice, one thing is for sure: you need an experienced veterinary attorney on your side. In addition, many of the day-to-day tasks of veterinary practices, such as hiring, firing, and drafting contracts, require legal guidance to ensure compliance with the law. In this article, we discuss the importance of hiring the right veterinary attorney to assist with common situations affecting veterinary practices. 

Hiring the Right Attorney for a Start-Up

If you are considering starting a veterinary practice, it is imperative that you hire a lawyer who provides comprehensive legal services to guide you through all phases of the process. By hiring an attorney, you gain access to a wide range of legal services to help you establish a foundation for your new business. For example, an experienced veterinary attorney can help you obtain financing, create a business plan, form a business entity, buy or lease property, and address employment issues.

Hiring the Right Attorney for a Veterinary Practice Sale or Purchase

Successfully buying or selling a veterinary practice is complicated. Therefore, if you are considering doing either, you should contact an experienced lawyer for help. Ideally, when choosing an attorney to assist you with purchasing or selling a veterinary practice, you should look for someone who has industry-specific knowledge and significant business experience. And when you do find the right attorney, he or she will provide you with guidance during every phase of the veterinary practice transaction. Specifically, an experienced lawyer will help you navigate the due diligence process, negotiate terms, and prepare the necessary legal documents.

Hiring the Right Attorney to Address Employment Issues  

If you are starting or purchasing a veterinary practice, it’s imperative that you address employment issues in a manner that is legally sound. This is where it pays to hire the right veterinary attorney. When you hire a knowledgeable attorney to assist you with employment issues, he or she will draft employment contracts that protect your business and address important issues like employment duration, benefits, compensation, termination, and restrictive covenants.  

Hiring the Right Attorney for Partnership Agreements

Finally, if you plan on going into business with partners, you need an experienced attorney to draft partnership agreements that clearly define each partner’s rights and responsibilities. Key issues to address in a partnership or shareholder agreement include management of the practice, voting rights, ownership, finances, transfer and sale restrictions, limitations on liability, restrictive covenants, partner meetings, indemnification, and dissolution.

Contact Our Experienced Veterinary Attorneys 

At Mahan Law, our veterinary attorney is here to help you face the daily challenges associated with operating a veterinary practice. Whether you need help designing policies, defending your practice against lawsuits, or conducting veterinary practice transactions, our experienced lawyers are here to help. Please contact us to schedule a free initial consultation with one of our knowledgeable veterinary attorneys.

As a veterinarian, you are always at risk of legal action. Therefore, you should take the necessary steps to ensure that you and your practice remain protected. One option for protecting your practice is veterinary malpractice insurance. This kind of insurance can play a key role in defending you against specific types of allegations and legal challenges. In this article, we discuss whether you need veterinary malpractice insurance.  

The Role of Insurance

Insurance can protect you and your practice in the aftermath of an unforeseen event. In addition, insurance can provide you with certain benefits before an incident occurs. For example, strong insurance coverage can provide you with peace of mind that you’ll be taken care of should something unexpected occur. This can allow you to allocate your time and energy towards growing your business instead of worrying about what may happen in the future. 

What Is Veterinary Malpractice Insurance?

Veterinary malpractice insurance covers your legal costs if one of your clients asserts that you made a mistake that resulted in financial losses or damages. In addition, it can cover the cost of any damages you must pay if you lose your case. However, malpractice insurance doesn’t cover general liability claims, such as if a client slips and falls while at your clinic. Rather, general liability insurance would be required to cover you under this type of circumstance.

How Much Malpractice Coverage Do You Need? 

As a veterinary practice owner, the amount of malpractice coverage you need will depend on several factors. However, a good rule of thumb when it comes to malpractice insurance is to always err on the side of caution. In other words, you shouldn’t skimp when it comes to veterinary malpractice insurance. Although you may be a careful and conscientious veterinary professional, we all make mistakes, and when you make a mistake, you must ensure that you are properly covered. Further, veterinary malpractice lawsuits have become increasingly common over the last several years.  

In addition, the law used to consider pets as nothing more than pieces of property with specific monetary values. Today, however, most courts view pets as a special type of property with subjective emotional value to their owners. Thus, pet owners often make legal claims for much higher monetary amounts than they did in the past. Therefore, as a veterinary practice owner, it is usually advisable to purchase more coverage than you think you need. 

Contact Our Experienced Veterinary Attorneys 

At Mahan Law, our experienced veterinary attorneys are dedicated to helping veterinarians address the unique challenges faced by veterinary industry professionals. Whether you need assistance designing policies and procedures, defending your practice against litigation threats, or buying/selling a veterinary practice, our attorneys are here to help. Please contact us as soon as possible to schedule a free initial consultation with one of our talented veterinary attorneys.