Shenouda v. Veterinary Med. Bd.

238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 195, 27 Cal. App. 5th 500
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedAugust 27, 2018
DocketB284738
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 195 (Shenouda v. Veterinary Med. Bd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shenouda v. Veterinary Med. Bd., 238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 195, 27 Cal. App. 5th 500 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

WILLHITE, J.

*502Dr. James Shenouda, D.V.M., appeals from a judgment of the trial court denying his petition for writ of administrative mandate. The court found that the weight of the evidence presented at the administrative hearing supported the decision of the Veterinary Medical Board (the Board) imposing disciplinary restrictions on Dr. Shenouda's veterinary practice after finding he committed certain negligent and/or incompetent acts while treating four animal patients. Dr. Shenouda contends that the trial court erred because the expert witness complainant Annemarie Del Mugnaio1 (Complainant) presented at the administrative hearing failed to establish that Dr. Shenouda breached the applicable standard of care in the practice of veterinary medicine.2 Dr. Shenouda's brief on appeal, however, does not provide a summary of evidence the trial court relied upon in reaching its determination, let alone a summary of the evidence presented at the administrative hearing (or even a *503summary of the findings made by the administrative law judge, which were adopted by the Board), nor does he provide any analysis, with citations to the record, to support many of his specific assertions regarding the state of the evidence. Therefore, he has forfeited his contentions on appeal and we need not consider them. Nevertheless, we have reviewed the evidence cited by the trial court (and, to the extent Dr. Shenouda has provided specific citations, we also have reviewed that evidence), and we conclude that substantial *198evidence supports the trial court's findings. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.

BACKGROUND

Dr. Shenouda was issued a veterinarian license by the Board in 2010. In May 2014, Complainant brought an accusation against Dr. Shenouda alleging 11 causes for discipline related to his treatment of four animal patients.

A. The Accusation

1. Austin

The first three causes for discipline related to Dr. Shenouda's treatment of Austin, an eight-year-old Golden Retriever, in 2011. Austin's owner brought him to Colima Animal Hospital (Colima) on April 27, 2011, due to Austin's lethargy, loss of appetite, and vomiting. Dr. Shenouda conducted a physical exam and found that Austin was dehydrated, and had pale gums and a yellowish tinge to his eyes. He performed diagnostic tests, including a complete blood count, chemistry panel, urinalysis, and abdominal X-rays, and made a presumptive diagnosis of anemia. Austin was admitted to Colima for overnight treatment and care, although Colima was closed and had no staff in attendance between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Laboratory tests on the morning of April 28 showed that Austin was severely anemic. Austin died sometime during the evening of April 28. When Austin's owner came to visit Austin at Colima at 7:15 a.m. on April 29, he was told by staff that Austin was "found dead."

a. First Cause for Discipline

The first cause for discipline alleged that Dr. Shenouda was incompetent in his treatment of Austin in four ways.

First, he failed to properly care for Austin during hospitalization. Austin was severely ill and needed close monitoring, which Dr. Shenouda failed to provide (it appeared that Dr. Shenouda did not examine Austin during the hospitalization), and he did not communicate to the owner the limits of care available at Colima.

*504Second, he committed several incompetent acts related to the treatment given to Austin. He failed to recognize that Austin's anemia was life-threatening and failed to promptly address that condition with steroid medication. He failed to recognize the effect on Austin's red blood cell count of giving Austin large amounts of intravenous fluids and/or failed to re-check Austin's red blood cell count. He inappropriately used Atropine (a pre-anesthetic used to treat slow heart rate) on Austin. Finally, the medical records for Austin failed to show how often Austin received treatment, from whom, and what occurred during the time periods when Colima was closed.

Third, Dr. Shenouda committed several incompetent acts related to diagnostic testing. Although he collected samples from Austin the morning of April 27, he unreasonably delayed getting the results because he chose not to perform any laboratory tests in-house and he did not submit the samples to an outside laboratory until April 28. Although the X-rays taken on April 27 showed that Austin's liver and spleen were enlarged, he failed to recommend that an abdominal ultrasound be performed. It also was unclear from the medical records that he actually looked at the X-rays; he sent them to a radiologist for evaluation on April 29, after Austin died. The medical records did not show that the laboratory results or X-rays were ever discussed with Austin's owner. Finally, he failed to perform additional diagnostic tests that should have been performed.

*199Fourth, Dr. Shenouda failed to fully explain to Austin's owner the seriousness of Austin's condition, or to discuss with the owner the options for treatment, including hospitalizing Austin at a facility with 24-hour care.

b. Second Cause for Discipline

The second cause for discipline alleged that Dr. Shenouda was negligent in his treatment of Austin for the reasons set forth in the first cause for discipline, and because he failed to competently document his treatment of the patient. Those failures to document included his failure to sign or initial entries, perform or document a complete history of the patient, perform or document a complete physical examination of the patient, document the treatment plan, and include a comprehensible assessment of the patient's condition or prognosis, all of which are required under California regulations governing veterinary practice.

c. Third Cause for Discipline

The third cause for discipline alleged that Dr. Shenouda failed to comply with statutory recordkeeping requirements.

*5052. Brick

The next three causes for discipline were based upon Dr. Shenouda's treatment of Brick, a seven-year-old Old English Bulldog, in June 2010. Brick's owner brought him to Colima for evaluation of a limp in his right hind leg and skin problems. Brick became aggressive during the initial examination. Although there was no indication in the medical records that Dr. Shenouda asked the owner whether Brick had eaten before he was brought in for treatment, Dr. Shenouda recommended that Brick be sedated for the examination and treatment; the owner agreed. Brick was given a sedative and was intubated. During the examination, Dr. Shenouda noticed that Brick had harsh lung sounds, so he took a chest X-ray to assess the lungs; the X-ray showed changes to the lungs. Dr. Shenouda treated Brick's skin issues and Brick was allowed to recover from sedation. Brick's owner subsequently reported in a written complaint to the Board that Brick had trouble walking and his health deteriorated after the treatment at Colima.

a.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 195, 27 Cal. App. 5th 500, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shenouda-v-veterinary-med-bd-calctapp5d-2018.