Responsabilidade civil do profissional da medicina veterinária e dos estabelecimentos prestadores de serviços do mercado pet

Abstract

Brazil currently has around 150 million pets and 170,000 active professionals in veterinary medicine. The civil liability of health professionals, including veterinarians, is a subject of growing interest in the judiciary. This work aimed to research in the literature the civil liability of the veterinary professional and establishments that provide services in the pet market, mentioning the jurisprudence and presenting recent data on the subject. The concept of civil liability emerged in ancient Rome with the Lex Aquilia, which introduced the concept of proving fault to repair damage. Essential elements of civil liability are action or omission for the conduct, fault or intent of the agent, causal link and the damage experienced by the victim. The doctrine recognizes subjective civil liability, derived from guilt, whether due to negligence, imprudence, or malpractice, on the part of the individual who caused the damage, or objective liability, derived from the theory of risk, where the verification of the causal link between action or omission and damage characterize liability. National legislation and jurisprudence determine that the liability of independent professionals, including veterinarians, is objective, while that of companies is subjective. Veterinary professionals must be aware of the ethical legislation, keep records updated and communicate clearly with tutors, to avoid convictions for material and moral damages.