I would think the reason is to discourage someone wanting to file a frivolous suit as they might not pursue it after having signed the form. They are most likely not aware that it is unenforceable.
Even a consent form in not enforceable to an extent. We used to allow boarding dogs to play in groups during their stay. We would have owners sign a form stating that they would prefer their dog to 1) be let out alone in the yard or 2) have group playtime but we were not liable for injuries that might be sustained during playtime. We would temperament test all dogs. We had a group of young dogs one time over a Christmas that were having a blast running around in our 0.5" of snowfall one morning. We were actually video taping it as they were having so much fun. One dog made a quick turn while playing and tore her ACL and quickly came up lame. We had the entire thing on tape. Called the owner, owner was irate and sued (this was not filed through the veterinary channels as the dog was boarding and not in for medical services). I had to pay $2500 to have the stifle injury repaired by a surgeon as that was cheaper than going to court. That release did not save me a darn in the sense that I might have won in court but the costs would have been higher. Now we no longer let dogs play in groups. A real bummer for the dogs (and owners) that used to love that we did that. So sadly these few bad apple owners ruin it for the greater majority. Each one of these experiences changes how I conduct my business and makes me much more proactively protective and restrictive. Now I am not defending this vet as I have not read his forms and the excessive late payments fees are a bit much. But he may have had his own bad experiences and a lot of unpaid bills/ accounts receivable that are making him go to the extreme…I don’t know.
[QUOTE=mareslave;7091127]
it’s a mad, mad, world…more small print: “Unpaid accounts are subject to additional billing fees ($30 monthly) and finance charges (24% annually) as well as legal and collection fees.”
wow, I thought 24% + $30 that was pretty steep and it’s far beyond my own contractual late fee rate, so I looked it up and found:
Legal rate in California is 7% or contract rate not to exceed 12% per annum(Const. XV §1; Civil Code §1916-1)
Penalty for Usury (Unlawful Interest Rate)
Contract or agreement for greater than 12% shall be null and void as to any agreement to pay interest (Civil Code §1916-2); debtor may recover treble amount paid;
willful violation:guilty of loan-sharking, a felony and punishable by imprisonment in state prison for not -state prison for not more than 5 yrs. or county jail for not more than 1 yr. (Civil Code §1916-3)
Question:
If the COTHposter vets contend here that liability for negligence cannot be waived by a signed release, why have a client sign such a release (as opposed to a simple consent to treatment/acknowledgement of risks)? Just curious. Since I’m not in a business that allows waivers at all, so it’s a bit of idle curiosity.[/QUOTE]
