On Tuesday, April 27, Santa Clarita veterinarian Dr. Balpal Sandhu’s license was revoked, after the board reportedly ruled that the doctor had failed to comply with certain regulations and committed acts of negligence and unprofessional conduct.
The California Veterinary Medical Board ruled on Tuesday that acts of negligence and unprofessional conduct, among other listed acts, were reportedly committed by veterinarian Dr. Balpal Sandhu.
“The record established that, in his treatment of his animal patients, respondent committed numerous acts of negligence, incompetence, unprofessional conduct, and inadequate recordkeeping,” reads the Veterinary Medical Board’s ruling. “In his capacity as the managing licensee of AVVC, All Creatures, and Canyon Country, respondent failed to comply with regulations concerning radiation safety, sterility of surgery rooms, and accountability in controlled substance dispensation logs.”
The ruling further stated that the doctor had “violated the terms of his probation by failing to obey all laws and to submit quarterly reports, proof of completion of community service, and proof of completion of continuing education courses.”
Dr. Balpal Sandhu operated all three clinics named in the filing, including All Creatures Veterinary Center in Newhall, Canyon Country Veterinary Animal Hospital in Canyon Country and AV Animal Veterinary Center in Lancaster, each of which the court also ruled would have their premises registrations revoked.
Of the 15 cases included in the filing, eight patients — including two cats and six dogs — were reported to have died possibly in connection to their medical issues and subsequent treatment at the clinics in question.
See Related: Santa Clarita Veterinarian Trial Begins After Allegations Of Misconduct
Complaints had been filed on Dr. Sandhu’s conduct as far back as in 2016, from a time when Sandhu was reportedly on professional probation. The complaints referred to 15 different pets, eight of which had died while in the care of Sandhu’s facilities or soon after treatment.
“I’m very thankful to Deputy Attorney General Nancy Kaiser and I am very grateful to the Veterinary Board for taking cases like this seriously,” said complainant Edward Feinstein on the case. “It’s a little bittersweet though since this has been three years of my life waiting for an outcome.”
Feinstein got involved after his 3-year-old chihuahua Fiona was attacked by a large dog. She was reportedly taken into Sandhu’s office for treatment, and then transferred by the office to the Acute Critical Care and Emergency Surgical Service (ACCESS) in Los Angeles before succumbing to her injuries.
“Now that the outcome is finally here, I am grateful they were able to see through this story,” Feinstein said. “Him losing his license isn’t going to bring my pet back, or anyone else’s, but there are people out there who will help and send a message to people like this.”
Feinstein is one of over a dozen who reportedly testified against Sandhu after the case was filed in November of 2019, including several professional witnesses.
“How the case turned out is exactly what needed to happen,” said Wendy Hand, a registered veterinary technician and professional witness against the doctor. “What I noticed when I was working there was that not only did he comply with his probation, he had no intention ever complying with his probation.”
Hand reportedly worked for Dr. Sandhu at All Creatures Veterinary Center in Newhall, providing witness testimony in the case against the doctor’s conduct.
“My biggest concern was that they were checking in a number of patients that they didn’t have the staff to care for,” Hand said. “They were taking the owner’s money for care and the animals never received the care they needed. A lot of pets died because of this.”
The ruling, brought in front of the Veterinary Medical Board in the Department of Consumer Affairs for the State of California, was issued on Tuesday by Ji-Lan Zang, a judge for the Office of Administrative Hearings.
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