Veterinarian Vulnerabilities of COVID-19

Federal (USDA, DHS, CDC, FDA) and state and local veterinarians are becoming increasingly concerned about the toll COVID-19 will have on them professionally. Agency and public health guidance isn’t keeping up with the rapidly changing circumstances whether you’re operating in a food processing plant, in a laboratory/diagnostic facility, or as a public health veterinarian. The sentiment amongst most is concern over decisions and actions/inactions especially during this tragedy that is causing so much damage and harm.

When Dr. Ann Garvey was the President of the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV), she approached Dr. Joseph Annelli, the Executive Vice President of the National Association of Federal Veterinarians (NAFV) to get state and local veterinarians access to the same professional liability protections as federal veterinarians, as she was keenly aware of the vulnerabilities of government veterinarians. NASPHV, NAFV and FEDS Protection partnered to provide the very same professional liability protection at the very same price to state and local veterinarians whose counterparts in the federal government have access to. According to Dr. Annelli, "All of today’s government veterinarians need to be protected from liability for the difficult decisions they make in their efforts to protect the public from dangerous infections and disease.”

"I’ve been doing this for a long time,” says Attorney Tony Vergnetti, the President of the insurance program responsible for extending coverage to state and local veterinarians, "people need to know they’ll be okay if they make an error or if a decision turns out badly. This situation is hard enough. Knowing that you could be investigated, sued or prosecuted for your decisions is both frightening and overwhelming. This exposure, not exclusive to a pandemic, is what we refer to as the "ugly side” of civil service.”

Professional liability policies generally protect professionals from lawsuits. Government employees, however, have exposures that go beyond lawsuits. The Public Employee policy, available through NAFV, offers state and local veterinarians the same protections available to their federal agriculture, defense, environmental and health and human services veterinarians protecting them against civil lawsuits as well as the administrative and criminal exposures facing all government veterinarians.

For less than $375 per year*, state and local veterinarians have access to professional liability insurance that covers all three areas of exposure for government veterinarians – administrative and disciplinary, civil, and criminal – especially when exposure is increased by:

For more information on liability exposures, protections, or how to get your coverage in place today, visit NAFV.org.

*After becoming an affiliate member of NAFV for $75 per year, you will have access to the Professional Liability Insurance policy for $295.80 per year.