Veterinarian's duty of explanation in animal medical contract

With the rapid increase in the animal-raising population, including companion animal owners, animal medical services are also increasing. This increase in animal medical services leads to legal disputes, such as medical accidents at animal hospitals, thereby causing conflicts between companion animal owners and animal hospitals. In reality, various disputes arise during animal treatment, including excessive billing, overtreatment, and the occurrence of complications or side effects. In particular, insufficient explanations can lead to overtreatment, or the lack of detailed explanations regarding complications and side effects from surgeries and other procedures can infringe upon the owner or manager’s right to make informed medical decisions, thereby causing unnecessary suffering to the animals. However, when examining discussions related to animals in Korea, while there are discussions on companion animal protection and damages caused by animals, it is difficult to find systematic discussions on animal-related medical issues. If a veterinarian's violation of the duty to explain results in the owner making an incorrect medical decision due to insufficient information, it causes significant damage to both the animal and the owner. Therefore, it is necessary to establish the concrete details of the veterinarian’s duty to explain as a preventive measure against damages resulting from its violation. Furthermore, discussions are needed on how to provide remedies when such damage has occurred. This paper examines the legal grounds and specific contents of the veterinarian’s duty to explain, as well as the issue of liability resulting from its violation. This examination operates on the premise that veterinarians have a duty to explain when concluding medical contracts for animal treatment, with the aim of preventing overtreatment and guaranteeing the animal owner's right to know and right to make informed medical decisions. Through this paper, we can expect to see the protection of animals' lives and bodies, as well as the prevention or remediation of damages to animal owners. Furthermore, this paper is expected to serve as a starting point for expanding the scope of Korean animal law research—currently focused on animal affection and welfare—and for inducing follow-up research. This will thereby revitalize and substantiate the study of animal law in Korea in the mid- to long-term.