Terms & Conditions

Article 1: Definitions

In these Terms and Conditions the following terms have the following definitions:

Client: the owner and/or the provider of the Patient on whose behalf the Veterinary Practice carries out the (Treatment) agreement.
Debtor: the person in whose name the invoice of the Veterinary Practice is drawn up.
Veterinarian: the person who is admitted to the practice of veterinary medicine on the basis of (currently) the Veterinary Practices Act and is registered in the register intended for that purpose and who performs veterinary (treatment) activities on the instructions of the Client and/or, in the context thereof, supplies and/or sells and/or administers medicines and/or provides other veterinary advice and services.
Veterinary practice: the Veterinarian(s) as defined above as well as the practice that the Veterinarian(s) conduct(s) using all (auxiliary) persons, including but not limited to veterinarians, assistants, lab technicians and the like, whether or not on the basis of an employment (Treatment) agreement, in any legal form and/or cooperation whatsoever.
(Treatment) agreement: the agreement (of instruction) between the Veterinary Practice and the Client for the performance of veterinary treatments, the supply and/or administration of medicines and/or the giving of advice and/or the performance of (veterinary) examinations.
Patient: the animal offered for treatment by the Client, the animals or groups of animals and/or the animal, the animals or groups of animals on which and/or on behalf of which medicines are supplied and/or administered and/or other veterinary advice is given and veterinary services are provided.

Article 2: Applicability

2.1 These Terms and Conditions apply to all offers and (Treatment) agreements, including (Treatment) agreements, between the Veterinary Practice and the Client, whereby the Veterinary Practice provides goods and/or services of whatever nature and under whatever name to the Client, insofar as this has not been explicitly deviated from in writing.

2.2 Any terms and conditions used by the Client are not applicable and are expressly rejected by the Veterinary Practice.

2.3 Additional and/or deviating terms and conditions shall only apply between the parties if the Veterinary Practice has expressly agreed to these additional and/or deviating terms and conditions in writing.

Article 3: Realisation (Treatment) Agreement

3.1 All offers and other expressions of the Veterinary Practice to conclude and (Treatment) agreement are without obligation, unless otherwise indicated in writing by the Veterinary Practice.

3.2 The (Treatment) agreement to be entered into between the Veterinary Practice and the Client shall only be legally effective from the moment that the (Treatment) agreement has been confirmed in writing by the Veterinary Practice, or when the Veterinary Practice has commenced with the execution of the (Treatment) agreement.

3.3 If an offer to enter into a (Treatment) agreement ultimately does not lead to a definitive (Treatment) agreement, the Veterinary Practice is at all times entitled to charge all costs incurred by the Veterinary Practice to make the offer to the Client.

3.4 The Veterinary Practice has the right to refuse to enter into a (Treatment) agreement with regard to a Patient offered for treatment and/or to accept it only under certain conditions, unless the Veterinary Practice is obliged to treat the Patient offered for treatment on the basis of legal and/or behavioural/ disciplinary regulations.

Article 4: Content (Treatment) Agreement

4.1 The (Treatment) agreement entered into between the Veterinary Practice and the Client is not an obligation to achieve results, but a best efforts obligation of the Veterinary Practice to provide veterinary treatment and/or advice and/or to supply and/or administer medication within the framework thereof.

4.2 De Dierenartsenpraktijk carries out the activities referred to in the previous paragraph to the best of its ability and with the care that may be expected of it.

4.3 De Dierenartsenpraktijk may make use of third parties in the performance of the (Treatment) agreement.

4.4 The (Treatment) agreement may also consist of the supply of veterinary medicines and/or the administration of veterinary medicines, to the extent permitted by law and with due observance of the provisions of Article 4.5 below, by the Client himself/herself, whether or not on the instructions of third parties, including administration on the instructions of government agencies. In the event that this is the case, the provisions of Article 8.9 also apply.

4.5 The mere fact that the Veterinary Practice is involved in the sale, supply and/or administration of veterinary medicines and/or provides assistance in this respect does not relieve the Client and/or third parties of the obligations incumbent on the Client and/or the third party in question with respect to the Patient under the legislation and regulations in the context of the administration and administration of veterinary medicines, including the administrative obligations.

Article 5: [Interim] Termination (Treatment) Agreement

5.1 The (Treatment) agreement ends by:

  • termination by the Client, whereby the Veterinary Practice will, if necessary, draw the Client's attention to the possible consequences of this premature termination for the Patient. If termination takes place against the advice of the Veterinarian and/or the Veterinary Practice, the Client will be informed that the premature termination will take place at the risk of the Client. At the request of the Veterinary Practice, the Client shall declare this in writing; 
  • the death of the Patient;
  • termination by the Veterinary Practice, if the Veterinary Practice is of the opinion that he cannot reasonably be expected to continue the veterinary treatment because there is no reasonable chance (anymore) of an intended and/or desired result. Under certain circumstances (e.g. in case of unbearable suffering) the Veterinary Practice is authorised to proceed with euthanasia without (prior) permission of the owner, unless this is not permitted by law and/or disciplinary/behavioral law;
  • termination by the Veterinary Practice if the Veterinary Practice is of the opinion that the trust between the Veterinary Practice and the Client has been seriously disturbed.

5.2 If the Veterinary Practice terminates the (Treatment) agreement, the Veterinary Practice shall, before doing so, inform the Client and explain the reasons for this decision, unless this is not possible or not possible in time.

5.3 In the event that a (Treatment) agreement is terminated prematurely, the costs incurred and the fee agreed upon will be charged to the Client in proportion to the activities already performed, unless these activities are indivisible, at the discretion of the Veterinary Practice.

Article 6: Rates, fees and payment

6.1 The Veterinary Practice sets the rates and fees to be charged. These may be changed at any time by the Veterinary Practice, according to its own rates according to time and circumstances. The invoice shall state the calculated VAT.

6.2 Payment of the invoice of the Veterinary Practice may be made in cash or by giro, immediately after the transaction, unless agreed otherwise.

6.3 The Veterinary Practice is entitled, where appropriate, to require a down payment from the Client prior to the performance of its activities and not to commence its activities until after the amount has been received by the Veterinary Practice, unless the Veterinary Practice is obliged under statutory and/or behavioural/ disciplinary regulations to treat the offered Patient immediately.

6.4 Non-cash payments are subject to a payment term of 14 days after the invoice date, in which case administrative costs may be charged.

6.5 If more than one invoice is outstanding, non-integral payments thereof shall be deemed to serve to settle the oldest invoice.

6.6 In the event of late payment, the Debtor shall immediately [and by operation of law] be in default by the mere expiry of the payment term and the Debtor shall owe statutory interest on the principal sum or the remainder of the outstanding claim.

6.7 The Debtor shall not be entitled to suspend any (payment) obligation to the Veterinary Practice, nor shall the Debtor be entitled to apply any set-off, on any account whatsoever, in respect of amounts charged and/or charged by the Veterinary Practice.

6.8 If the Debtor is in default and collection is effected, the Debtor shall, in addition to the amount due and the interest thereon, be liable to pay both extrajudicial and judicial collection costs.

6.9 If the Client fails to collect the Patient from the Veterinary Practice after completion of the veterinary treatment, or fails to do so on time, the Veterinary Practice shall be entitled to charge the Client for any additional costs involved.

6.10 Payments made by the Debtor shall first serve to pay the costs due, then to pay the interest due and only then to pay the oldest outstanding invoice (Treatment) in accordance with the provisions of Article 6.5 of these Terms and Conditions.

Article 7: Complaints

7.1 The Client is obliged to immediately inspect the performance and/or goods to be delivered by the Veterinary Practice, including medication, for immediately detectable defects and/or imperfections.

7.2 In case the Veterinary Practice applies the Complaints Regulations KNMvD as established by the Royal Dutch Society for Veterinary Medicine (hereinafter: "KNMvD"), Customer may make use of them. If the website of the Veterinary Practice does not state that it applies the Complaints Regulations KNMvD, the Complaints Regulations KNMvD are in principle not applicable. At the first request of the Client, the Veterinary Practice will indicate whether it still applies the Complaints Regulations KNMvD or wishes to apply them, or whether the Veterinary Practice makes use of another Complaints Procedure.

7.3 Without prejudice to the provisions of the possibly applicable Complaints Regulations KNMvD, the Client must notify the Veterinary Practice (preferably in writing) of any complaints about the services provided within 30 days after the termination of the activities or after the Client has become aware of the faults and/or imperfections. If this period of 30 days is exceeded, any claim against the Veterinary Practice in respect of any defect and/or imperfection shall lapse.

7.4 In the event that the Veterinary Practice finds a complaint by a Client about a performance performed to be well-founded, the Veterinary Practice shall at all times have the right to cancel any claim against the Client:
a. if this is still possible, to carry out this performance in the correct manner within a reasonable period of time, or;
b. to credit the amount owed by the Client; this at the discretion of the Veterinary Practice.

Article 8: Liability

General
8.1 If the Veterinary Practice and/or the Veterinarian is/will be liable towards the Client in any way, such liability shall at all times be limited to the amount paid out in the relevant case by the liability insurance of the Veterinary Practice and/or the Veterinarian. If the insurance provides no cover, the liability shall be limited to the amount paid by the Client for the act or omission in question.

8.2 Liability for indirect damage is excluded at all times, including but not limited to consequential damage, loss of profit, missed savings and damage due to (business) stagnation and the like.

8.3 The execution of the (Treatment) Agreement shall take place exclusively for the benefit of the Client. Third parties cannot derive any rights from this (Treatment) agreement and its execution.

8.4 Outside the cases mentioned in this article, any liability is excluded.

8.5 The Client indemnifies the Veterinary Practice against all claims of third parties that may result, directly or indirectly, from the execution of the (Treatment) Agreement.

Special provisions 
8.6 If, pursuant to the (Treatment) agreement, a veterinary inspection is carried out, the following provisions apply, insofar as they deviate from the provisions in the previous paragraphs of this article:

8.6.1 The inspecting veterinarian and/or the Veterinary Practice are not liable for any damage - explicitly including financial and consequential damage - caused by the performance of the inspection or by inaccuracies and incompleteness in the drawing up of the examination report, unless it is established that this damage is due to intent or gross negligence on the part of the inspecting veterinarian.
8.6.2 With regard to the liability referred to under 8.6.1, only the Client has a right of action - within the frameworks set out therein - against the inspecting Vet and/or the Veterinary Practice; others than the Client cannot derive any right to compensation from the examination report.
8.6.3 The liability of the Veterinary Practice and the Veterinarian shall at all times be limited to the amount paid out by the liability insurance of the Veterinarian and/or the Veterinary Practice in the case concerned.
8.6.4 If the Client and/or third parties are of the opinion that the Patient's state of health at the time of the present examination does not correspond with what is stated in the examination report, they shall, on pain of forfeiture of any right of action against the Veterinarian and/or the Veterinary Practice, notify the other party in writing within a reasonable period of time (in the case of, for example, the purchase agreement) and claim compensation for damages from the other party, at the same time providing a copy of this notification to the inspecting Veterinarian and the Veterinary Practice.
8.6.5 Disputes concerning the performance of the examination and/or the completion of the examination report shall be governed exclusively by Dutch law and the Dutch courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction to take cognizance thereof.
8.6.6 If the Client is not the owner of the animal, he guarantees that the owner has granted permission to carry out the veterinary examination and Articles 8.6.1 to 8.6.5 can also be invoked against the owner.
8.6.7 Articles 8.6.1 to 8.6.6 also apply if the Client does not sign the examination report.

8.7 If the services requested by the Client from the Veterinary Practice concern the import or export of animals, including but not limited to the issuing of (health) certificates, the liability of the Veterinary Practice is excluded. The Client shall indemnify the Veterinary Practice against claims by third parties for whatever reason.

8.8 The exclusion of liability referred to in Article 8.7 shall not apply in the event of intent and/or gross negligence, which shall in any case also apply if the Veterinary Practice and/or the Veterinarian knowingly cooperates in illegal trade.

8.9 Without prejudice to the provisions of the previous paragraphs of this Article, unless there is intent and/or gross negligence on the part of the Veterinarian and/or the Veterinary Practice, the latter shall exclude all liability:

  • for damage resulting from the administration of veterinary medicines by the Client himself/herself and/or;
  • for damage as a result of administration of veterinary medicines by order of third parties, including administration by order of government agencies and/or;
  • for injury and/or damage resulting from the administration of these drugs, any side effects thereof and/or;
  • for negligence in the fulfilment of the applicable administrative obligations and related problems of proof.

8.10 The conclusion of a (Treatment) agreement and/or the performance of veterinary (treatment) actions and/or the supply and/or administration of medicines and/or the provision of veterinary advice and services in the context thereof, does not in any way affect the strict liability of the Client and/or third parties for damage caused by the animal in the sense of Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code.

Article 9: Ownership and data

9.1 The Veterinary Practice is at all times the owner of the copies, documents and other information carriers, such as X-rays, relating to the Patient and the execution of the (Treatment) agreement.

9.2 The Veterinary Practice shall keep these documents for a period of 5 years. Upon request, the Client can obtain copies of this information (carriers) and/or other documents against payment of the cost price.

9.3 For the implementation of the (Treatment) agreement, the Veterinary Practice shall make use of the (personal) data provided by the Client to the Veterinary Practice. When processing the personal data of the Client, the Veterinary Practice shall comply with the applicable privacy laws and regulations.

Article 10: Special provisions

Entrance to stables/location work
10.1 If the treatment of the Patient gives cause to do so, the Veterinary Practice has the right to deny access to the stables or any other location where the treatment takes place to anyone, if necessary also to the Client, and/or to give any other instructions it deems necessary for the treatment. The Client is obliged to comply with this.

Scientific research
10.2 The Veterinary Practice has the right to use (parts of) the Patient or substances originating from the Patient for statistical and/or scientific research, or to include them in a publication, unless the Client has made express and insurmountable objections to this. If necessary and if possible, the Veterinary Practice will notify the Client in advance of the intention to use said data for research.

Article 11: Applicable law and dispute resolution

11.1 The (Treatment) agreement and all (Treatment) agreements that may result therefrom between the Veterinary Practice and the Client are exclusively governed by Dutch law.

11.2 The District Court in the district where the Veterinary Practice is located shall have exclusive jurisdiction to take cognizance of disputes between parties, without prejudice to the authority of the Veterinary Practice to submit a dispute to the court competent according to the law.

Terms and Conditions of IVC Evidensia Nederland, filed with the District Court of Central Netherlands under number 82/2020.