Andrew ("Andy") Plattner of law firm Sherman and Howard was the attorney hired by Katherine Heuerman to defend her before the Board. During a Board discussion of a dead dog swapped out with a dead cat by a veterinarian, the Board also voted to open an investigation into Heuerman's PALS crematory. In the cases in question, a dog underwent an in-home euthanasia and the body was taken away by the veterinarian. The pet's person called the crematory to schedule an in-person viewing of the cremation, mentioning that he wanted an update about his dog's body; when he showed up for the eventual cremation he was presented with a dead cat instead. The complainant had concerns that the crematorium never noticed that he kept asking about a dog when they had a cat in the freezer.
Plattner posed an interesting legal question: "The question in front of this Board is: Who is the responsibility [sic] party to ensuring the deceased, when placed in a body bag, is properly labeled? The answer is: the veterinarian/veterinarian practice." He argued that as the body came in mislabeled the crematory had no responsibility in the matter whatsoever. He went on to argue that Heuerman's lack of culpability in the matter was so obvious that she shouldn't even have to speak with the Board; however, he conceded that she would show up if she really had to. In Heuerman's defense he also presented a statement from the PALS Crematory operator stating that not only was it the veterinarian's fault, but that the ultimate cause was none other than the deceased pet's family; the veterinarian allegedly related that the family was acting so crazy after the euthanasia that it caused her to mislabel the body bags in her vehicle.
Plattner may have had at least a passing specialty in defending professionals before various state boards. In case MD-14-1334A he defended before the Arizona state medical board a doctor who allegedly manipulated a third-year medical student into prescribing Ambien for the doctor's own personal stash.
Andrew Plattner defended veterinarians in about 0.2% of cases in our Tails of Woe.
We've tallied up a list of Andrew Plattner's clients from our collected public records. For a more detailed list showing each complaint, respondent, and premises, view the Client History.
The following veterinarians were most frequently represented by Andrew Plattner:
Respondent | Count |
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Katherine Heuerman | 1 |
Veterinarians represented by Andrew Plattner were most likely to work at one of the following veterinary premises:
Premises | Count |
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PALS Crematory | 1 |