Hill 'n' Dale Sues Rood & Riddle Over Death of Foal

Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings has filed a lawsuit in Fayette (Ky.) Circuit Court charging Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital with malpractice in the death of a Curlin —Supercharger foal that died March 9, 2017, approximately 12 hours after birth at the equine clinic.

John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Farms is one of the most prestigious breeding operations in the United States, while Rood & Riddle is one of the most prominent equine veterinary hospitals in the country. Both are located in the Lexington area. 

Supercharger (A.P. Indy—Get Lucky, by Mr. Prospector), whom Sikura purchased privately, is the dam of Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner and millionaire Super Saver  as well as graded stakes winners Brethren  and Cyrus Alexander. Supercharger is the product of several generations of Phipps family breeding and descends from the great broodmare La Troienne, who is her eighth dam.

Because Supercharger previously had a dystocia (imperfectly positioned in the womb) foal at Hill 'n' Dale in 2016 that subsequently died after being moved to Rood & Riddle, Sikura decided to send Supercharger to Rood & Riddle a week before her foaling date in 2017 as a precaution. 

Four days after arriving at Rood & Riddle, Supercharger went into labor the evening of March 8, 2017. Dr. Bonnie Barr, the lead veterinarian on the case, and Dr. Brett Woodie determined this foal also was awkwardly positioned, and they placed Supercharger under anesthesia in order to perform a controlled vaginal delivery, in which they manually pulled the foal out of the mare. Supercharger gave birth to a 120-pound foal around 7 p.m., March 8.

According to the complaint, Dr. Barr observed an indentation at the base of the foal's rib cage on its left side that she subsequently, after repeated palpations, could no longer detect. 

The foal was moved to the hospital's intensive care unit, and by 6 a.m. the following morning was showing signs of discomfort. The foal died at approximately 7:30 a.m., and a subsequent necropsy performed at the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory revealed six fractured ribs on the foal's left side as well as acute internal bleeding.

The Hill 'n' Dale lawsuit charges that a dystocia foal, especially one that is larger than normal and which had presented for an indentation, should have led to Rood & Riddle performing an ultrasound on the foal instead of relying on manual palpations. It also charges that the technicians left in charge of the foal overnight should have notified Dr. Barr when the foal's heart and respiration rates both rose dramatically between the time they were monitored at 9 p.m., March 8 and next at 1 a.m., March 9.

It further states that the foal was repeatedly handled without precautions that should have been used when possible rib fractures are suspected, and also should have had its vital signs checked more frequently than every four hours. The lawsuit claims the foal's distress at 6 a.m. was diagnosed as colic even though hospital records showed the foal defecated regularly throughout the night. During an attempt to perform an enema on the foal, it died. 

"To a reasonable degree of medical probability, the foal's rib fractures and/or hemorrhaging would have been discovered and death could have been prevented by medical and/or surgical management," the complaint states.

Hill 'n' Dale valued the foal at somewhere in excess of $2 million.

Mike Casey of the Lexington-based law firm Casey, Bailey & Maines, who is representing Rood & Riddle in the case, said, "Dr. Barr and Rood & Riddle complied fully with the standard of care, and we believe that the hospital will be exonerated in the lawsuit."

Said Sikura, "We sent an extremely valuable mare to Rood & Riddle in advance of foaling with the expectation of receiving excellent care. We do not believe the standard of care was met, and the foal died."

The jury trial is scheduled to begin July 23.