General Terms and Conditions
General Terms and Conditions of the Royal Netherlands Society for Veterinary Medicine
Article 1: Definitions
In these General Terms and Conditions, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
- General Terms and Conditions: all provisions of the General Terms and Conditions described below;
- KNMvD: the Royal Dutch Society for Veterinary Medicine, with its registered office in Utrecht;
- Veterinarian: the person, who by virtue of the Act on Scientific Education (Stb 1985, 562), has obtained the capacity of veterinarian, or by virtue of the Act on the Practice of Veterinary Medicine 1990 has been admitted to practice veterinary medicine, who is a member of the Royal Dutch Society for Veterinary Medicine and who, by order of the Client, performs veterinary treatments and/or, in the context thereof, supplies and/or sells and/or administers medicines and/or gives other veterinary advice and services;
- Veterinary Practice: The Veterinarian(s) as defined above as well as the practice conducted by the Veterinarian(s) with the use of all (auxiliary) persons, including but not limited to veterinarians, assistants, laboratory assistants, etc., whether or not on the basis of an employment contract, in whatever legal form and/or cooperation;
- Client: the owner of the Patient to be treated and/or the provider of the Patient on whose instructions the Veterinary Practice performs the veterinary treatments and/or, within that framework, supplies and/or sells and/or administers medicines and/or gives other veterinary advice and performs veterinary services;
- Patient(s): the animal, animals or groups of animals offered for treatment by the Client and/or the animal, animals or groups of animals over which and/or for whose benefit medicines are supplied and/or administered and/or other veterinary advice is given and veterinary services are performed;
- (Treatment) Agreement: the agreement (of assignment) between the Veterinary Practice and the Client to perform veterinary treatments, supply and/or administer medicines and/or give advice and/or perform (veterinary) examinations;
- Debtor: the person in whose name the invoice of the Veterinary Practice was issued.
- Consultation Hour: the Consultation Hour of the Veterinary Practice where the Client can, whether or not by appointment, walk into the Veterinary Practice within set times for veterinary procedures and/or examination determined by the Veterinary Practice;
Article 2: Applicability
2.1
These General Terms and Conditions apply to all (Treatment) Agreements between the Veterinary Practice and the Client.
Version 18 July 2007
2.2
Additional and/or deviant conditions of the Client do not bind the Veterinary Practice. Additional and/or deviant conditions shall only apply between the parties if the veterinary practice has agreed to these additional and/or deviant conditions in writing.
Article 3: Conclusion of the (Treatment) Agreement
3.1
All offers to conclude a (Treatment) Agreement are without obligation, unless otherwise agreed between the parties.
3.2
The (treatment) agreement between the veterinary practice and the Client is only legally valid from the moment the agreement is confirmed in writing by the veterinary practice, or when the veterinary practice has started to carry out the agreement and/or has delivered and/or administered the medicine to be delivered.
3.3
The veterinary practice is at all times entitled, if an offer to conclude a (treatment) agreement does not ultimately lead to a final agreement, to charge all costs which the veterinary practice had to incur to make the offer to the Client.
3.4
The veterinary practice has the right to refuse to conclude a Treatment Agreement, with regard to a Patient presented to it for treatment, and/or to accept the Patient only under certain conditions, if the veterinary practice believes that treatment of the Patient has no, or at least absolutely no, chance of success, unless the veterinary practice is obliged to treat the presented Patient on the grounds of legal and/or behavioural/ disciplinary regulations.
Article 4: Content (Treatment) Agreement
4.1
The (treatment) agreement concluded between the veterinary practice and the Client leads to a best-effort obligation on the part of the veterinary practice to provide veterinary treatment and/or advice and/or medicines to be supplied and/or administered in connection therewith. The veterinary practice will carry out these activities to the best of its ability and with the care which may be expected of it. The veterinary practice has the right to make use of third parties in the execution of the (treatment) agreement.
4.2
The treatment agreement may also comprise the sale, supply and/or administration of veterinary medicines by the Client and/or on the instructions of third parties, including administration on the instructions of government bodies (also see Article 8.4).
Version 18 July 2007
4.3
The mere fact that the veterinarian is involved in the sale, supply and/or administration of veterinary medicines and/or provides assistance in the process, does not release the Client and/or third parties from the administrative obligations that rest with the Client and/or the third party in question in respect of the Patient pursuant to the Veterinary Medicines Act.
Article 5: Premature termination of the (Treatment) Agreement
5.1
The (Treatment) Agreement concluded between the Veterinary Practice and the Client is terminated prematurely by:
- the express request of the Client, whereby the Client will be informed by the Veterinary Practice, if necessary, of the possible consequences of this premature termination for the Patient and, if termination takes place against the advice of the Veterinarian and/or the Veterinary Practice, it will be pointed out that this will take place at the risk of the Client and, if necessary, the Client will have to make a written statement in this regard;
- the death of the Patient to be treated;
- a unilateral decision by the veterinary practice, if the veterinary practice is of the opinion that it cannot reasonably be expected of it that the veterinary treatment will be continued because there is no reasonable chance (anymore) of an intended and/or desired result;
- a unilateral decision by the veterinary practice if the trust between the veterinary practice and the Client is seriously disrupted.
5.2
If the (Treatment) Agreement is terminated prematurely at the Veterinary Practice's unilateral request, the Veterinary Practice shall, before doing so, inform the Client and explain its reasons to the Client, unless this is not possible or not possible in time.
5.3
If the (treatment) agreement is terminated prematurely, the agreed fee will be charged to the Client in proportion to the work already done, unless the work is indivisible. This is at the discretion of the Veterinary Practice.
Article 6: Rates, fees and payment
6.1
The veterinary practice shall determine the rates and fees to be charged in accordance with its own rates, depending on time and circumstances. The invoice will state the calculated VAT.
6.2
Payment of the invoice of the veterinary practice can be done in cash or by pin, directly after the operation unless otherwise agreed.
6.3
If several invoices are outstanding, non-integrated payments thereof shall be deemed to be in settlement of the first due invoice.
6.4
In the event of late payment, the debtor shall immediately be in default and shall owe the statutory interest on the principal sum or remaining balance of the claim. For sending a reminder, an amount of at least 5.00 (five Euros) shall be charged each time.
6.5
The Debtor shall not be entitled to set off, on any account whatsoever, amounts charged by the Veterinary Practice for work carried out by the Veterinary Practice.
6.6
If the Debtor is in default and collection is initiated, the Debtor shall be liable, in addition to the amount owed and the interest thereon, for the full reimbursement of both extrajudicial and judicial collection costs. The extrajudicial collection costs shall be set, excluding VAT, at a minimum of 15% of the principal sum due with interest, such with a minimum of 50.00 (fifty euro).
6.7
The veterinary practice is entitled to require a deposit from the Client prior to commencing its activities, and not to commence its activities until the deposit has been received by the veterinary practice, unless the veterinary practice is obliged to treat the Patient offered immediately on the grounds of statutory and/or behavioural/ disciplinary regulations.
6.8
The veterinary practice is entitled, if the Client does not collect the Patient from the veterinary practice after completion of the veterinary treatment, or does not collect the Patient on time, to charge the Client for all the extra costs involved, whereby payments will first be used to settle the costs owed, then to settle the interest due, and only then to settle the oldest outstanding invoice.
Article 7: Complaints
7.1
The Client is obliged to immediately inspect the veterinary practice's services and/or medicines to be delivered for immediately detectable defects and/or imperfections. The Client must report complaints about the services provided to the veterinary practice (preferably in writing) within 30 days after the work has been completed, or after the defects and/or imperfections have become known to the Client.
7.2
If the veterinary practice finds the complaint about the performance to be well-founded, the veterinary practice is entitled at all times to
a. if this is still possible, to perform 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 Veterinary Practice's discretion.
Article 8: Liability
General provision:
8.1
If the veterinary practice is liable in any way, then this liability is at all times limited to the amount which the liability insurance of the veterinary practice pays out in a given case. The policy conditions and policy sheets of this insurance are available for inspection at the veterinary practice, a copy of which will be provided free of charge upon the Client's first request. Compensation of indirect damage is at all times excluded, including but not limited to consequential damage, loss of profit, missed savings and damage due to (business) stagnation and the like. Version 18 July 2007
Special provisions:
8.2
If it concerns a veterinary inspection, then in deviation from the previous paragraph of this Article, the following provisions apply (also printed on the inspection report)
8.2.1. The inspecting Vet and/or the Veterinary Practice shall not be liable for any damage - explicitly including property damage and consequential loss - caused by the performance of the inspection or by inaccuracies and incompleteness in the preparation of the examination report, unless it has been established that this damage is due to intent or gross negligence on the part of the inspecting Vet.
8.2.2. With regard to the liability mentioned in 8.2.1, only the Principal is entitled to make a claim against the inspecting Vet and/or the Veterinary Practice; others than the Principal cannot derive any right to compensation from the examination report.
8.2.3. The liability will at all times be limited to the amount that the liability insurance will pay out in the case in question. The policy documents of this insurance are available for inspection at the Veterinary Practice and upon first request, a copy will be provided free of charge.
8.2.4. Articles 8.2.1 to 8.2.7 shall also apply if the client does not sign the investigation report and nevertheless accepts the investigation report.
8.2.5. If the client is not the owner of the animal, he guarantees that the owner has given permission for the veterinary examination to be carried out and for the articles
8.2.1 to 8.2.7 may also be invoked against the owner.
8.2.6. If the client and/or third parties believe that the state of health of the horse at the time of the examination in question does not correspond with what is stated in the examination report, they must, on pain of forfeiting any right of claim against the veterinarian and/or the veterinary practice, report this in writing within a reasonable period of time to their counterparty (for example, in the purchase agreement) and make a claim for compensation, at the same time providing a copy of this report to the veterinarian who performed the examination and the veterinary practice.
8.2.7 Disputes concerning the performance of the inspection and/or the completion of this inspection report shall be governed exclusively by Dutch law and the Dutch courts shall have sole jurisdiction to take cognisance thereof.
8.3
The veterinarian practice which provides information about the import of animals into the Netherlands and/or export of animals to countries outside the Netherlands and the import and/or export regulations applicable thereto, only provides undue assistance, whereby a successful import or export is in no way guaranteed and whereby the veterinarian and/or the veterinarian practice, unless there is intent and/or gross negligence on the part of the veterinarian and/or the veterinarian practice, is not liable for any damage and/or costs of any nature whatsoever connected with the (attempted) import or export of animals concerned.
8.4 The veterinary practice excludes, unless there is intent and/or gross negligence on the part of the veterinarian and/or the veterinary practice, any liability for damage as a result of administration of veterinary medicines by the Client himself and with regard to administration of veterinary medicines on the instructions of third parties, including administration on the instructions of government bodies, as well as injury and/or damage as a result of the administration of these medicines, any side effects thereof and carelessness in fulfilling the applicable administrative obligations and associated problems of proof.
8.5
The conclusion of a (Treatment) Agreement and/or the performance of veterinary treatments and/or the supply and/or administration of medicines and/or the provision of veterinary advice and services in connection therewith, does not affect the risk liability of the Client and/or third parties for damage caused by the animal within the meaning of Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Version 18 July 2007
Article 9: Ownership
9.1
The veterinarian practice retains ownership at all times of copies, documents and other information carriers such as X-rays which relate to the treated Patient. The veterinarian practice will keep these documents for 5 years. The Client can, upon request, receive copies of these information (carriers) and/or other documents against payment of the cost price.
Article 10: Special provisions
10.1
If the treatment of the Patient gives cause to do so, the veterinary practice has the right to deny anyone, including the Client if necessary, access to the stables or another location where the treatment will take place, and/or to impose other conditions which it deems necessary for the treatment. The Client is obliged to comply with this.
10.2
Scientific research The veterinary practice is entitled to use (parts of) the Patient or substances originating from the Patient for statistical and/or scientific research, or to process them in a publication, unless the Client has made explicit and insurmountable objections to this. The Veterinary Practice will, if necessary, report the intention to use said data for research to the Client in advance.
Article 11: Applicable law and dispute resolution
11.1
Dutch law applies exclusively to all (treatment) agreements between the veterinary practice and the Client.
11.2
In case a dispute belongs to the legal competence of the District Court, the District Court of the place of establishment of the Veterinary Practice is competent to take cognisance of the dispute, without prejudice to the competence of the Veterinary Practice to bring a dispute before the court which has jurisdiction according to the law.