(1) Unless required by any state or local law for contagious or infectious disease reporting or other public health and safety purpose, no veterinarian licensed under the Veterinary Medicine and Surgery Practice Act shall be required to disclose any information concerning the veterinarian’s care of an animal except under a written authorization or other waiver by the veterinarian’s client or pursuant to a court order or a subpoena. A veterinarian who releases information under a written authorization or other waiver by the client or pursuant to a court order or a subpoena is not liable to the client or any other person.

Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 38-3330

  • Animal: means any animal other than man and includes birds, fish, and reptiles, wild or domestic, living or dead, except domestic poultry. See Nebraska Statutes 38-3304
  • Licensed veterinarian: means a person who is validly and currently licensed to practice veterinary medicine and surgery in this state. See Nebraska Statutes 38-3310
  • Person: shall include bodies politic and corporate, societies, communities, the public generally, individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, and associations. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
  • State: when applied to different states of the United States shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories organized by Congress. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Veterinarian: means a person who has received a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from an accredited school of veterinary medicine or its equivalent. See Nebraska Statutes 38-3315

(2) The privilege provided by this section is waived to the extent that the veterinarian’s client or the owner of the animal places the veterinarian’s care and treatment of the animal or the nature and extent of injuries to the animal at issue in any civil or criminal proceeding.

(3) The privilege provided by this section is waived to the extent and for purposes of notifying any owner or manager of cattle that have a significant risk for exposure to bovine trichomoniasis. A veterinarian who releases information about the risk for exposure to bovine trichomoniasis is not liable to the client or any other person.

(4) For purposes of this section, veterinarian includes the employees or agents of the licensed veterinarian while acting for or on behalf of such veterinarian.

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