NEWARK – Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs today announced that the Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners has temporarily suspended the license of an Essex County veterinarian who allegedly provided inadequate treatment that resulted in the untimely death of several animals.
Ehren Seth Yablon, who owns the Newark Veterinary Hospital in Newark, was charged by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office in April with animal cruelty, offering a diseased animal for sale, and theft by deception, and now has agreed to surrender his license pending the disposition of the criminal charges and further order from the Board.
“We entrust veterinarians with the health of our beloved pets,” said Acting Attorney General Platkin. “When a veterinarian falls short of professional standards, we stand ready to take action.”
“The serious criminal charges faced by this veterinarian, if proven, would be clear violations of the professional standards every licensed practitioner must abide by,” said Cari Fais, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “We are protecting the public and the integrity of the profession by securing the surrender of this veterinarian’s license.”
Yablon was the subject of several consumer complaints alleging the veterinarian misdiagnosed conditions, failed to perform pre-surgical bloodwork, failed to appropriately treat animals diagnosed with parvovirus (a highly infectious disease), and concealed the fact that a patient had died prior to a scheduled procedure.
The allegations prompted an investigation that included two unannounced inspections of Yablon’s office where, among other things, state investigators found rodent feces, medical waste, expired and improperly stored medication, and a dead cat stored in a crate on top of a freezer.
Based on the investigation’s findings, the state filed an Order to Show Cause and Verified Complaint seeking the temporary suspension of Yablon’s veterinary license on April 25, 2022.
The Verified Complaint alleges gross and repeated acts of negligence, malpractice, incompetence and professional misconduct, such as failure to properly treat and isolate three parvovirus-positive husky puppies. After keeping all three puppies in a single kennel without receiving any treatment, monitoring, food, or water, one of the puppies passed away. Yablon allegedly failed to notify the owner that one of the puppies passed away and did not remove it from the shared kennel. Two days later a second husky puppy passed away.
In another instance, the state alleges, Princess, a 7 year-old female bulldog that Yablon had been treating for a fever and bleeding issues, passed away while being prepared for surgery. Yablon informed the owner that Princess had died during surgery, but the owner took the dog to another veterinarian to perform a necropsy that found no surgery had been performed.
Under the terms of the interim suspension, Yablon is precluded from the practice of veterinary medicine in the State of New Jersey, and he has also agreed to surrender his New Jersey Controlled Dangerous Substances registration. Additionally, Yablon cannot enter the premises of his practice during business hours or when patients may be present, and he cannot charge, receive or share in any fee for professional services rendered by others.
Deputy Attorney General Pavithra Angara of the Professional Boards Prosecution Section in the Division of Law’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Practice Group is representing the state in this matter. Investigators with the Enforcement Bureau within the Division of Consumer Affairs conducted the investigation into this matter.
The criminal matter remains pending.
Patients who believe that they have been treated by a licensed health care professional in an inappropriate manner can file an online complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting its website or by calling 1-800-242-5846 (toll free within New Jersey) or 973-504- 6200.
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The mission of the Division of Consumer Affairs, within the Department of Law and Public Safety, is to protect the public from fraud, deceit, misrepresentation and professional misconduct in the sale of goods and services in New Jersey through education, advocacy, regulation and enforcement. The Division pursues its mission through its 51 professional and occupational boards that oversee 720,000 licensees in the state, its Regulated Business section that oversees 60,000 NJ registered businesses, as well as through its Office of Consumer Protection, Bureau of Securities, Charities Registration section, Office of Weights and Measures, and Legalized Games of Chance section.
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