Published: 2011-03-31 15:19:25
Author: Dianne Wood
Chiropractic neck adjustments are safe and effective, says the Ontario Chiropractic Association.
The association released a statement Wednesday when asked to comment about the risk of stroke from neck manipulations following a settlement last week of a lawsuit involving the death of a Guelph woman.
Dora Labonte, 40, died in hospital of a stroke in July, 2002, several weeks after her chiropractor performed soft tissue therapy on her back and jaw.
Her husband sued the St. Catharines chiropractor. A trial began in Kitchener’s Superior Court, but settled last week two days after it started.
The case is the second local one recently to allege a link between chiropractic treatment and stroke.
In 2009, a lawsuit against a Waterloo chiropractor was settled out of court on the eve of trial. Les Limage of Cambridge was left paralyzed by a stroke he linked to neck manipulation in December, 2001.
The lawyer for Limage and Labonte has several more lawsuits pending.
The issue has been in the spotlight since a high-profile inquest into the stroke death of a 45-year-old Toronto woman, Dana Lewis, in 2004.
The inquest jury found the stroke was accidental and recommended research to determine if there is any relationship between strokes and chiropractic adjustments.
Jo-Ann Willson, registrar and general counsel for the College of Chiropractors of Ontario, said the college reviewed its standards of practice after the inquest and made two changes.