WINNIPEG - A Winnipeg woman is suing her chiropractor, whose treatment she claims caused her to have a stroke only hours after visiting his office.
Debbie Henderson, 43, filed a lawsuit Dec. 23 claiming unspecified damages and medical costs in relation to a stroke she suffered last May, which caused her to be hospitalized for 17 days and has left her with lingering disabilities.
According to her statement of claim, Henderson visited her North End chiropractor last May 20 complaining of recurring headaches.
The suit claims Henderson was lying face-down on a table when the chiropractor asked her to turn over.
"(He) then stated 'Oh, this is what is causing your headaches' and lifted up the plaintiff's neck high off the table and conducted a cervical neck manipulation by violently turning the plaintiff's neck then immediately turning her head to the right," the suit states.
Henderson claims in the suit that she heard two cracks in her neck.
She left the office, walked to her mother's house, then went to visit a friend in her mother's building.
Felt disoriented
While at her friend's house, Henderson claims she began to feel disoriented and was taken by ambulance to Health Sciences Centre, where it was determined she'd suffered a stroke due to damage to her internal carotid artery, one of the brain's main blood suppliers.
She remained in hospital for 17 days, and claims to suffer from several lasting effects, including brain damage, loss of sight in her right eye, slurred speech, weakness and loss of function in her limbs and other conditions.
Henderson, a mother of three who identifies herself in the suit as a "hotel housekeeper and perogy maker," claims the stroke was caused by "recklessness, carelessness and negligence" on the part of her chiropractor.
Her statement of claim includes no supporting medical evidence to suggest the stroke was connected to the neck manipulation, other than the timing of the incident.
None of her allegations has been proven in court.
Chiropractors generally receive malpractice insurance through the Canadian Chiropractic Protective Association, which was started by the Canadian Chiropractic Association.
It is uncertain whether the chiropractor named in Henderson's suit is covered.
paul.turenne@sunmedia.ca
