According to the Los Angeles Coroners report, 34 year old Playboy model and Snapchat star Katie May died as a result of injuries sustained from a neck manipulation by a chiropractor. That chiropractor is now the named defendant in the wrongful death lawsuit brought by her estate. People.com reports that West Hollywood-based chiropractor Eric Schwartz of Back to Total Heath did a neck adjustment that ultimately caused a tear in her left verteberal artery, blocking blood flow to her brain and leading to a stroke and death.

Up to this point, May’s estate and Schwartz have been unable to reach a settlement out of court. People quotes the attorney for May’s estate, “Honestly we were willing to settle within policy- we weren’t trying to hurt the doctor. We were just hoping the daughter gets a college fund. We don’t want anything unreasonable.”

Evidence plays a big role in winning any wrongful death case and there seems to be a lot in this one in favor of the estate. In May’s case, one of the more powerful pieces of evidence is the tight timeline between her visit to Schwartz and her stroke. The fact that that coroners report essentially attributes the cause of death to the chiropractor is a very powerful piece of evidence but the attorneys in this case will still have to prove negligence on the part of Schwartz. Her huge social media presence will also likely play a role in her case as she tweeted about her pain and visit to the chiropractor just one day before she had her deadly stroke.

Successfully proving negligence in this case would include a showing of:

• Duty of Care: As a patient of Schwartz, he owed May the duty of care expected of a chiropractor working in the capacity he was
• Breach of his duty: In this case, the argument would be that Schwartz did not meet his duty of care when his neck manipulation resulted in the tear that ultimately caused her to have a stroke and then death.
• Injuries: Death is the worst injury possible
• Damages: In this case, the estate is seeking damages for May’s 8 year old daughter.

Like doctors, chiropractors are required to carry malpractice insurance to cover situations like this. While many individuals find a tremendous amount of relief in working with a chiropractor, it is not without its risk. Katie May’s death is the perfect example of how a simple chiropractic manipulation can go terribly wrong.

If you are dealing with a wrongful death or personal injury that you believed was caused by a chiropractor- please get in touch with us today to discuss things further. You may be entitled to compensation. Your first consultation with us is always free to do not hesitate to call.