AROUND THE WORLD CHIROPRACTIC
LAWSUIT: ILLEGAL ACUPUNCTURE CAUSED LUNG COLLAPSE
Chiropractor was performing the treatment without a license, woman claims
SAN DIEGO — A San Diego woman has filed a lawsuit against a Chula Vista chiropractor accusing him of collapsing her lung during an acupuncture procedure that he is not licensed to perform. The lawsuit, filed Jan. 16 in San Diego Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages, as well as a court order for Dr. Walker Scott to stop performing acupuncture on patients. Acupuncture is a widely used practice based on ancient Chinese methods of inserting hair-thin needles at strategic points on the body to relieve pain. Most acupuncture points are on or near the surface of the skin, although some spots require needles to be inserted deeper. Various medical studies and journals have identified dozens of cases of acupuncture-related pneumothorax, which is when air enters the membrane separating the chest wall from the lung and causes the lung to collapse. State records show Scott does not have an acupuncture license, which is required. His website lists "electro-acupuncture" as an area of practice. He declined to be interviewed for this story. According to the lawsuit, Scott sold his services to many of the mixed martial arts fighters who train at Alliance Training Center, including head coach and UFC trainer Eric Del Fierro and his now wife, Jamie, who is the gym’s front office manager. Jamie Del Fierro went for her first treatment in January 2014 and complained of tension headaches. Scott suggested acupuncture, and Del Fierro agreed, since she’d had the procedure done by others before and it had seemed to help, said her attorney. SeanFoldenauer, The doctor began to put the fine needles in and along her neck, back and chest. He is accused of then piercing through her chest wall and into the tissue surrounding her lung, the lawsuit claims.
Del Fierro immediately told him she was experiencing pain in her chest and left arm and was having shortness of breath, but he waved off the complaints as common side affects, the suit says. He then followed up with a chiropractic adjustment before sending her home to rest, according to the lawsuit. Del Fierro drove home but the symptoms continued, so she drove herself to an emergency room. Hospital staff quickly learned one of her lungs had collapsed. Doctors drilled a hole in her chest and hooked her up to a machine that she had to carry around for the next week to regulate her breathing, while her body healed, her lawyer said. She was 3 f years old at the time and otherwise healthy, the lawsuit says. Source: http://www.utsandiego.com/
CHIROPRACTOR MISDIAGNOSED PATIENTS, PRESCRIBED USELESS TREATMENTS, INSURANCE COMPANIES CLAIMS
BRIDGEWATER - Insurance companies contend an Irvington-based chiropractor intentionally misdiagnosed his patients and prescribed unnecessary procedures so he could bill for them. A lawsuit by Allstate and Encompass Insurance companies claim that Gardy Vastey and Health Plus Chiropractic have been perpetrating the fraud since at least June, 2011, violating the state's statutes and regulations and the New Jersey Fraud Prevention Act. Also named in the suit are the New Jersey Arthritis and Back Pain Center, physician Raed Hattab, registered nurse Dolores Ensley-Hawkins, and several unidentified medical providers and business entities. John B. Krug, Vastey's attorney, filed
an answer to the lawsuit in which he denied "any and all fraud allegations" and filed a counterclaim of racial discrimination against the plaintiffs. Patients who were assigned to Health Plus Chiropractic following motor vehicle accidents underwent fraudulent tests and treatment and were directed to New Jersey Arthritis and Back Pain Center, where Hattab performed electrodiagnostic studies that were well below the acceptable standard of care and had no clinical value, the lawsuit alleges. The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office said the matter is being handled in civil court and no criminal charges have been filed against Health Plus Chiropractic. Allstate's New Jersey headquarters is located in Bridgewater. Encompass is located in Point Pleasant Beach. Krug alleges that the plaintiffs have filed the suit in the wrong venue. He says it should be heard in Essex County, where the defendants and witnesses reside. Allstate and Encompass alleges Vastey, who owns Health Plus Chiropractic, knowingly submitted false claims that contained fabricated and misleading billing and treatment records regarding patients' complaints, symptoms, diagnoses and testing, alleges attorney Lee Befeler, who represents Allstate. The lawsuit states that Health Plus Chiropractic isn't entitled to personal injury protection benefits from the insurance companies. The insurance companies are seeking restitution and reimbursement for all money paid to the defendants. The insurance companies are also seeking unspecified damages and an order vacating any current arbitration awards, and a stay of all pending arbitration awards. A motion hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23 before Judge Yolanda Ciccone in Somerset County Superior Court. In addition to performing substandard electrodiagnostic studies, the suit alleges Hattab also performed "epidural injections on a large number of his patients," Befeler said in the suit.
The suit states that 19 victims involved in motor vehicle accidents are prepared to testify. It says one complained of neck, back and knee pain, but an evaluation by Health Plus Chiropractic claimed that "cervical strain radiates to the upper extremities with pin and needle sensation. Lumbar sprain radiates to lower extremities with pin and needle sensations. " Another victim complained of shoulder, back and elbow pain but was given the same diagnosis, according to the lawsuit. Yet another victim complained of neck, lower back and knee pain but was given that diagnosis as well, the suit states. The suits states that "Dr. Vastey's records are very similar for many of the patients and appear to be copied from one patient to another. " The fraud, according to the suit, dates back to at least June, 2011. During that period, Health Plus Chiropractic has submitted "multiple" arbitration demands against the insurance companies and has withdrawn 11 after the plaintiffs presented testimony from patients questioning the accuracy and reliability of their symptoms and treatment, the lawsuit states. Krug, Vastey's attorney, said in court papers that portions of the lawsuit are "frivolous," the plaintiffs have no evidence to support many of their claims and have "failed to mitigate damages and should be denied any recovery." Krug also alleges that the plaintiffs "intentionally with lack of reasonable basis have denied claims. " In the counterclaim, Krug writes that the plaintiffs "have refused to provide the insurance coverage bargained for due to the race of the defendant/counterclaimant and defendants/counterclaimants' patients. Source: http://www.nj.com/
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