Clarification on Patient Death in Canada

By Edward Barisa

I'm writing to correct some misconceptions regarding the jury's recommendations concerning the death of a chiropractic patient in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. (See "Chiropractic Acquitted in Canada" in the Nov. 2, 1998 issue of DC.)

It is important to understand that an inquest is called when there is an unusual death. The coroner's job is to try to establish the circumstances of the death to see if similar deaths can be avoided in the future. It is not the mandate of the inquest to assess blame, but merely to determine the cause of death. This is important to remember in the case in Saskatchewan. The jury determined the cause of death as a torn vertebral artery. They did not conclude that it was not caused by the chiropractor, nor did they conclude that it was caused by the chiropractor. This may have to be resolved at some future point in the courts. This inquest did not make a finding that the chiropractor had or had not caused the death, rather, it identified two adjustments which may have contributed to the fatality.