Arterial Dissection Fatality Case May Help Raise Awareness about Issues with Chiropractic Safety

On March 12, 2016, 32-year-old Brittany Ann Thomas passed away. The death of the young wife and mother of two was a tragedy, but her husband, Willis G. Thomas, believes it was one that could have been prevented. Mr. Thomas is in the process of suing chiropractor Steven Lint and his practice Bruceton Wellness Center PLLC for negligence that he believes contributed to the death of his wife.

Mrs. Thomas’s Chiropractic Visits

Mrs. Thomas went to Bruceton Wellness Center PLLC for chiropractic services from January 2014 to June 2014 and then visited the chiropractic office twice in March of 2016. She received chiropractic care to assist with headaches. Her husband says that she had no idea that there were risks that included possible fatality involved in chiropractic care.

Lint’s Alleged Negligence and Mrs. Thomas’s Death

Mr. Thomas claims that Lint failed to take a thorough medical history before treating his wife. He also claims that Lint was negligent in performing an adequate physical examination before performing cervical manipulation.
According to the suit, Lint’s failure to check the range of motion in Mrs. Thomas’s neck and look for vascular anomalies led him to believe that it was safe to perform the manipulation that led to the dissection of two of her arteries. This injury caused a stroke that led to her death the next day.

Suit Goes to Federal Court

The suit was filed in Preston County Circuit Court in January 2017, but has since been moved to West Virginia federal court. The reason for the move is that the Thomas family resides in West Virginia, while Lint resides in Pennsylvania. However, the move to federal court may prove to be instrumental in increasing awareness about chiropractic risks.

Chiropractic Accountability

Willis G. Thomas family is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages with the help of his legal representation. Thomas’s lawyer, Dino S. Colombo had this to say about the issue: “This tragedy is happening more frequently and more than, I think, people realize. It’s a life-threatening procedure being done blindly in a chiropractor’s office. You can die from this.”

He also made the statement: “This shouldn’t have been done. This procedure is being promoted as safe and it is not safe.” Colombo and Mr. Thomas both hope that suing for punitive damages will help to deter other chiropractors from similar negligence, thereby preventing tragedies and saving other families from the fate that befell the Thomases.