Katie May. Photo courtesy of Huffington Post.
Summary: Katie May’s family is suing the chiropractor that allegedly gave her a bad adjustment that led to her death.
Former Playboy model Katie May died in February 2016 after suffering a stroke after a chiropractic adjustment. The death of the 34-year-old blonde bombshell was shocking, and now her family is filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the chiropractor who had last touched her.
According to People, Alex Maimon, who leads Katie May’s estate, is asking Dr. Eric Swartz of Los Angeles to pay for Maimon and May’s daughter’s college tuition. Maimon had originally tried to settle this case with the doctor and his insurance company, but no agreement had been made.
May’s estate is being represented by attorney Ronald Richards.
In the lawsuit, which was filed on June 14th, May’s estate said that Swartz is guilty of medical malpractice, negligence, and wrongful death. The estate is suing Swartz and his chiropractic practice, Back to Total Health, which is located in Hollywood.
Maimon said that Dr. Swartz adjusted May’s neck when she should have been hospitalized and that her death was caused by “neck manipulation by a chiropractor,” as deemed by the Los Angeles County Coroner. Maimon said that Swartz had shifted May’s neck in a way that tore her vertebral artery, and this resulted in her stroke.
The autopsy had ruled that May’s death was accidental.
Maimon’s lawsuit also alleged that Swartz had tried to cover up his mistake by writing a patient report on February 5, four days after treating her.
“It begs Plaintiffs to question whether Dr. Swartz went back to change his report after he was notified that May was hospitalized and subsequently died because of his treatment, the neck manipulation,” attorney Richards said to People. “He just tried to basically whitewash them and try to pretend all of a sudden now that he was making notes. It was odd, like he went to someone and asked how to make notes that made him the least culpable.”
Before her death, May was known as the “Queen of Snapchat” and had over 2 million followers on Instagram. She had been born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before she relocated to Los Angeles in order to pursue a career in fashion. After moving to the city, she quickly delved into modeling and became an internet star.
On January 29, 2016, May had tweeted that she had pinched a nerve during a photo shoot and needed to see a chiropractor. Two days later, she said she was going back to the doctor, and on February 1st, she informed her family of numbness and dizziness. They urged her to go to Beverly Hills-based hospital, Cedars-Sinai, where they determined she was having a stroke. She was put on life support and removed from it on February 4, 2016.
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