their testimony is prepared . It is not uncommon for a complex case to drag on for eight to 10 years . The CCPA hears frequently that their efforts to support and inform members during these quiet periods are invaluable . Still , there is a lot of time to wait and wonder what the future holds .
Fear is the most common emotion that chiropractors expressed feeling during these waits . One chiropractor recalls walking the streets of his town and wondering who knew about the case . Is the patient out there telling people ? Is my reputation at risk ? What will happen to my family if people find out ?
Social media and the Internet can also be sources of significant fear and anxiety . One chiropractor talked about Googling herself in the weeks after she received the claim . She had never been so happy to be behind the technological times , because she did not have a Facebook or Twitter account that might become ground zero for a public backlash .
The fear follows you home too . One of the members we interviewed is married to another chiropractor . That made things easier . Her husband knew she hadn ’ t done anything wrong and understood her life well enough to provide support . Another chiropractor was not so fortunate . His wife , who is not a chiropractor , seemed to give voice to his own fears and insecurities .
Why did you treat this person ? Are you still using that technique ? What is going to happen ? When will this be over ? How could you put our family at risk ? We spoke by phone on a typical March day in Ontario . Outside the window , cold rain fell onto the sodden street . There were tears in his voice as he recalled trying to provide reassurance to his wife that at the time he was not sure he believed himself .
All through this difficult phase , the CCPA reassured these three chiropractors that their claims would be resolved and that life would get back to normal . Every chiropractor we spoke to talked about how the faith of the CCPA saved them . It matters a lot that Dr . Dunn and Dr . Wright are chiropractors . They understand the life of a chiropractor . They have more than 50 years of practice experience between them . They know what to expect because they have seen it all . That is part of how they protect individual chiropractors and the entire profession . And they are very good at what they do . In the mid- to late-1990s the odds of a chiropractor being sued in Canada was about 12 in 1,000 . Today that number is 4 in 1,000 .
Most lawsuits in Canada do not go to trial . If you are not cross examined in open court , being questioned by your accuser ’ s lawyer during the discovery phase of the lawsuit will be the worst day of a claim .
One chiropractor described walking into the room and seeing six lawyers on the other side of the table . “ They all want your blood ,” he said . In that case , the chiropractor had assessed a patient who later had a stroke . The patient was referred to him by an RMT . He did the assessment , caught the warning signs and sent the patient to the hospital . Early in the process , the CCPA had already retained a lawyer to manage the case . This is standard operating procedure . For the chiropractor being sued , it means that a skilled lawyer has joined the chiropractors at the CCPA to fight for you and your profession . Many of the lawyers that the CCPA uses have been working with them for years . They know the case law . They have the history . They also understand chiropractic . The CCPA makes sure their lawyers understand the nuances of patient care and chiropractic research . These are the people you want at your side when you are answering tough questions .
The questioning in Discoveries is just like on television , except the process can take hours or even days . The opposing counsel ’ s goal is to find chinks in the armour . They listen for contradictory statements . They ask questions repeatedly and look for small differences in your answers . They even bring up old elements of a patient file in order to create doubt . They look for ways to call informed consent into question . Their goal is to establish fault .
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