|
![]() Have you been injured? |
Amazon Chiro Books
![]() |
|
|
|
ChiroWatch | Dr. Katz Korner |
Brown EnvelopesThis is an open letter from Dr. Murray Katz, a pediatrician from Montreal who was asked to be the agent for the family of Lana Dale Lewis, a woman who died in 1996 after she visited a chiropractor. Dr. Katz had just been removed by Dr. McLellan, a coroner for the Province of Ontario when Tim Danson, the chiropractors' attorney had produced a number of letters marked "private and confidential". Dr. Katz wonders why he has been singled out for removal, when he has done nothing wrong.
Dear Fellow Honest Citizen: We would all like to think that our private letters are just that, private. This would be especially so when we write on the top of them, "private and confidential" We would also like to think so when we are writing to a client with which we have a legal relationship in presentations to be made in court. This does not appear to be the case when your opponent represents chiropractic. The letter below explains the events. Of course I did write private and personal letters questioning the entire Inquest process. That was my private and personal right. Had I known that someone would steal this information and that this would be presented in open court to slander me, obviously I would have written things differently. But that is what happened, the Coroner felt offended and I was removed as the counsel for the family. Think long and hard about this my fellow average citizen. "IT WAS GIVEN TO ME IN A BROWN ENVELOPE" Chiropractor's Lawyer Tim Danson, referring to private and confidential letters, facsimiles and e-mail he obtained.
|
Spin Doctors Interactive reports from CANOE.CA
|
PERSONAL STATEMENT OF DR. MURRAY KATZIn September of 1996 Lana Dale Lewis of Toronto died. The pathologist who did the autopsy determined that the death was due to a chiropractic neck manipulation. The death was listed as an "accident" meaning it was not due to natural causes. On two occasions, December of 1996 and January of 2000, the Coroner"s office decided not to conduct an Inquest. Subsequently the original Coroner in charge of the investigation, Dr. Murray Naiberg, aware of certain new events, openly expressed his opinion that an Inquest should be held. The pathologist who did the autopsy did likewise. In November of 2000, the Chief Coroner Dr. Young agreed and over-turned the previous decisions and ordered an Inquest. The family of Lana Dale Lewis, of limited means, soon realized they could be faced with costs that could easily exceed $300,000. Against them was a powerful chiropractic legal team with unlimited financial resources. On February 12, 2001, the option of an experienced physician to represent the family without costs became available. The family exercised their legal right under the Coroner"s Act to engage Dr. Murray Katz as their agent. This new legal representative caused great concern amongst in the chiropractic team of lawyers. He had gathered a team of impressive experts who would testify as to the cause of Lana's death and to the great risk associated with neck manipulation. The lawyers immediately advised the Coroner that they would do everything they could to remove Dr. Katz as the family's chosen representative including going to courts beyond the jurisdiction of the Coroner. Yesterday (April 17, 2001) in Coroner"s Court they presented their motions to remove me. Volumes of private letters, confidential facsimiles and e-mail sent by myself to various individuals over the past two years were reproduced in the legal papers. Some of the my were marked "private and confidential". These private letters, facsimiles and e-mail documents were obtained, as proudly announced by one of the three chiropractic lawyers Timothy Danson, "in a brown envelope". The chiropractors had somehow found a "deep throat" to obtain by unknown means private correspondence, some clearly marked "private and confidential". These letters outlined my strong opinion that an Inquest should be held. I was finally vindicated in that opinion by the decision of the Chief Coroner to convene such an Inquest. These private letters outlined my opposition to York University granting a chiropractic degree. Again, I was vindicated in that York University recently rejected having a school of chiropractic. In one particular letter I expressed my strong concern to the initial Coroner, Dr. Murray Naiberg, that an Inquest be held. This letter to Dr.Naiberg was written ten months before a decision was finally made to cond uct an Inquest. The decision to hold an Inquest was made by the Chief Coroner, whom I had never met. At that time I was acting as a private citizen. It was only 13 months later that I became the legal agent for the family. The chiropractors used this letter in particular to question my influence upon Dr. Naiberg. In contrast Dr. Naiberg submitted a sworn affidavit to the Court that this was not the case and he fully and completely supported my continued representation of the family as their legal agent at the Inquest. The family did the same. In Court my legal counsel Lawyer Crawford Macintyre question the legality of the "brown envelopes". Lawyer Danson refused to divulge how the information was obtained and refused to say this would not continue. My ability to communicate in private and in confidence with my client became impossible. As I am not a lawyer, even though I have the right to act for this family as their legal agent, my correspondence is not protected by law. It seems as if lawyers have a special privilege to privacy and security that the average citizen does not. The presiding Coroner made a decision at 3 PM this afternoon at the Coroner"s Court to remove me from the Inquest. This action of removing a legal agent is almost unheard of and is done almost exclusively when the agent has criminal charges against him. This is not the case. This action was against the expressed sworn affidavit of the family. It leaves for the moment without any representation at this Inquest. Dirty tricks, brown envelopes. All legal but only if you are a lawyer. |