Chiropractor faces a manslaughter probe after an elderly patient died
Grandfather John Lawler, 80, was killed by a severe injury to his spinal cord after visiting Dr Arleen Scholten at a private clinic in York
A CHIROPRACTOR faces a manslaughter probe after an elderly patient died.
Retired bank manager John Lawler, 80, collapsed during treatment for a sore leg.
He was undergoing his third session with Dr Arleen Scholten, 40, when he suffered a traumatic back injury which left him paralysed from the shoulders down.
Paramedics called to the private clinic in York found him unconscious.
He died in hospital the next day, reportedly from breathing problems caused by a severe injury to his spinal cord.
The coroner alerted cops, who arrested Dr Scholten when she returned from holiday later in August.
She was interviewed and bailed pending further inquiries.
It is understood medical experts are now examining the treatment received by Mr Lawler, a dad of three and grandad of five.
The former Barclays Bank manager’s wife Joan, 81, was with him when he suffered the injury.
She said: “It was awful, it still is. It was obvious there was a problem when it happened.
“We had been married for 55 years. He was a lovely chap. His family and friends were devastated and we look forward to the precise cause of his death being resolved as quickly as possible.”
Dr Scholten, of Tollerton, North Yorks, can continue practising, the General Chiropractic Council said.
The mum of three, a director of the Chiropractic 1st clinic, is a keen marathon runner who met her husband Stephen, 47, in the middle of a race. She declined to comment yesterday.
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