Playboy Model Katie May’s Estate Seeks ‘7-Figure’ Payout After She Died from Chiropractor Adjustment
The estate of former Playboy model Katie May is seeking a seven-figure settlement from the chiropractor she visited just before her death.
The Los Angeles County Coroner determined Oct. 19 that May died at age 34 in February as a result of an injury sustained during a “neck manipulation by chiropractor,” and that the chiropractor, identified as Eric Swartz, shifted May’s neck in a way that tore her left vertebral artery, blocking blood flow to the brain and resulting in a stroke.
Los Angeles Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter told PEOPLE that her death is listed as an “infarction of brain” and was ruled an accident.
The lawyer for May’s estate, Ronald Richards, says the report pushed them to seek a settlement.
“The coroners report takes the unusual but definitive step of concluding the chiropractor’s treatment was the cause and fact of Katie May’s death,” Richards tells PEOPLE. “We have been in contact with a legal representative for the chiropractor and expect to submit a demand shortly with the chiropractor’s insurance carrier. We are hopeful that the chiropractor will want to resolve the matter to avoid further injury to all parties to this unfortunate tragedy.”
May’s father, Walter, says although he and Katie’s brother, Stephen, had discussed the possibility of a lawsuit with the intention of giving any settlement money to Katie’s 7-year-old daughter, Mia, he is not the person who hired Richards.
“This is news to us,” he tells PEOPLE. “I guess Mia is the head of her estate, and her father would probably be the one who is filing the lawsuit for her. Other than that, we were never informed about anything.”
Regardless, Walter says suing the chiropractor is “absolutely” the right choice, assuming it’s for the benefit of Mia, his granddaughter.
“As long as my granddaughter has the funds going directly to her — I don’t know what the situation is going to be like, I have no idea,” Walter says. “We had been kicking around the idea of a suit too, but not for monetary value, but of course for our granddaughter. Everything as far as the estate will hopefully go directly to her.”
A chiropractor unrelated to Katie’s case told PEOPLE that the chance of a torn artery from an adjustment is “very, very rare.”
“In this particular case, unfortunately, her arteries got compromised so much they tore, which created a stroke and ultimately the patient died,” Todd Sinett, Doctor of Chiropractic and author of Three Weeks to a Better Back, said. “Statistically speaking, studies have the chances of this happening an anywhere from one in one million to one in four million.”
Jeffrey Wang, MD, co-director of the USC Spine Center, agreed that her case is a “freak accident,” but said that he would have recommended physical therapy rather than a chiropractic adjustment because of the risk.
“I don’t recommend chiropractic care for patients with spinal cord compression or nerve compression where forceful manipulation may have a great potential for problems,” he said.
