A Quebec naturopath is not guilty of manslaughter or criminal negligence in the death of an elderly man, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.
Roger Matern, an 84-year-old with heart disease, visited Mitra Javanmardi’s clinic in 2008 at the suggestion of a friend as he was frustrated with conventional treatments.
After discussing his condition, Javanmardi gave him nutrients intravenously and he reacted poorly, complaining of being hot and nauseous. Matern did not want to go to hospital and returned home, but he died a short time later due to contamination of a vial used during the nutrient injection.
READ MORE: Here’s what naturopaths and chiropractors shouldn’t be advising you about
Get daily National news
Javanmardi was charged with unlawful-act manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death.
A judge acquitted her on both counts, ruling that Javanmardi had the necessary skills to administer intravenous injections even if she was not authorized to do so under Quebec law.
Javanmardi had injected nutrients intravenously to about 10 patients a week for many years.
READ MORE: B.C. naturopaths under investigation for offering treatment to ‘eliminate autism’
The Quebec Court of Appeal overturned the manslaughter acquittal, finding Javanmardi guilty on that count, and ordered a new trial on the charge of criminal negligence.
- Toronto police seek suspect in possible hate-motivated assault with Orbeez-type gun
- Canadians may be impacted as Spirit Airlines shuts down operations ‘effective immediately’
- Carney says his stance on Iran war shifted as Trump’s goals ‘evolved’
- Carney’s trip to Armenia happening as Ottawa’s foreign policy aims shift, expert says
In its 5-2 decision Thursday, the Supreme Court restored the acquittals.
The majority said the trial judge’s factual findings amply supported the conclusion that an intravenous injection, given properly by a qualified naturopath, did not pose a foreseeable risk of bodily harm in the circumstances.
Comments
Comments closed.
Due to the sensitive and/or legal subject matter of some of the content on globalnews.ca, we reserve the ability to disable comments from time to time.
Please see our Commenting Policy for more.