Police investigate possible malpractice by American chiropractor that led to death of patient

The Jakarta Metro Police yesterday held a crime scene reconstruction at a chiropractic clinic in Pondok Indah Mall (PIM) to investigate the death of 33-year-old Allya Siska Nadya last year.

Allya’s family is suing the clinic for malpractice, as they believe the treatment she received there directly led to her death.

It was reported that Allya visited the clinic last year to be treated for back problems. Her chiropractor at the time was an American doctor named Randall Cafferty.

Cafferty initially suggested a standard treatment for Allya, but the schedule for it wasn’t feasible as Allya had to leave Jakarta to study in France in a few weeks. Cafferty then suggested that he double the daily sessions so that the overall treatment could be completed before Allya left for France, to which she agreed.

However, after two sessions, Allya was in so much pain that she had to be taken to Pondok Indah Hospital on August 5th. Unfortunately, she passed away after being treated for a couple of hours in the emergency room. The doctors at the hospital suspected that a blood vessel in Allya’s neck had burst.

Dr Cafferty apparently left Indonesia after the incident. Whether he was legally allowed to treat patients in Indonesia is now under scrutiny.

“The police are checking the legality of the foreign doctor… we’re also investigating whether the methods Dr Randall [Cafferty] used were in accordance with the law,” said Grand Commissioner Krishna Murti, director of the Public Crimes Investigation Unit at the Jakarta Metro Police, as quoted by CNN Indonesia yesterday.

The police are working with the immigration office to track down Dr Cafferty’s whereabouts.



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