A former Winnipeg chiropractor has been ordered to stop practicing until October 2029 after he continued to practice chiropractic without a license.
The Manitoba Chiropractors Association filed a court application in February, asking the court to order Peter J. Rutherford to stop being a chiropractor.
Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Theodore Bock signed an order on March 5 barring Rutherford from practicing as a chiropractor and “improperly becoming a chiropractic practitioner and using the title or description of chiropractic until October 23, 2029.”
Court documents say Rutherford had “numerous incidents of professional misconduct” over the years, including taking financial advantage of patients and treating eye problems such as macular degeneration.
Rutherford, 77, agreed in October 2024 to give up his chiropractic license and retire after pleading guilty to professional misconduct related to improper record keeping.
“There is no question that the respondent [Rutherford] Notice that he is not licensed to practice chiropractic. Despite this, respondents continue to do so,” the chiropractor association says in its petition.
Stop and refrain
Despite Rutherford’s 2024 contract to retire, regulators learned from the insurance company in January of this year that he had treated two patients at $50 per treatment.
After that, on January 29, the organizer telephoned the Rutherford Clinic, in court, as a potential client. The administrator asked “if Dr. Rutherford was accepting new patients,” the court statement says.
The person on the phone identified himself as Dr. Rutherford and confirmed that he was accepting new patients, the document says, but he “indicated that he was currently with the patient and appeared to be in a hurry.”
The chiropractors association issued Rutherford a cease and desist letter on January 29, telling him to immediately stop his unauthorized chiropractic care.
The adjuster then hired a private investigator who went to Rutherford’s office on Feb. 11 and obtained chiropractic services, the court affidavit says.
When the inspector walked into the office, he was greeted by Rutherford, who said he had just retired, but then Rutherford began treating the patient by massaging his back with a machine and making some minor adjustments.
Organizer ‘does not like’
The investigator’s report says Rutherford told him he was still working from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., serving his patients, and that he would be around four to five months and then retire.
The investigator wrote that Rutherford said “he doesn’t like his regulatory union and that they are made up of a board of people who don’t know what they are doing.”
Rutherford billed the private investigator $50 for the treatment.
In addition to being barred from practicing chiropractic, the court order requires Rutherford to pay the chiropractors association $4,130.84 in costs related to the case.
In a January 30 letter to the Association of Chiropractors, Rutherford wrote, “Contrary to what you may believe, I do not represent myself as a chiropractor.”
He said his clinic on Court Avenue in Winnipeg, Court Health, is a multi-disciplinary clinic with podiatry, acupuncture and soft tissue therapy.
“Any questions about ‘chiropractic’ care are referred,” he wrote.
‘How many’ incidents of misconduct
The CBC reached out to Rutherford for his response to the order, but he declined to comment.
Dana Forster, executive director of the Chiropractic Association, said in a statement that Rutherford became a member of the organization around 1992 and since then “has had numerous incidents of professional misconduct, including practicing without a valid license.”
As a result, his license was suspended at various times.
Forster’s intelligence refers to a number of complaints against Rutherford, such as in 2012, when he pleaded guilty to professional misconduct while practicing without a valid license. An investigation would have found he consulted with patients while suspended and lacked professional liability protection, the court document says.
In 2014, Rutherford faced a complaint over allegations of billing fraud and later pleaded guilty to professional misconduct.
A second complaint in 2014 resulted in a 28-day license suspension in 2016 for failure to maintain liability insurance.
A 2017 complaint by the Manitoba Association of Optometrists said Rutherford was “appointed to treat and diagnose eye diseases and specifically to provide services for macular degeneration,” which were not among the services he was licensed to provide, the court document says.
Following a 2019 complaint, Rutherford pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for taking financial advantage of a patient and had his license suspended for six months.
‘speculative’ loans
Court documents say that a previous case related to the complaint led to a court ruling ordering Rutherford to pay more than $70,000 to the woman, who gave him the money as “loans owed” that he had verbally promised to repay.
“Mr Rutherford broke the barriers of trust in his profession by his unethical behavior that they were friends so there was nothing wrong with taking money from a 70-year-old widow.”
Her daughter noted that Rutherford had previously filed for bankruptcy.
In 2021, Rutherford pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for improper record-keeping and inconsistencies in his financial records, Hood writes, which led to an agreement to subject his office to audits to ensure proper record-keeping.
“In 2024, Mr. Rutherford pleaded guilty to professional misconduct involving improper record keeping,” and he agreed that “he will surrender his license and retire.”
He signed an agreement on October 23, 2024, saying he would not apply for a chiropractic license for five years.
‘belligerent attitude’
“During the office’s investigative review, Dr. Peter Rutherford was challenged when asked specific questions about record keeping,” the investigative report says.
“He raised his voice and forcefully told us to remove FK from my office.” He quickly calmed down and allowed us to continue the review, explaining that he was guilty of being totally inadequate in keeping his record.
Rutherford said that “his frustration was due to his frustration at not meeting the required standards.” the court document says.
Practicing without a license puts people at risk, not only because of the potentially devastating effect any injury can have on a patient’s well-being, but also because it means Rutherford was not properly insured, which leaves the patient unable to recover damages.
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