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The I-Team first reported on chiropractor Paul Whitcomb last November, after former patients told us his treatments did not work and left them thousands of dollars in debt.
When we met Whitcomb at his South Lake Tahoe clinic last year, he claimed a remarkable success rate treating patients with fibromyalgia -- a painful, incurable medical condition.
Noyes: "So you're saying 94 percent of the time, 95 percent of the time, it works for people."
Whitcomb: "This is an estimate, but I think that's pretty accurate, it works for that many of the people."
He called his treatment "The Whitcomb Method," a quick neck manipulation, three times a day, five days a week, for at least two months. The cost -- $7,000 and up.
Former patients told us the treatments did not work and in some cases left them in more pain.
"My pain was definitely worse. I felt a heck of a lot more depressed, and 'cause I'd been you know, I'd been duped for 10 grand, I mean, who feels great after that?" said former patient Walter Schulte.
Nine former patients filed complaints with the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Al Dockus worked on the case as an investigator for the board before he retired last year.
"This one was totally off the wall," said Dockus. "I've never seen anything like it, and anybody I explained it to says, you're kidding me, this guy's doing what?"
Friday the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners released this decision to adopt a ruling from an administrative law judge to revoke Whitcomb's license.
The ruling finds that Whitcomb committed "excessive treatment," "multiple acts of gross negligence," and making "false, fraudulent, misleading, and deceptive statements." It also orders him to pay a fine of more than $23,000 to cover the costs of the board's case against him.
Whitcomb can appeal the board's decision before it becomes final at the end of August. We called his office, his cell phone and his lawyer, but have not been able to reach them for comment.
I-TEAM BLOG: Chiropractor's license revoked
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