July 17, 2013 -- Oregon chiropractor Dr. Kim Jameson is fighting back against what she calls an unjust action by the state Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Since early last year, the Board has posted on its web site a list of charges against the Happy Valley chiropractor. However, the Board has deemed “confidential” – and not for public viewing – a judge’s decision that exonerated Dr. Jameson of those charges. Meanwhile the negative charges remain posted on the state web site.
Today, Dr. Jameson, with her attorney, Conrad E. Yunker, filed a claim in Marion County Circuit Court to have the proposed order by a state administrative law judge (ALJ) unsealed and made public. The ALJ issued his findings in April following a 12-day state hearing that occurred over a three-week period from October 23 to November 16, 2012. The court papers filed today make it clear the ALJ found the charges against Dr. Jameson were not proved and were based on the testimony of an unreliable witness, a disgruntled former employee of the chiropractor’s. The judge used the word “perjury” to describe the witness’s statements under oath.
“The judge’s decision clears my name,” said Dr. Jameson. “How can it be okay to have the charges against me publicized but not the finding that the charges are untrue? All I want is to get this behind me so I can concentrate on treating my patients.” Dr. Jameson operates the EmPOWERed Health chiropractic clinic in Clackamas.
Dr. Jameson’s attorney, Conrad E. Yunker, said the Board is not acting fairly toward his client. “The 12-day hearing was painful for my client and expensive for her and the taxpayers,” he said. “But now that the outcome benefits my client, it’s not right for the state to keep it a secret. Dr. Jameson deserves to have the truth come out.”
Yunker, a Salem-based lawyer, estimates the extended hearing cost the state close to $75,000. He said a simple, preliminary investigation could have yielded the same finding, that the state’s chief witness was making things up.
Dr. Jameson was notified by the Board on March 30, 2011 of accusations it was making against her, ranging from fraud to unprofessional conduct. All the charges were based on the now discredited, former employee. The Board published the unproven charges on its website beginning in early 2012. The ALJ dispensed with all the most serious charges. The only substantive claim was a minor record-keeping discrepancy that Dr. Jameson readily acknowledged. She said the problem was a misunderstanding based on her previous practice in California. She admitted the discrepancy several months ago and has changed her record-keeping to follow Oregon requirements.
Dr. Jameson says dealing with the false charges has cost her personally and professionally. The ordeal has been stressful and she says she’s lost income since the charges were made public. At least two insurance companies have used the Board’s publicly posted charges as an excuse for dropping coverage for their clients who seek reimbursement for her chiropractic services. That’s made a negative impact on her clinic’s revenue.
Dr. Jameson earned her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in San Jose in March 1995. She practiced 14 years in California before moving to Oregon in 2009.
