• Johnson CD
• Green BN

• American Medical Association / legislation and jurisprudence
• Antitrust Laws
• Chiropractic / legislation and jurisprudence / United States
• Health Occupations / legislation and jurisprudence
• Open Access Document
• Wilk, Chester A.

Objective: This is the sixth article in a series that explores the historical events surrounding the Wilk v American Medical Association (AMA) lawsuit in which the plaintiffs argued that the AMA, the American Hospital Association, and other medical specialty societies violated antitrust law by restraining chiropractors' business practices. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief review of the plaintiffs, lead lawyer, and the events immediately before the lawsuit was filed.

Methods: This historical research study used a phenomenological approach to qualitative inquiry into the conflict between regular medicine and chiropractic and the events before, during, and after a legal dispute at the time of modernization of the chiropractic profession. Our methods included obtaining primary and secondary data sources. The final narrative recount was developed into 8 articles following a successive timeline. This article, the sixth of the series, explores the plaintiffs' stories.

Results: Because of the AMA's boycott on chiropractic, chiropractors were not able to collaborate with medical physicians or refer patients to medical facilities, which resulted in restricted trade and potential harm to patients' well-being. The plaintiffs, Patricia Arthur, James Bryden, Michael Pedigo, and Chester Wilk, came from different regions of the United States. Each had unique experiences and were compelled to seek justice. The lead lawyer, Mr George McAndrews, was the son of a chiropractor and had witnessed the effect that the AMA's attacks on chiropractic had on his father. It took several years to gather enough resources to file the suit, which was submitted in 1976.

Conclusion: The conflicts that the plaintiffs experienced stimulated them to pursue a lawsuit against the AMA and other organized political medicine groups.

Author keywords: Health Occupations, Chiropractic, Medicine, Humanities, History, 20th Century, Antitrust Laws

Lawsuit discussed: Wilk et al v American Medical Association et al Nos. 87-2672 and 87-2777 (F. 2d 352 Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, April 25, 1990)

This abstract is reproduced with the permission of the publisher. Click on the above link for free full text. PubMed Record | PDF