SANTA MONICA (CNS) - Both sides have agreed to mediation in a lawsuit filed on behalf of the 11-year-old daughter of a Playboy model dubbed “The Queen of Snapchat,'' who died in 2016 after a West Hollywood chiropractor visit left her with a torn artery in her neck.
The suit was brought on the girl's behalf in Los Angeles Superior Court in June 2017 by her father against chiropractor Eric Marc Swartz and Back to Total Health Inc., alleging that Swartz failed to disclose all information material to the late Katie May's decision to undergo a medical procedure.
The case was later transferred to Santa Monica Superior Court, where lawyers in the case told Judge Elaine W. Mandel on Thursday that they will try and resolve the case with the help of retired Judge Lisa Hart Cole, who also once sat on the Santa Monica Superior Court.
In the meantime, a final status conference is scheduled Sept. 24 and trial for Oct. 4.
The claims include wrongful death and professional negligence. In December, Mandel dismissed an allegation for negligent misrepresentation.
May died on Feb. 4, 2016. The lawsuit states that the coroner's report “confirms that the cause of death is due to infarction of the brain... due to blunt force trauma of (the) neck.''
Los Angeles Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said previously that a chiropractor shifted May's neck, tearing her left vertebral artery and blocking the blood flow to her brain.
May went to the defendants' office for a neck adjustment, and was later taken to a hospital after complaining of dizziness and weakness, according to the lawsuit.
“May was not conscious when her parents finally arrived at the hospital in Los Angeles,'' the suit says. “Her parents were never able to speak to her again.''
At the time of her death, May had nearly 2 million Instagram followers and was named “The Queen of Snapchat.'' She modeled for Sports Illustrated, GQ and Playboy.
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