The BCA has dropped its case again Simon Singh.
SYDNEY: The British Chiropractors Association has dropped its libel action against science writer Simon Singh, following a Court of Appeal ruling that Singh had the right to rely on the defence of 'fair comment'.
Singh was sued for libel following an opinion piece he wrote for The Guardian newspaper in 2008.
In the article, he wrote that chiropractic - an alternative health care treatment that involves manipulating the spine using short but forceful hand movements - "promotes bogus treatments".
You can read the original article here: "Beware the Spinal Trap", which was republished (with the allegedly libelous word removed) in COSMOS magazine in August 2009.
Timeline: 2008 until now
"The BCA brought the claim because it considered that Simon Singh had made a serious allegation against its reputation, namely, that the BCA promoted treatments that it knew to be 'bogus'," the association said in a press release today in London.
In May 2009, a High Court ruling agreed with the British Chiropractors Association (BCA), that the article Singh wrote had made a serious allegation of dishonesty.
But in February 2010 Singh challenged the ruling in the Court of Appeal. In April, he won the right to rely on the defence of 'fair comment' – which means he did not make any factual allegation against the association.
BCA dropped the case
"The decision provides Dr Singh with a defence such that the BCA has taken the view that it should withdraw to avoid further legal costs being incurred by either side," according to the association.
"The BCA has considered seeking leave to take this matter to the Supreme Court and has been advised there are strong grounds for appeal against the Court of Appeal judgment.
"However, while it was right to bring this claim at the outset, the BCA now feels that the time is right for the matter to draw to a close."
Good!
Dis is Good News!
Chiropractic applications have their place, but they are definitely not a cure all. Maybe this is a step towards a change the libel laws.
Good onya Simon, now sue the BCA for 200,000 pounds in damages, and move on.
Peace,
no quizzle
Chiropractic treatment
As with any profession , there are good exponents of skill and bad. There is hard science involved in chiropractic treatment and the results are well beyond anecdote.Unfortunately for the chiropractic field there are some practitioner's who are suspect and cant deliver according to the genuine precepts that uphold the profession. If your Chiropractor cant alleviate your spinal malaise after three treatments, then change your practitioner. If your Chiropractor dosnt make you an inclusive participant in avoiding further problems eg; postural advice and how to avoid repetitive injuries, then seek another practitioner. If your Chiropractor is arrogant to the point that they wont refer you to another field of medical treatment as though they are the 'Alpha and Omega' of medicine...get out of there quick. Chiropractic medicine wont go away because in the right hands, it works. There are teachers of Chiropractic medicine whose knowledge matches that of any Neurologist.
I suspect Dr Singh is passionate about his 'anti-chiropractic' stance. Therein lies the danger as 'passion' is such a cloudy environ !
re Chiropractic treatment
you are kidding right.....
To actually compear a Chiropractor to a Neurologist?
hard science?
Wow, either you work for these buggers or have no idea what you are talking about. do some research my fellow. next you'll be telling us Homeopathy works..................
Bogus chiros?
My wife had her tmj cartilage dislocated by a chiro using an 'activator' illegally ... took 16 yrs through public health to find the cause of her agony. We tried to sue but the opposing lawyers said 'We will stare you out'. litigation ceased but agony persists. Have a nice day ....
chiro is not scientific at all
Sorry but anyone claiming that Chiro is based on actual science and is beneficial is deluded.
http://www.skepdic.com/chiro.html