Lawsuit against Providence chiropractor dismissed

Providence Journal (RI)

July 31--PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Allstate Insurance Company and a Providence chiropractic office have reached a confidential agreement to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the insurer against the Elmwood Avenue practice.

Allstate and Arianna Iannuccilli D.C. Inc.; Iannuccilli; Kiara M. Capaldi and Amy M. Malek agreed to dismiss with prejudice a lawsuit accusing the office of falsifying medical records to boost insurance claims and of paying kickbacks to the personal injury lawyers referring clients.

The resolution of the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court came a month after the state Department of Health notified Iannuccilli by letter that its Board of Chiropractic Examiners had closed its investigation into a complaint against her after the probe found no "reasonable grounds" to conclude that she had violated state laws or rules and regulations governing chiropractic services. All three women are licensed by the state, with no disciplinary actions against them.

Allstate had alleged that the chiropractors knowingly and collectively engaged in an insurance fraud scheme in which personal injury lawyers referred patients to Iannuccilli's clinic when they did not actually need treatment in order to boost settlement demands. The clinic reached "strikingly similar" diagnoses and treatment plans for most patients, regardless of the alleged cause of the injury or the patient's age or medical history.

Iannuccilli denied the allegations and asked the court to rule in her favor.

Lawyers for the practice and the company declined to comment on the terms of the complaint's dismissal, which was approved by U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr.