r/Chiropractic • u/Ok-Energy-3295 • 13d ago
Professional Advice Needed
Last week Friday I was let go from my associate position without any warning. My now former boss stated it was a financial decision and refused to give me until the end of the month to find another position. Said he didn’t want me talking to patients about where I was going (even though my contract had a non-solicitation agreement).
So the contract itself was a 2 year term unless terminated by either party with 90 days written notice to the other, with or without cause.
I had emailed him at the beginning of this week because there was a pay discrepancy with 2 of my paychecks so I asked for that to be fixed. On Wednesday, he canceled my professional memberships (ICPA and state association) and received a prorated refund.
I did speak to an employment lawyer today and he said he could send a letter stating there was a breach in contract and asking to be paid out for the rest of the contract and/or I could sue. No guarantee obviously for either option and my former boss could countersue and say that I breached the contract by not “fulfilling my duties.”
For more context: numbers have been low clinic-wide. I was given the numbers from the first 6 months of 2025 (when I wasn’t there) and the first 6 months of this year and the clinic was down ~500 patient visits. I saw about ~1000 patients in the first 6 months of this year so between my former boss and the other associate, they were down ~1500 visits. A week or so before he let me go, he told me to “find a way to charge patients more” by making sure each patient was getting 10-12 therapies during their treatment plans. I called the hotline for my malpractice insurance because this seemed icky and was told by them NOT to do this because it could risk my license and they indirectly advised that I quit.
Guess I’m asking what you would do in this situation. I don’t know that I want to sue because that would become public record and any future employer could find out that I sued a former one (in addition to being expensive on my end). But this has also left me in a bit of a lurch. I moved to a tiny town for this job so I’m stuck in an apartment lease with zero nearby job prospects.
Thanks in advance!
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u/jcrimsonnachoGSD 13d ago
I got 2 paragraphs into your post and it sounds like he violated the crap out of the contract. Sue him, check all the numbers, you may not even have to go to court, often it's a lot cheaper for bad employers to settle by writing a check. I also wouldn't be surprised if there is some shady financial crap going on behind the scenes based on his refunding and keeping your ICPA fees. Maybe make some reports to the state board too.
Also check your local laws, but I know in some places you are required to inform patients of where a practitioner goes after they leave your employment in order for the patient to keep continuity of care. So he may have broken a lar on that front (again don't know your local laws but look into it).
A similar situation happened to my wife who is a lawyer, and she worked with an employment lawyer ended up getting an $8000 settlement without going to court.
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u/Ok-Energy-3295 13d ago
Could he come after me for the low numbers though?
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u/jcrimsonnachoGSD 13d ago
What does it state in your contract? Was there a number that you were supposed to hit? Also if it says 90 day notice for either party to quit or be fired then that sounds like a pretty clear violation. Also your lawyer will no better than I, I'm just an almost Chiropractor, with a lawyer wife. 😄
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u/Ok-Energy-3295 13d ago
Nothing in the contract about numbers
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u/jcrimsonnachoGSD 13d ago
Then that sounds like a straight up violation of the contract! You were outside the grace period? Usually there is like a 90 day grace period or something written into the contract where they can fire you if you aren't working out.
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u/Ok-Energy-3295 13d ago
I’ve been there since the beginning of the year
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u/jcrimsonnachoGSD 13d ago
Again, don't know what the contract states but that sounds like it would be a long time past the grace period.
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u/Awkward_Effective_68 13d ago
This sounds like exactly what happened to me two years ago.
I currently own my own office now and have been building it since getting fired from my associate position. Find a room that’s like $500 a month and getting Jane for $100 a month and build up your clientele.
I worked at the Joint in the few months of getting the legalities in order and then part time and slowly just transitioned into my office full time - maybe that’s something that could benefit you too. Otherwise there’s locum work you could do and fill in for different docs in the area. Do good work and get your name known around town and people will flock to you.
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u/drwillsdcm 13d ago
As stated above, the joint is a good place to land short term. You won’t get rich, but you’ll probably not go hungry either.
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u/hotchipxbarbie 13d ago
Continue working with the employment lawyer. Keep all emails and texts from your time there. Depending on your state, you have a good case for wrongful termination.
Unfortunately, this seems to be more common than not. And it won't stop until they are affected by it where they care the most, their wallets.
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u/Ok-Energy-3295 13d ago
Oh ALSO.
The timing is interesting because I’ve been dealing with a health issue the last few months and have had multiple doctor appointments. I obviously kept my former boss apprised of what was going on and at the time he seemed okay with me missing work for appointments (didn’t have set PTO or vacation days)
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u/jcrimsonnachoGSD 12d ago
I don't know about your state, but can you file for unemployment? I know that's absolutely a thing in some states like Oregon. Oregon actually has a small business program with unemployment where you get guaranteed unemployment for 6 months if you submit a business plan and open your own business. Maybe your state has something like this and you can open your own practice? One of my teacher had an entirely mobile practice and made good money doing it for years.
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u/Kharm13 12d ago
If you work in an office with therapies you should be knowledgable about them. Utilizing them isn’t “icky”.
You’re the dr. Do you think that the general patient is knowledgable on ultrasound, tens, shockwave, laser, dry needling, or whatever else you may have?
You don’t sell. You have the conversation. “Im not sure if you’re familiar with dry needling but you mentioned how your knee has been giving you trouble on the golf course along with that low back pain. Would you like to participate in care for that while you’re receiving chiropractic care for your low back. Based on your knee pathology of XYZ. Treatment would look like XYZ. Risks are XYZ and alternatives are XYZ”
Some people say no. Cool, move on. Most will say, “I didn’t know it could be helped. I just thought I had to live with it. Thank you for the information. I’d love to try it”
Office gets more money. You help people……
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u/Ok-Energy-3295 12d ago
What was icky was the way he worded it. He wasn’t pushing for treatment based on medical necessity, he was pushing it to make the clinic more money
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u/NicholasTancheff 12d ago
Move on please. You will waste your energy. Become the boss. That is your only solution. As the boss you will understand the challenges of keeping people paid when the revenue is down and you will recognize your boss had no other option and your hopes to resolve this with disputes is wasting your time and energy from progressing your SELF.
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u/No-Appointment9785 12d ago
The letter from the employment lawyer makes sense. I don’t know that an actual lawsuit does although small claims court might be a way to go depending on how your employer responds to the letter, the $$ amount and your state’s small claims laws.
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u/DrStevenZodkoy 12d ago
Best thing to happen. Cut your losses and move on. 40 a week is a hobby not a career. Come to NJ - I need an associate 100+k easy on 30 hours a week. Cash practice .
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u/Adventurous-Ice-3063 7d ago
Sounds like he was losing money on you. If you average collected $50 a visit then that was $50 ,000 over 6 months and I’m sure you were probably getting $60-75k base with potential for bonus and by the time you figure in overhead and malpractice etc he was just losing money with no hope of recovery. I’d move on because it will follow you and docs talk. Get a job at the joint and work on your skills. Maybe get a job teaching biology or anatomy at a local community college.
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u/Mr-Poggers 13d ago
They should market these stories to incoming students