Reference Tool · Consumer Protection
Practitioner Harm Registry & Where to File a Complaint
Search documented cases of unlicensed or misrepresented practitioners linked to a patient death or serious injury, and find the agencies in the U.S. and Canada with actual authority to investigate.
About this tool: The registry below is a starting list, not a comprehensive database — it grows as cases are documented and verified. Inclusion reflects publicly reported facts at the time of writing; case status (charges, convictions, licensing findings) can change. This is not legal advice. If you believe you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact emergency services first. See our full write-up of the case that prompted this tool: Bereshit Lifestyle Center / Dr. Luis Rojas Cabrera →
Peer-reviewed evidence base: Individual cases in this registry are consistent with, not exceptions to, the published research. Edzard Ernst's systematic reviews documented 86 deaths after acupuncture, 9 deaths after EDTA-chelation therapy, and 26 published chiropractic death cases, with UK survey data suggesting substantial under-reporting across the board. See our summaries: Fatalities After CAM: What the Evidence Shows → and ChiroWatch: Deaths After Chiropractic →
Regulatory spotlight: Quebec. The Lefebvre case is not an isolated gap — it's the predictable outcome of a position Quebec has held for over three decades. Quebec's naturopathic association has petitioned the province's Office des professions for recognition since 1992. In 2012, the Office rejected it outright, stating it saw "no new facts concerning the potential risks to the public" that would justify oversight, even as thousands of people were already practicing as "naturopaths" in the province with zero regulation. That position hasn't changed since. If anything, it hardened in 2025: Quebec's government eliminated the provincial tax credit for naturopathy, homeopathy, osteopathy, and herbal medicine starting January 1, 2026 — citing the same absence of a professional order as the reason these practices don't qualify, while stopping short of actually regulating them. Quebec's naturopaths remain constrained only indirectly, through the Collège des médecins du Québec's reserved medical acts and the province's Bill 21 — meaning enforcement happens only after a diagnosis or prescription crosses into practicing medicine, exactly as in the Lefebvre case, rather than through any naturopathy-specific licensing standard. This puts Quebec at odds with most of the rest of Canada: Alberta has regulated naturopathic medicine since 2012, Saskatchewan since 2015, and Nova Scotia made naturopathic doctors its 22nd regulated health profession in May 2026. New Brunswick has draft title-protection legislation in progress. Quebec has none of this, and no legislative timeline to change it.
The insurance gap this creates: Because there's no professional order, there's also no mandatory malpractice insurance fund behind Quebec naturopaths — unlike regulated professions, where Quebec's Professional Code requires each order to maintain one (physicians, for instance, are backed by the Collège des médecins' own insurance fund). What coverage exists for naturopaths is sold privately and voluntarily through trade associations (ANPQ, AQTN, ANAQ, APNN), typically brokered via BFL Canada, and it only binds practitioners who chose to join one of those associations. A patient harmed by an association-less "naturopath" — which nothing in Quebec law prevents anyone from calling themselves — has no guaranteed insurance pool to pursue; recovery would mean going after that individual's personal assets directly, with no way to know in advance whether they carry any coverage at all.
The insurance gap this creates: Because there's no professional order, there's also no mandatory malpractice insurance fund behind Quebec naturopaths — unlike regulated professions, where Quebec's Professional Code requires each order to maintain one (physicians, for instance, are backed by the Collège des médecins' own insurance fund). What coverage exists for naturopaths is sold privately and voluntarily through trade associations (ANPQ, AQTN, ANAQ, APNN), typically brokered via BFL Canada, and it only binds practitioners who chose to join one of those associations. A patient harmed by an association-less "naturopath" — which nothing in Quebec law prevents anyone from calling themselves — has no guaranteed insurance pool to pursue; recovery would mean going after that individual's personal assets directly, with no way to know in advance whether they carry any coverage at all.
Know of a case that should be added? This list currently includes only cases with clear public documentation (news reporting, court records, or regulatory findings). Send verifiable sources via the contact link below.
General rule of thumb: unlicensed practice of medicine is a criminal matter (report to local police/DA, or in Canada to police under the Criminal Code) as well as a licensing/regulatory matter (report to the relevant medical or naturopathic board) and often a consumer-protection matter (deceptive advertising, financing practices) at the same time. Filing with more than one agency is normal and often necessary — the agencies do not automatically share your complaint with each other.