Massage therapist heading to court to overturn ruling

Robert Morgan was ordered to have a chaperon present whenever he treats a female patient after being accused of massaging the breasts of a woman patient

A Kelowna massage therapist who was accused of massaging the breasts of a female patient is going to court in a bid to overturn a restriction imposed on his practice.

The patient filed her complaint against Robert Morgan in May, and in June an inquiry committee of the College of Massage Therapists of B.C. found that there was a risk to the public and ordered that a chaperon be present whenever he treats a female patient.

In a petition filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Morgan, 40, says that at no time during the massage session did he perform a breast massage on his patient.

“At all times, the treatment the petitioner provided to (the patient) was designed to address pain she was experiencing in her lower back.”

In the petition, Morgan says that the committee did not identify, beyond its possession of one unproven complaint, how he represented a risk to the public.

“The petitioner disputes the facts of the complaint, has co-operated with the college, has no criminal record and no record of prior disciplinary complaints,” says the petition. “The restrictions placed on the petitioner are unreasonable given that there was nothing from which the inquiry committee could extrapolate a risk to the public.”

Morgan’s petition says that roughly 95 per cent of his patient base is female and the imposition of a chaperon will “significantly” affect his ability to continue to earn a living.

“He expects the vast majority of his patients to seek treatment from other (registered massage therapists) rather than permit him to provide treatment with a chaperon in the room. The imposition of a chaperon pending the conclusion of its investigation into this matter will impact the petitioner’s ability to earn.”

Morgan, who earned about $3,000 a month before the complaint was filed, says he expects his income to be reduced by as much as 90 per cent as a result of the restriction. The potential harm to him outweighs the benefit of protecting the public from an event that has not occurred before with him, says his petition.

“An allegation that something has happened once does not create a real risk that it will happened again and before the disciplinary process is complete. There must be some indication, such as a history of this kind of conduct, to find that such a risk exists.”

The petitioner says that he works in a busy clinic with nine other therapists at any given time and does not meet clients at home or in an isolated environment where the risk of future misconduct is higher.

“Mitigation of real risk of harm to the public does not require that a chaperon be present during treatment of female patients. Conditions that restrict a registrant to only providing massage-therapy treatments at a clinic will also mitigate a real risk of harm to the public.”

The petition seeks to quash or otherwise set aside the committee’s decision, which remains in effect until the college’s disciplinary process is complete.

A spokesman for the college said they had not yet been served with the petition and had no comment at this time.