Apple Valley Chiropractor Fined for Taking Gifts from Patient, Sleeping With Former Patient

An Apple Valley chiropractor who accepted cash and gifts worth thousands of dollars from a patient and slept with another patient less than two years after ending treatment has been fined $3,000 by the Minnesota Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

Angela Marie Gear, who has practiced in Eagan and Burnsville, was suspended last month, but the board has put the suspension on hold as long as she complies with its conditions, the Star Tribune is reporting.

One of Gear's patients gave her clothing, child care, home maintenance services and $3,000 in cash to purchase a vehicle. (Gear said the money was a loan she was repaying.) The patient's psychologist and psychiatrist both counseled the patient to cut off professional contact because of the "inappropriately close" nature of their relationship, according to the Star Tribune.

Gear exchanged with another patient "sensitive and personal information"—some of it sexually explicit—and she had sex with the patient less than two years after ending treatment.

For Gear to keep her license, she must comply with several conditions:

• She must enroll in and pass an ethics class and exam
• She must submit to an evaluation for chemical dependency
• She must have a third person present when treating any patient, or leave her treatment-room door open
• She must limit her social contact with current and former patients