Joe Labonte lost his wife Dora in July 2002, and he has filed a lawsuit alleging it was medical negligence on the part of her chiropractor that led to the death.

The Guelph, Ont. woman was only 40 when she died, shortly after suffering a stroke.

The St. Catharines chiropractor treating her, Tracy Drynan, is named in the civil lawsuit.

Labonte's lawyer Amani Oakley says "We're alleging that over the course of a nine year period, basically, Dora Labonte was getting inappropriate care from this chiropractor."

The trial has been difficult for the Labonte family, as they mourn the loss of the wife and mother.

Joe says, "It's brutal, it's very painful to keep going through this but nothing is going to replace losing Dora."

The case is only now going to court, but Oakley alleges Dora saw the chiropractor about three weeks before her death.

That visit, according to Oakley, "Culminated on June the 17th, 2002 in a procedure, a manual procedure that was done to the back of Dora's neck which ultimately ended up causing injuries to both of her arteries left and right side and her subsequent demise."

The allegations have not been proven in court.

Drynan's lawyer Brian Foster says the question is whether the treatment caused the stroke that led to Dora's death.

And it was a death that was exceptionally difficult for the family, Oakley says.

"She was 40 years old and they had to make a decision to discontinue life support because her neurological condition was so grave and that's almost inconceivable when you are talking such a young and healthy woman."

Testimony in the trial is expected to continue for eight to ten weeks.