MONTREAL — A 55-year-old woman is suing a holistic medical practitioner for $844,000 after her arm was amputated following a neck procedure.

Danielle Rousseau accuses osteopath Pierre Coallier of misdiagnosing her medical condition and she says she nearly died.

None of Rousseau's allegations have been proven in court.

Rousseau, who lives on Montreal's south shore, says she had been visiting Coallier for three years to deal with a neck strain.

She said one treatment in August 2010 left her with severe pain in her left arm.

"I thought I had a pinched nerve," Rousseau said, adding she had difficulty moving her hand.

She said she returned to Coallier, who told her the problem was psychological rather than physical, and that she should return home to rest.

Her husband, who was waiting outside in a car, was outraged and stormed into the office to confront the osteopath.

Rousseau claims Coallier told her husband not to go to the hospital. They returned home but her situation deteriorated.

"When I woke up, my hand was black," she said.

She said she visited the emergency room and was transferred to another hospital where she underwent four surgeries, including the amputation of her left arm above the elbow. "If I had been told to go to the doctor, I would still have my arm," she said.

Coallier didn't return QMI Agency's phone calls.

Rousseau's lawyer, malpractice specialist Jean-Pierre Menard, alleges Coallier didn't have the necessary medical expertise to deal with complications.

Coallier bills himself as founder of the Quebec Society of Osteopaths.

The group isn't connected to the province's Association of Osteopaths whose president, Jean-Luc Gehant, says more oversight is needed to protect patient safety.