Oftentimes, when a person goes to a chiropractor for care, they are trying to find relief for pain. Unfortunately, when a chiropractor makes an adjustment that is not exact, it can cause serious injuries. Sometimes, when a chiropractor manipulates incorrectly, existing injuries are worsened or new injuries are caused. When this happens, the chiropractor can be sued for malpractice. Here, you will learn a little about the two main categories of lawsuits filed against negligent chiropractors.
Patient Harm Caused by Treatment
If chiropractic adjustments lead to nerve damage, neck injuries, herniated disks or other injuries, the chiropractor can be held liable for the injuries. Failure to manipulate the body properly can cause these injuries, which can cause a great deal of pain and cause the patient to suffer from both discomfort, as well as a loss of income.
Negligent manipulations can also cause more damage to existing injuries. If you are seeing a chiropractor for the treatment of an existing injury and their negligence causes the injuries to worsen, you could sue them for it.
What is considered to be one of the most serious injuries sustained by negligent manipulation is chiropractic-induced stroke. When the chiropractor manipulates the bones in the neck, the bones can block or rupture the arteries that carry blood to the brain. When this happens, blood cannot travel to the brain and the brain does not receive the oxygen it needs to survive, causing a stroke.
Undiagnosed Serious Medical Condition
Personal injury suits based on a chiropractor failing to diagnose a medical condition that could complicate the chiropractic care can be tricky cases to win. Chiropractors do not undergo the same level of education as practicing doctors do, so they may not have the training required to identify conditions such as multiple myeloma or metastatic bladder cancer, which can weaken the spine.
Although the chiropractor cannot be expected to make a diagnosis of the condition, he or she should be able to get enough information from a thorough medical examination and history to determine that medical treatment through another doctor is needed. This means they can be held liable if they fail to diagnose an ailment that could complicate chiropractic manipulation.
These can be difficult cases to win, but there is no reason to allow a negligent chiropractor to continue practicing if he or she has caused you injuries or has failed to diagnose a medical condition that he or she should have caught. Talk with a skilled personal injury attorney from a firm like Gibbs and Parnell to learn if you have a case against your chiropractor if you have been injured by your chiropractor.
Share10 February 2015
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