Suing for Chiropractic Medical Malpractice

Many of us have visited a chiropractor at some point to receive a chiropractic adjustment. These adjustments can often leave us feeling more relaxed, less stressed, and better in general. However, like any medical procedure chiropractic adjustments can also result in damage to the body. What can you do if you are the victim of a chiropractic adjustment gone wrong?

First, it’s helpful to understand what actually happens during a chiropractic adjustment. During a chiropractic adjustment, the chiropractor typically uses a combination of movement and pressure to manipulate the muscles and joints in the body. As a result, patients often report that they feel more limber, a release of pressure, or less pain. In addition to moving the muscles of body, a chiropractic adjustment also typically moves a joint. Oftentimes a popping or cracking noise is heard, which is believed to be the noise of gases within the joint being released.

Because chiropractors are using force and movement in tandem on the body, there is significant potential for injury to occur if a chiropractic adjustment is not performed properly or if a proper chiropractic technique is used improperly on a patient. Chiropractors are often sought out to treat neck and spinal pain or other injured and painful parts of the body. If they are not careful, chiropractors can end up causing significant harm to these vulnerable and sensitive areas.

One of the most common and most severe injuries caused to patients by a chiropractic adjustment is actually a stroke. Other common injuries include nerve damage resulting in numb or tingling limbs, herniated disks, headaches, paralysis, muscle weakness, and bone weakening. If you sought treatment from a chiropractor and suffered any of these injuries after your treatment, there is a possibility that they could have been caused by chiropractic adjustments. These injuries are serious and can become debilitating.

Typically, the most common lawsuit filed against chiropractors is a professional negligence suit. This is referred to as medical malpractice when it is brought against health care practitioners. In a professional negligence suit against a chiropractor, victims need the skills of an experienced personal injury attorney to help them demonstrate that the chiropractor who caused their injuries did not act in the manner of a reasonably competent chiropractor when making the adjustment. Oftentimes, this requires the testimony of an expert witness who is familiar with chiropractic care standards.

An experience personal injury attorney can also help you determine whether the treatment a chiropractor performed on you was one you consented to—as well as whether it was one the chiropractor was licensed to perform. Many people who seek out chiropractic care do not realize that states license chiropractors to perform certain kinds of treatments, so they do not think to ask their chiropractor if they are licensed prior to seeking treatment.

In filing a professional negligence suit against a chiropractor, you will need the services of an attorney experienced in following your state’s rules of medical malpractice lawsuits. These can be complicated, however at Scaffidi & Associates, we have extensive experience bringing these kinds of suits on behalf of our clients. If you believe you were injured as a result of seeking chiropractic care, our attorneys can help. Contact our offices today.

Posted in: Personal Injury Law