Chiropractic Malpractice Cases Explained

When you visit a chiropractor, you’re putting your health and well-being into their hands - literally. While you may not expect anything wrong to happen, chiropractors are human and can make mistakes, often with devastating consequences. 

Even if chiropractors technically don’t hold the title of an M.D., they still owe their patients duty of care. As such, their blunders can fall into the category of malpractice. 

To gain a better understanding of chiropractic malpractice cases and ascertain whether you have a valid case in the first place, we’ll go over the basics of medical malpractice and explain how they apply to chiropractors. 

What is medical malpractice?

Medical malpractice is a term used to describe a situation in which a healthcare professional fails to provide medical care of an acceptable standard to a patient, causing their injury. 

The standard of care is the key point here. It’s determined by the “prudent practitioner”, which means that any reasonable provider of the same skill level would have provided the same type of care in similar circumstances. 

The same definition also applies to chiropractic malpractice cases. 

Malpractice can take many forms: failure to diagnose a condition, diagnosing the wrong condition, using incorrect treatment methods, and incorrect patient recommendations. Moreover, there are instances where the follow-up care provided was inadequate or the chiropractor failed to refer you to another professional when required. In that case, these negligent actions are solid grounds for a malpractice case. 

Legally speaking, if a negligent chiropractor caused an injury, you can file a lawsuit and recover damages. However, not all bad outcomes can be considered malpractice. Valid cases fit the following criteria:

• Existence of doctor-patient relationship
• Failure to meet the accepted standards of care
• Negligent event caused the injury
• There are measurable damages incurred by the injury

In chiropractic malpractice cases, attorneys retain experts familiar with the field in order to prove if the care provided fell below the standards of care and that the negligent event caused the injury.

Can you avoid chiropractic negligence?

Though mistakes do happen in all medical fields, there is one thing you can do yourself to protect yourself against chiropractic malpractice - research. 

Before selecting a provider, familiarize yourself with the rights you have during the treatment. Make sure the chiropractor holds a legitimate license to practice in your state and that they have extensive experience treating your condition. 

You should also read reviews from past clients. If you spot any repeating criticism in reviews, it’s a huge red flag. When you establish contact with the provider, ask them to supply information on the type of treatment they’re suggesting, and don’t shy away from asking questions in case something seems confusing. 

Keep a detailed record of your treatment to add another layer of protection. That way, if anything goes wrong, you’ll have plenty of evidence to bolster your claim. 

Most common types of chiropractic malpractice cases

There are numerous forms of chiropractic malpractice. Here are some of the most common scenarios that can lead to malpractice claims against the chiropractor:

1. Stroke caused by chiropractic manipulation

Make no mistake - chiropractic treatment is beneficial. Yet, despite the health benefits, poor practices and aggressive treatment can contribute to a stroke. 

The reality is that in many cases, doctors rarely connect prior chiropractic treatments with instances of stroke. Some even fail to ask the patient or the family whether they’ve had chiropractic treatments and/or the issues they noticed afterward. As such, too many cases of chiropractic-induced stroke go unrecognized. 

Considering how life-changing this condition can be, the victims are legally allowed to seek compensation for the negligent emotional and physical damage they have suffered. 

2. Incorrectly performed spinal manipulation

One of the most frequent procedures in chiropractic care is spinal manipulation. This slight adjustment of the spine and joints greatly helps reduce spinal stress and improves the overall mobility of the spine. Multiple types of patients can benefit from this treatment, with a popular application being the relief of symptoms when dealing with musculoskeletal conditions like neck and back pain. 

During the treatment, the chiropractor uses their hands or specialized instruments to apply a small amount of pressure on the affected area. This helps realign the ligaments, muscles, and joints of the spine or the neck.

If a chiropractor performs this procedure incorrectly, they may cause injuries such as nerve damage that may lead to loss of function. In the worst-case scenario, patients can become completely paralyzed. In circumstances when nerve damage occurs due to negligence, it’s possible to pursue a chiropractic malpractice claim against the practitioner. 

3. Botched chiropractic adjustment

While manipulating certain body parts, chiropractors need to be extremely careful, especially with patients who have health issues or injuries affecting the area. If they make an error, they can exacerbate these issues or cause new injuries. For instance, botched chiropractic adjustments often involve nerve damage, herniated discs, broken ribs, neck pain, and sciatic nerve pain. 

4. Failure to inform the patient of the risks

A great deal of people are unaware of the fact that chiropractic treatments pose a significant health risk. As we already mentioned, a herniated disc can happen as a result of a neck adjustment. If the chiropractor hasn’t made you fully aware of the complications before they began the treatment, you may have a claim against them. 

What should be your next step?

If you believe a chiropractor caused your injury with their subpar treatment, you may have the grounds to file a malpractice claim and recover compensation for your pain and suffering. 

The next step should be hiring an experienced malpractice attorney as chiropractic malpractice cases are a lot more complex than regular instances of personal injury. Because of the sensitive nature of the matter at hand, you need someone familiar with both the legal and medical side of the case. 

By hiring Sowell Chakour, you can get just that. 

Our leading attorney was a former surgeon, which allowed us to maximize the number of positive outcomes in hundreds of medical malpractice cases. There’s no reason we can’t do the same for you!

Get on our list of happy clients - call (833) 633-6257 or fill out our contact form

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.