Chiropractic Injury Lawyer Blog

Chiropractic injuries—that is, injuries caused by the chiropractor—are more common than most chiropractic patients realize. One of the most troubling and serious injuries caused by chiropractic treatment is stroke following manipulation of the cervical spine (i.e. neck).

More Americans are seeking chiropractic treatment than any time in our history, making over 250 million visits to chiropractors last year. According to the American Chiropractic Association, over a million of these visits included neck manipulations (chiropractors prefer the term “adjustment”).

With the growing number of chiropractor visits has come an increase in chiropractic injuries. The most troubling trend is the growing number of young, healthy chiropractic patients suffering strokes following chiropractic neck adjustments. What chiropractors do not want people to know (and what they often do not warn their unsuspecting patients of) is that abrupt twisting of the neck can damage the inner layer of the vertebral artery (called a vertebral artery dissection), creating a blood clot. If the blood clot is forced by the flow of blood upward from the neck it can cut off blood flow to part of the brain, causing a stroke. Stroke often results in permanent brain damage, which is often quite severe.

Many victims of chiropractic stroke sought chiropractic treatment for relatively benign issues and were never informed by their chiropractor about the known risks of stroke related to neck adjustment. Had the patient been informed, they could have chosen not to undergo a procedure with such a serious potential risk in order to treat such a relatively insignificant issue. While laws very slightly from state to state, generally medical professionals have a duty to advise patients of known risks before performing procedures with serious risk of injury or death.

The experienced chiropractic stroke and injury lawyers of Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones PLC handle cases throughout the U.S. For more information or to contact the author of this post, attorney Shawn Cantley, call (866) 587-002 or click here: email_shawn.

Two Connecticut women are urging Connecticut lawmakers to pass a bill requiring chiropractors to inform their patients about the risks of stroke and also require informed consent. Chiropractors are against the bill but have admitted that there is a risk of stroke associated with chiropractic treatment.

Britt Harwe and Janet Levy were victims of stroke caused by neck manipulation. When she was just 26 years old, Ms. Harwe sought chiropractic treatment for a stiff shoulder. However, one adjustment collapsed an artery in her neck and left her unable to walk, talk or swallow. After over 15 years of therapy Ms. Harwe has regained her ability to walk and talk but will never be able to eat again and is forced to feed herself through a stomach tube.

Ms. Harwe is fighting to change the laws of Connecticut in order to spread knowledge of the risk of stroke and prevent others from suffering a similar tragedy. If you or a loved one has been injured from chiropractic treatment please contact the attorneys at Bahe, Cook, Cantley & Jones.

We recently posted about the common practice of chiropractic manipulation on children and even infants raising disturbing questions about the possibility of causing vertebral artery tears and strokes in these tiny patients. Recent news from Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, published this November reports that strokes are occurring in younger patients at a much higher rate than previously believed. Strokes, once believed to afflict only older patients and extremely rare in children, are now believed to be a real danger.

The article reported that strokes in kids may be for times more common than previously believed. This may be due, according to Dr. Heather Fullerton of the University of California in San Francisco, the lead author of the study, to doctors who treat these patients ignoring or not recognizing the warning signs of stroke. In Canada, the study reports, as many as 6 to ten children out of every 100,000 may be the victim of stroke.

Stroke, in adults or children, can be caused by tearing of the arteries near the neck and brain. This can be caused by numerous kinds of neck injuries like accidents, rough play, or even from chiropractic adjustments. What is alarming is that the highest risk of stroke is to newborns under a month in age.

Continue reading "Childhood Strokes – Dangerous and Underreported" »

The Washington State Department of Health, which is responsible for taking disciplinary action against healthcare providers and professionals in the State of Washington has recently suspended the licenses of two chiropractors for five years each for thier behavior.

In Clark County:
In June 2009 the Chiropractic Commission placed the license of chiropractor Troy M. Dreiling (CH00003052) on probation for five years. He failed to document reasons or need for treatments offered to patients, billed for an evaluation but failed to document the evaluation, took inadequate x-rays, failed to keep adequate documentation of diagnosis and treatments, and failed to comply with conditions set against his license. He must comply with terms and conditions set against his license.

In Spokane County:
In June 2009 the Chiropractic Commission placed the license of Michael A. Baker (CH00001832) on probation for five years. He directed unlicensed staff to perform chiropractic treatments when he was not present, altered billing slips and charts to reflect more treatment than was provided and billed insurance companies for the additional treatment, and he was previously placed on probation for failure to adequately maintain patient treatment records. He must comply with terms and conditions set against his license.

If you have questions about whether chiropractors in your state have been suspended or revoked, contact the attorneys at Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones PLC.

Does this concept concern you? Did you even know that many chiropracors push for treatment of children, some even as young as a couple of months old? Many highly influential chiropracic organizations, such as the Council on Chirpractic Practice, advocate the use of chiropractic treatment on children this young? With confirmed reports of adult patients suffering from vertebral artery tears and strokes, should children be put at the same risk?

This chiropractor actually tries to convince us that a standard vaginal dilervy of an infant can necessitate chiroractic treatment to correct "misalingments" of the baby's spine caused by the delivery. This video depicts a mother bringing her new-born in for its first chiropractic "adjustments." You will note that the chiropractor doing the traction adjustment, when asked whether stretching the baby will "even hurt him at all" responds that it won't because babies are "all so pliable these days!"

This video depitcts another baby being adjusted. The disturbing this about this one is that you can actually observe the chiropractor rapidly twising the child's head and neck to the side. The baby does not ever appear to be in pain, but neither are victims of vertebral artery tears prior to their injury (other than the discomfort they may be feeling that brought them to the chiropractors office in the first place). Just how far and how rapidly does a baby's head have to be twisted to cause injury? Would you want to be the parent that finds out? I'm not sure what is causing this poor child to be upset, but does it look to you like the adjustment is helping?

At Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones PLC, our personal injury attorneys recognize that injuries caused by chiropractors can happen to anyone, including children and infants. If you child has been injured by a chiropractic treatment, we are here to answer any questions you might have.

A study conducted between January 2001 and June 2006 examined the relationship between spinal manipulation and injuries. The results were published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine in July, 2007 (Volume 100, pg. 330-338).

The study ultimately concluded that spinal manipulation can have negative effects and manipulation of the cervical spine can be especially dangerous. Side effects can be serious and include vertebral artery dissection and stroke. Although the study notes that the frequency of stroke is not known, the authors suggest rethinking the use of spinal manipulation as a form of routine treatment. For more information about this study please see http://jrsm.rsmjournals.com/cgi/content/full/100/7/330.

If you have had a stroke and think it may be related to your chiropractic treatment please contact the attorneys at Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones or email Jasper.

The fact that neck manipulation can cause strokes among chiropractic patients is not commonly known. Chiropractors would like to keep it that way. However, a study conducted by the Stanford Stroke Center in 1992 sought to answer how common strokes caused by neck manipulation are.

The Stanford study focused on 486 doctors associated with the American Academy of Neurology in California. 177 of the 486 neurologists polled claimed they had treated patients that had suffered a stroke after receiving neck manipulations from a chiropractor. As you can see, strokes associated with neck manipulation are more common than you might believe.

Some chiropractors claim patients can be tested to determine if they are at risk for a stroke caused manipulation. For example, the chiropractor may hold the patient’s neck and head in a variety of positions. If the patient becomes dizzy he is assumed to be more likely to suffer a stroke. Chiropractors may also do the same procedure but use a stethoscope to listen for a signs of trouble. However, these tests are not reliable and there is no effective way to predict whether someone is prone to have a stroke.

For more information on the Stanford study and other issues discussed in this blog post please visit the following website: http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chirostroke.html. If you or a loved one has suffered a stroke after being treated by a chiropractor, please call Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones PLC at 1-866-587-0002, or email Jasper.

In an attempt to dispute what real doctors across the land are saying about the real risks of stroke associated with chiropractic manipulations, the World Chiropractic Alliance has issued a statement trying to assure people that the risk is too small to be significant. http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/positions/stroke.htm

In my opinion, if the chiropractors have ANY evidence that they are doing something that is causing people to have strokes, then they need to at least warn people of the risk before they do it. Otherwise, they are recklessly disclosing very relevant information necessary to obtain the informed consent of their patients.

For more information about the rights of those who are injured by the negligence of a chiropractor, contact http://www.kentuckyinjurylaw.com/

According to the World Chiropractic Alliances' web site, the following articulates its members' philosophy:

We promote chiropractic as a drug-free, subluxation-based health care approach providing lifetime, family wellness care. It should be available to all people, from infancy to old age, regardless of the presence or absence of symptoms. We work constantly and vigorously to ensure that chiropractic does not deteriorate into a medical therapy or incorporate drugs, surgery or other medical techniques.

Really? They think of themselves as essentially a primary care physician and/or a pediatrician? They think chiropractic treatment is appropriate without regard to whether a person has symptoms indicating a problem? Does this statement mean they think it can be appropriate to "adjust" an infant's neck?

These are some things to consider when choosing which health care professionals to treat with. It is my plan and goal to share more insight into Chiropractic and its philosophies and beliefs on this blog.

For more information on this subject and the rights of those injured or killed by another's careless and reckless activity, contact chiropractic injury attorney Will Nefzger by clicking on this link: e-mail Will. You can also find out more information about me and my firm by clicking on the Website link at the top of this page and going to my bio page.

Criminal charges against a South Australia chiropractor, Mario Forte, has been dropped by the court without public explanation. We previously wrote about the case here. Forte's patient, James Halloran, died while under his care from apparent hear attack. Halloran had presented to Forte's office in December of 2006 complaining of a stiff neck and dizziness, both considered to be warning signs for heart attacks. Rather than sending Halloran to the hospital, Forte, who also happens to be blind, continued with the appointment. During the session, Halloran began to shake violently. According to an inquest performed into Halloran's death, Forte did not call an ambulance immediately because he thought Halloran was merely having a seizure. Paramedics finally arrived, but too late to save Halloran who had suffered massive brain damage due to a lack of oxygen to his brain. He died two days later after he was taken off of life support.

Authorities subsequently charged Forte for the death. For reasons that were not made public by the Court, the criminal charges against Forte for Halloran's death have recently been dropped. Autopsy efforts continue to determine the cause of Halloran's fatal heart attack while under Forte's care.

If you would like more information about the harm chiropractors can cause, or can fail to prevent, please contact the attorneys at Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones PLC.