People often seek chiropractic treatment because they are experiencing back pain, neck pain, stiffness, or other physical discomfort. While many patients receive treatment without serious complications, chiropractic care can cause significant harm when a provider fails to use appropriate care.
An unfavorable result alone does not necessarily mean malpractice occurred. To establish liability, there generally must be evidence connecting the chiropractor’s failure to meet the applicable standard of care with the patient’s injury. At Shafran & Rock, we represent people in Kingston and throughout New York who have suffered serious injuries associated with negligent chiropractic treatment.
What Is Chiropractic Malpractice in New York?
Chiropractic malpractice occurs when a chiropractor provides care that falls below the accepted professional standard and causes harm to a patient.
In other words, experiencing pain after an adjustment does not automatically establish malpractice. The question is whether the chiropractor acted as a reasonably competent provider would have under similar circumstances and whether a departure from appropriate care caused the injury.
Our Kingston chiropractic malpractice attorneys handle claims involving patients who have suffered serious harm following chiropractic treatment in New York.
These cases can involve both the way treatment was performed and decisions the chiropractor made before providing treatment.
What Types of Chiropractic Treatment Can Lead to an Injury?
Chiropractic care frequently involves manipulation or adjustment of the spine, neck, and joints. When treatment is performed improperly or provided to a patient for whom a particular technique is inappropriate, injuries can occur.
Potential injuries associated with chiropractic malpractice may include:
- Herniated or aggravated discs
- Nerve damage
- Spinal injuries
- Fractures
- Increased back or neck pain
- Neurological injuries
- Artery injuries associated with neck manipulation
- Stroke
The type of injury alone does not establish negligence. Medical evidence may be needed to determine what caused the condition and whether the chiropractor’s actions contributed to it.
Can a Chiropractor Be Liable for an Improper Adjustment?
Potentially.
Chiropractic adjustments can involve applying force to particular areas of the body. The appropriate technique and amount of force can depend on the patient’s condition, medical history, age, symptoms, and other factors.
A malpractice claim could arise if a chiropractor uses an inappropriate technique or excessive force and causes an injury.
For example, a patient may seek treatment in Kingston for relatively minor back discomfort but leave an appointment with significantly worse symptoms. If medical testing later identifies a new injury, an investigation may examine what occurred during the chiropractic treatment.
The important question is not simply whether the patient’s condition became worse. It is whether negligent treatment caused or contributed to that worsening.
What if a Chiropractor Makes an Existing Injury Worse?
Pre-existing conditions can make chiropractic malpractice cases more complicated, but having an existing back or neck problem does not necessarily prevent someone from pursuing a claim.
In fact, the patient’s existing condition may be one of the reasons careful evaluation is particularly important.
A chiropractor should consider the patient’s symptoms and relevant history before deciding what treatment is appropriate.
If a patient already has a herniated disc, osteoporosis, previous spinal surgery, or another significant condition, certain treatments may present additional risks.
When a condition becomes substantially worse after chiropractic treatment, medical records from before and after the treatment can help establish what changed.
Can a Chiropractor Be Liable for Failing to Recognize a Serious Condition?
Chiropractic malpractice is not limited to physically performing an adjustment incorrectly.
There may be circumstances in which a patient’s symptoms indicate that chiropractic treatment is inappropriate or that additional medical evaluation is necessary.
For example, symptoms could suggest an underlying condition requiring assessment by a physician or another healthcare provider rather than continued manipulation.
A malpractice investigation may therefore consider whether the chiropractor:
- Took an appropriate patient history
- Considered relevant medical conditions
- Recognized warning signs
- Responded appropriately to worsening symptoms
- Referred the patient for additional medical care when necessary
- Continued treatment despite signs that it should be stopped
Failing to respond appropriately to a patient’s symptoms can sometimes cause an existing medical problem to become substantially worse.
What Is Informed Consent in Chiropractic Treatment?
Patients should be able to make informed decisions about the treatment they receive.
Informed consent can become an important issue when chiropractic treatment carries a known risk of serious complications. Depending on the circumstances, patients should receive appropriate information about material risks, benefits, and alternatives before deciding whether to undergo a procedure.
This can be especially significant in cases involving manipulation of the neck.
A patient who was never adequately informed about a significant risk may have legal questions beyond whether the chiropractor technically performed the procedure as intended.
At Shafran & Rock, we examine both how chiropractic treatment was performed and what information the patient received beforehand.
Can Neck Manipulation Cause Serious Injuries?
Neck manipulation is one of the areas that can raise particularly serious concerns in chiropractic malpractice cases.
In rare circumstances, trauma involving arteries supplying the brain can be associated with serious neurological consequences, including stroke. Determining the cause of such an injury requires careful medical evaluation.
Someone experiencing sudden neurological symptoms after neck manipulation should seek emergency medical care.
Potential warning signs can include sudden weakness or numbness, difficulty speaking, problems with balance or coordination, severe dizziness, vision changes, or an unusual and severe headache.
From a legal standpoint, a Kingston chiropractic malpractice case involving a stroke or arterial injury may require detailed medical evidence addressing what happened during treatment and whether the manipulation caused or contributed to the injury.
How Do You Prove Chiropractic Malpractice in New York?
Proving that an injury happened after chiropractic treatment is different from proving that the treatment caused it.
Timing can be important, but causation usually requires more.
A chiropractic malpractice case may involve evidence addressing:
- The patient’s condition before treatment
- The symptoms reported to the chiropractor
- The treatment that was performed
- The accepted standard of care
- Whether the chiropractor departed from that standard
- The patient’s condition immediately after treatment
- Subsequent medical diagnoses
- Whether the negligent treatment caused the injury
Expert medical or chiropractic testimony can play an important role in explaining these issues.
The defense may argue that the patient’s injury existed before treatment or developed independently. Medical records, imaging, expert analysis, and a detailed treatment timeline can help address those arguments.
What Evidence Should You Preserve After a Chiropractic Injury?
If you believe chiropractic treatment caused an injury, preserve information related to both your chiropractic care and subsequent medical treatment.
Useful evidence may include:
- Chiropractic treatment records
- Intake paperwork
- Consent forms
- Imaging performed before treatment
- Medical records from before the chiropractic visit
- Emergency room records
- Subsequent diagnostic imaging
- Records from neurologists, orthopedic doctors, or other specialists
- Medical bills
- Documentation of missed work
Write down what you remember about the appointment as well.
Document which parts of your body were manipulated, what you experienced during the treatment, when symptoms began, and what you told the chiropractor afterward.
These details can become more difficult to remember as time passes.
What if the Chiropractor Says Your Injury Was Already There?
Pre-existing conditions are common in chiropractic cases because many people seek chiropractic care specifically because they already have pain or physical limitations.
A chiropractor or insurance company may therefore argue that the treatment did not cause the patient’s condition.
The relevant issue may be whether treatment created a new injury or materially worsened an existing one.
Records showing the patient’s condition before the adjustment can be particularly valuable. If earlier imaging, medical examinations, or treatment notes establish one level of impairment and subsequent testing reveals a significant change, that evidence may help medical experts evaluate causation.
What Compensation May Be Available After Chiropractic Malpractice?
A serious chiropractic injury can affect nearly every part of a person’s life.
Depending on the circumstances, a successful New York malpractice claim may seek compensation associated with losses such as:
- Medical expenses
- Future treatment needs
- Lost income
- Reduced earning ability
- Rehabilitation
- Pain and suffering
- Other consequences of the injury
Catastrophic injuries can create particularly significant long-term needs.
A stroke, spinal injury, or severe neurological condition may prevent someone from returning to work or require ongoing medical treatment and assistance. Evaluating those future consequences can be an important part of determining the full impact of the malpractice.
Contact Shafran & Rock About a Chiropractic Injury in Kingston
Not every complication following chiropractic treatment amounts to malpractice. However, when inappropriate treatment, excessive force, failure to recognize warning signs, lack of informed consent, or another departure from proper care causes serious harm, the circumstances deserve careful investigation.
If you are dealing with an injury after chiropractic treatment in Kingston or elsewhere in New York, our attorneys are here to help. Call us today or connect with us online to schedule a consultation.
