What Are the Consequences of a Chiropractic Stroke?

A stroke or vascular damage caused by chiropractic neck manipulation can be a disabling, life-altering injury. The effects of a stroke can last a lifetime, or in the worst of cases, end a young life much too soon. A telling statistic about chiropractic strokes is that they often strike otherwise healthy young and middle-aged people in the hours, days or sometimes weeks after a neck adjustment.

If you or a loved one have suffered a stroke in the hours, days or even weeks after a chiropractic neck adjustment, contact an attorney with experience in chiropractic malpractice.

The Abelson Law Firm has offices in Washington, D.C. and handles cases of chiropractic malpractice from across the country. The Abelson Law Firm works with a physician who will help determine the extent of your injuries due to chiropractic manipulation, and the care you may require for a lifetime. For a free consultation, call 1-888-797-4242 or fill out our online form.

A 2001 study published in the medical journal Stroke found that patients under age 45 who had experienced a vertebrobasilar stroke were five times more likely to have visited a chiropractor in the preceding week.

The abrupt twisting or rotating of the neck that chiropractors do to patients during a cervical manipulation can create small tears or dissections in important arteries that carry blood to the brain. Neck manipulation or cervical manipulation, as its known, most often causes strokes in the back part of the brain that can affect basic life functions including swallowing, speaking and walking. A stroke also can lead to permanent neurologic deficits such as slurred speech, inability to arrange words properly and vertigo.

If you of a loved one have experienced a stroke after a recent chiropractic manipulation, doctors will administer medications to try to identify and dissolve the blood clots caused by torn arteries and restore blood flow. These clots can be life threatening and cause permanent disability. Stroke patients can spend days or weeks in hospital intensive care to try to stabilize their condition.

Patients may need to undergo weeks or months of physical therapy at inpatient rehabilitation centers to relearn skills caused when their brain is damaged.  A stroke-induced injury affecting the brain’s language control centers can impair verbal communication abilities. You may need speech therapy to learn to speak again without slurring words. Many patients are paralyzed or seriously weakened. You will likely need physical therapy to regain coordination and to learn to balance and walk again without limping. You will not be able to work for an extended period of time, if at all.

Given the devastating effects of a chiropractic stroke, it’s important to understand that this very well may have been a preventable injury. If you or a loved one was injured by a chiropractor who failed to follow the recognized standards of care, you have legal rights to seek compensation for your medical bills (past and future), your lost earnings (past and future) and the of the quality of your life (pain and suffering). Chiropractic stroke injuries are complex cases involving an understanding of human anatomy and medical expertise so it’s important to consult a lawyer experienced in chiropractic malpractice.

The Abelson Law Firm focuses upon  chiropractic malpractice because we care about victims of chiropractic stroke. The Abelson Law Firm has offices in Washington, D.C.  and accepts cases of chiropractic malpractice from across the country.

If you have suffered a stroke in the hours, days or even weeks after a chiropractic adjustment, contact us for a free consultation. To reach us, call 1-888-797-4242 or fill out our online form.