Chiropractic Stroke – What Happened?

If you or a loved one have suffered a stroke due to a chiropractic manipulation, you may have suffered a preventable injury. You may be the victim of chiropractic malpractice and entitled to seek money for the harm you have suffered. It is important that you contact a chiropractic injury lawyer experienced in handling chiropractor malpractice. Please contact us online for a free evaluation of your situation or call us toll free at 1-888-797-4242.

Approximately 12 percent of American and Canadian adults seek chiropractic care each year, and 80 percent of these visits result in spinal manipulation, according to an article in the American Journal of Public Health.

Performing any type of upper neck adjustment entails risk because of the proximity of the vertebral and carotid arteries. A striking characteristic of chiropractic induced stroke is that it more occurs in otherwise healthy people — many of them young or middle-aged—following neck manipulation.

A 1999 article in the medical research journal Physical Therapy identified 177 cases of injuries associated with cervical manipulation reported in medical studies. The majority of injuries were attributed to manipulation by chiropractors. Death occurred in 18 percent of the cases.

What May Have Caused Your Stroke

Any twisting or sudden head movement involving the highest neck area where the skull attaches to the first vertebrae can tear important arteries that supply blood to the brain. Injury is most common to the vertebral arteries that carry blood along the back of the neck inside the spinal column. Injury also may occur to the carotid arteries that bring blood from the heart along the front of the neck.

The damage most often is a small tear, called a dissection, to the inner lining of the artery. The small tear causes bleeding; a small blood clot called an embolism forms thereafter. Over time the clot breaks free and travels to the brain or brain stem, blocking blood flow and causing a stroke.

Patients may leave a chiropractor’s office without realizing they have suffered a tear in an artery that could lead to a stroke. Hours or days later, they may experience pre-stroke symptoms such a headache, nausea and vertigo. Cerebral stroke causes irreversible damage to the brain or death.

Contact Our Chiropractic Injury Lawyer Today

If you or a loved one has suffered a stroke in the hours, days or perhaps weeks after a chiropractic neck adjustment, you need an chiropractic injury attorney with experience in chiropractor malpractice.

The Abelson Law Firm has offices in Washington, D.C. and takes cases of chiropractic malpractice from across the country. The Abelson Law Firm works with a board certified physician who will help determine the extent of your injuries due to chiropractic manipulation, and the care you will need for a lifetime. We focus on chiropractic malpractice because we care about chiropractic stroke victims. For a free consultation, call 1-888-797-4242 or fill out our online form.