Published by Chiropractic malpractice typically involves the failure to follow standard treatment protocols when diagnosing or treating a patient. While chiropractors approach medicine in a different way from the mainstream medical professions, they can still be held liable for injuries that result from departures from standard treatment protocols.
What’s the problem?
Chiropractors make up the largest group of drugless physicians in the world. Chiropractic practitioners, who follow their training, are capable of providing an excellent and often needed level of professional service.
However, if you are the victim of chiropractic malpractice you understand that chiropractors, like other physicians, are quite capable of providing a service which falls short of the desired standard of care.
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What constitutes Chiropractic Malpractice?
Chiropractic malpractice occurs when a chiropractor fails to follow the accepted standard of care for his profession, resulting in injuries to the patient. If the chiropractor crosses the line and invades the scope of another practice, such as that of a medical doctor, the chiropractor will be held to the level of care applicable to a practitioner in the field which he or she invaded.
The medical literature is clear that chiropractic neck manipulations carry the risk of a life-threatening vascular accident. There appears to be no scientific proof that these neck manipulations are appropriate to treat the myriad of symptoms with which patients present. The public has a right to be informed about this risk/benefit analysis of cervical manipulation by chiropractors.
The real concern should not focus on the frequency of this occurrence but rather on risk/benefit ratio. No matter how infrequent the complication, if there is little or no benefit to the chiropractic procedure, then a complication as severe as stroke and/or death cannot be risked. There is no scientific evidence of benefit for the majority of ailments for which chiropractors utilize neck adjustment procedures.
