QUESTION

Do I have legal action against a chiropracter that during a first treatment resulted in my going to the ER?

Asked on Dec 08th, 2013 on Medical Malpractice - Alabama
More details to this question:
I was having back pain and visited a local chiro. He performed an xray and concluded it was just an inflamed disc. He then put me on a spinal decompression table for about one half of an hour. After trying to get up it resulted in my immediate transport (via ambulance) to the ER. After MRIs and 5 hours it showed I actually had ruptured discs as a result of spinal decompression. I missed two weeks of work and suffered many medical bills. Do I have any legal recourse or should I just say lesson learned?
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1 ANSWER

Catastrophic Injury Attorney serving Roseland, NJ at John J. Ratkowitz
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It is hard to tell you whether he breached accepted standards of care on the facts that you provided, but if you were taken out of his office by an ambulance then it sounds like he either (a) should not have been providing you with the kind of treatment that he did given the underlying condition, or (b) that his treatment might have actually caused the disc problems. Either way, if the damage was limited to two weeks of lost time from work, then the case is probably not financially viable.  If you want to investigate a case, you should contact a local medical malpractice attorney (one in your state).  They take these cases on a contingency basis which means you only have to pay if you succeed.  Additionally, initial consultations are usually free. You can use the "Find a Lawyer" service through this website to research medical malpractice attorneys.  Then, visit each attorney's website and look for a firm that has a record of successful verdicts.  Below are some articles you may find helpful.  They are written for a New Jersey audience (where I practice) but the ideas discussed in these articles usually apply in most other jurisdictions as well. Click here for an article that discusses the three main questions I ask when deciding whether to investigate a potential medical malpractice case. Click here for an article that explains what you can expect when filing a medical malpractice case. Click here and here for more information about me. Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com  Skype: john_ratkowitz Web: www.starrgern.com. 
Answered on Dec 08th, 2013 at 9:01 PM

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