QUESTION
Should I sue Chiropractor if I think they injured my neck?
Asked on Jun 10th, 2015 on Medical Malpractice - Virginia
More details to this question:
At the end of the summer in 2014 I was having back pain -- generally mid back but it would go up and into my shoulder after golf. A friend suggested I use a Chiropractor. Basically after about a dozen sessions I was in a lot more pain. They did a lot of work on my neck and the pain was focused there and it was radiating into my arm -- I even had pain/numbness all the way to my thumb. I decided this clearly wasn't working and I went to an orthopedic surgeon. He sent me for an MRI which revealed a fairly severe herniated disc in my neck. Basically the next 6 months (October-April) were hell. Frequent intense headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain, arm pain, and tingling sensations became my life. I was 29 years old and I couldn't do anything I liked -- in particular golf. I understand proof would be difficult so I am curious if it is worth pursuing legal action. Those 12 appointments were expensive and all they bought me was months of pain...
1 ANSWER
To win a malpractice case you must prove through another doctor that the first one violated the standard of care in the field and caused you an injury. These cases are costly. If you want to find out if an experienced attorney can help you then you should call one and see if they are interested. Usually I am looking for a catastrophic injury before I can take on a medical malpractice case. Sometimes, there may be an error and poor care that the legal system is just not able to fully and fairly address. This is not to minimize you situation which sounds terrible for you. I am sorry to hear of your difficulty with this chiro and also suggest you can make a complaint with the VA Board of Medicine.
Answered on Jun 10th, 2015 at 6:03 PM