Chiropractor Malpractice Lawyer in Miami

Chiropractic care helps many people with low back pain, neck pain, and headaches. It can also cause serious injury when it is provided by a chiropractor whose technique is improper, who fails to take an adequate history before performing high-velocity manipulations, who treats outside the scope of competent chiropractic practice, or who fails to recognize warning signs of a condition that requires medical (rather than chiropractic) management. Florida chiropractors are licensed under Chapter 460 of the Florida Statutes and are subject to medical-malpractice rules under Chapter 766.

Common Chiropractic Injury Scenarios

• Vertebral artery dissection (VAD) and stroke after cervical manipulation. The most serious chiropractic injury — high-velocity neck adjustments can tear the inner lining of the vertebral artery, causing a clot that travels to the brain and produces a stroke. The risk is small per adjustment but real, and it is most often associated with rotational thrust techniques. Stroke can occur immediately or hours to days after the adjustment.
• Disc herniation caused by aggressive lumbar or cervical adjustment
• Vertebral fracture in patients with osteoporosis or other bone-fragility conditions
• Spinal cord injury from improper technique
• Worsening of pre-existing conditions — for example, exacerbating an undiagnosed disc herniation or spinal stenosis
• Failure to refer for medical evaluation when the patient's condition is outside the proper scope of chiropractic practice (red-flag symptoms, neurological deficits, suspected infection or malignancy)
• Soft-tissue injuries from excessive force
• Treating without proper informed consent regarding known risks of cervical manipulation

Standard of Care for Florida Chiropractors

Florida chiropractors are required to provide care consistent with the prevailing professional standard of care for similarly situated chiropractors. They must take an adequate history, perform an appropriate examination, identify red-flag symptoms warranting medical (not chiropractic) referral, obtain informed consent for treatment with known risks, and use techniques and forces appropriate to the patient's condition and bone density. Pre-manipulation screening is particularly important for cervical adjustments — failure to screen for vertebral artery dissection risk factors is a common basis for liability when a stroke follows.

Informed Consent

Florida chiropractors must obtain informed consent for treatment with known significant risks — including the risk of stroke from cervical manipulation, however small. A chiropractor who failed to disclose the risk of stroke before performing a cervical adjustment that resulted in a stroke faces a viable informed-consent claim independent of any negligent-technique claim.

Florida Pre-Suit Procedure

Chiropractor malpractice cases are governed by Florida Chapter 766. Before filing suit, your attorney must:

• Conduct a "reasonable investigation" under § 766.203
• Obtain a written, signed expert affidavit from a qualified chiropractic expert (or, in stroke cases, also from a neurologist) stating the standard of care was breached and that the breach caused the injury
• Serve a Notice of Intent to Initiate Litigation on each prospective defendant
• Wait through the 90-day pre-suit investigation period before filing suit

Statute of Limitations

Florida medical-malpractice claims (which include chiropractic malpractice) must generally be filed within two years of when the incident was or should have been discovered, but in no event more than four years after the incident itself.

Damages

Damages in a chiropractor malpractice case can include past and future medical expenses, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering, mental anguish, permanent impairment, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, and wrongful-death damages in fatal cases. Stroke cases involving severe neurological deficits can produce damages in the millions of dollars based on lifetime medical and attendant care needs.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured by chiropractic treatment in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Monroe County, contact the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin. Call 786-522-1411 or email [email protected] for a confidential, no-cost consultation.