Washington D.C.Attorney Michael Abelson became interested in chiropractic malpractice 5 years ago when a woman came to his law office in Washington D.C. and told him that her husband had died just two hours after having a neck manipulation. "He was found unconscious at home, rushed to a hospital in Maryland and died six days later," Abelson recalls. "The medical examiner found that the stroke he had suffered was caused by a chiropractic cervical manipulation," he says. The man was 39-years-old.
Abelson sued on behalf of the Maryland man's widow and won a wrongful death suit. He is currently looking into at least half a dozen chiropractic malpractice cases where a chiropractic manipulation is alleged to be the cause of a devastating stroke. "In each of these cases the person has suffered a disabling stroke, unable to speak or even dress themselves and these are young people," says Abelson. "The oldest one is a 49-year-old UPS driver who can no longer work."
The debate over the connection between chiropractic neck manipulation and stroke has been widely reported in the medical literature. After 5 years of handling these kinds of cases, Abelson has developed his own opinion. "I would not personally have it done now that I know what the risks are," he says. "The practice of chiropractic neck manipulation is a belief, a philosophy, and has no scientific basis," says Abelson.
Proving His Case
The first consideration for Abelson when assessing and moving forward on a chiropractic malpractice case is proving there was a deviation from the standard of care. "That means that the chiropractor failed to take a proper medical history or did not do the proper neurological tests prior to doing the manipulation," Abelson says. "Or the chiropractic adjustment may have been performed too forcefully."
"There could be a reason that a patient is not suitable for chiropractic adjustment such as a vascular anomaly or there could be signs of other vascular problems such as an aneurism," he adds. "In the cases I have handled I have found that the chiropractor has failed to do an adequate neurological work up on the patient and take an adequate history," attorney Abelson notes.
The second consideration is showing a judge or jury that the cervical adjustment was the cause of the stroke. In the case of the Maryland man the attending emergency physician, the neurologist and the medical examiner autopsy all concluded that the stroke was caused by the cervical neck manipulation," Abelson says.
The defense argued the stroke could have been triggered by the fact that the man had recently begun an Atkins diet, or that the damage might have happened while driving home.
Straight Chiropractic Treatments
All of the cases Abelson has handled involved chiropractors involved in 'Straight Chiropractic Treatment'. "It means that no matter what your complaint --whether your knees hurt, your back hurts, you have menstrual cramps or allergies," says Abelson, "these people believe that by adjusting the neck the proper energy will be released throughout your nervous system and cure all of your ailments."
Vastly Under-reported says Abelson
"These strokes may not occur for as long as two to three weeks after the manipulation," says Abelson, "That's because the manipulation can cause a dissection of the vertebral or carotid artery which will cause a slow bleed; a clot then occurs that may not break free and affect the brain until weeks later." Abelson says that the time lag means that the link between stroke and chiropractic neck manipulation is often overlooked. "That is why the connection between strokes and cervical neck manipulation is under-reported," he says. "Nobody really knows how often this happens."
Abelson knew the young Maryland man who died in 2004 personally. Since then he's become passionate about seeking compensation for people who bring actions against chiropractors for personal injury. "I work with a physician who assists me in finding experts for these cases. And it is easy to find treating medical doctors who will work with us on these cases."
Among other problems when dealing with these cases is the amount of insurance carried by the chiropractor. "In the cases I have handled, the chiropractors have carried insurance in the $1 million range. However, that is not enough to cover expenses for a young person who has been severely injured and can no longer work or care for themselves."
Chiropractors, from his point of view are vastly under insured.
Michael A. Abelson is a senior attorney with the Abelson Law Firm in Washington D.C. He is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania. (B.A., 1971); New England Law School, Boston, Massachusetts (J.D., Cum Laude, 1974).