Connecticut Board Considers Warning About Risk Of Stroke Following Chiropractic Neck Manipulation

Published: 2010-02-28 20:52:35
Author: Abelson Law Firm | February 13, 2010

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) February 13, 2010 -- Attorney Michael Abelson applauded recent hearings by the Connecticut Board of Chiropractic Examiners to consider whether to require chiropractors to warn patients about the possible risk of stroke from neck manipulation.

“Connecticut should be commended for taking a hard look at this widely overlooked cause of serious and permanent injury,” said Abelson, a Washington, DC lawyer who accepts patients from across the nation who have suffered strokes after chiropractic neck adjustments. “Now the state needs to take definitive steps to warn people about this risk. Most people have no idea that they’re risking their life when they submit to a neck adjustment. They should be informed.”

The Connecticut Board of Chiropractic Examiners held four days of hearings in January on the issue of a link between stroke and neck manipulation and heard testimony from injured patients and families of patients who have died. The board is expected to issue a ruling eventually on whether to mandate that chiropractors inform patients of the potential risks of chiropractic adjustment and get informed consent.

Chiropractors and patient advocates are closely watching the Connecticut case. If Connecticut requires such a stroke warning and informed consent before chiropractic spinal manipulation, it is believed that it would be the first state in the nation to do so.

The proposal comes after a group of patients tried to persuade the Connecticut General Assembly to approve legislation to make the public more aware of stroke risk—a proposal resisted by chiropractors.

Abelson said it’s critically important to alert people to the link between chiropractic neck adjustments and stroke. In some cases, a chiropractic neck manipulation may cause a tear to the carotid or vertebral arteries leading to the brain. But the blood clot does not always immediately break free and block blood flow to the brain. In some cases, the stroke may not occur until days or weeks afterward, Abelson said.

“Chiropractor patients should understand that a neck manipulation injurycan cause a stroke immediately, or it may occur weeks later,” Abelson said. “It’s for this very reason that this phenomenon is underreported in medical literature. It is an area that needs much more research and attention.”

Abelson has added pages to his law firm’s Web site, stroke. The site provides a glossary of common chiropractic termsand information about how chiropractic neck adjustments can lead to serious injury or aggravate a pre-existing medical condition.

About the Abelson Law Firm

The Abelson Law Firm is a top-rated firm based in Washington, D.C. that accepts chiropractic malpractice cases involving strokes from around the country. For a free review of your case, call (888) 797-4242 or visit Abelson Law Firm online.

Senior attorney Michael A. Abelson has received the Lawyer of the Year Award from the Trial Lawyers Association of Washington, D.C. and has been listed in “The Cream of the Legal Establishment” by Washingtonian magazine. Mr. Abelson has more than 30 years of legal experience and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and a sustaining member of the American Association for Justice. To contact the firm, call (888) 797-4242 or (202) 331-0600.

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Contact Information:

Michael A. Abelson
Abelson Law Firm
(888) 797-4242

Mike Dayton
Consultwebs.com, Inc.
919.880.1748

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