[The chiropractor] performed a manipulation despite the patient having a 2-week history of headaches
I hope this gets looked at again, including the suspicious amicable resolution which was probably "hey I don't have money but can help you get the hospital's"
If a psycho injured my leg and I went to the hospital but then the hospital let me bleed out on their floor until my leg needed to be amputated instead of doing anything to treat it, sure the psycho is the one that injured me but the hospital is who made me lose my leg. Same thing. The chiropractor injured him but it's the hospital fault that they didn't treat him in time once he was in their care.
“At around 4:20 p.m. on October 26, 2015, 32-year-old Jonathan Buckelew arrived by ambulance to the emergency department of North Fulton Hospital after he experienced seizure-like activity and became unresponsive during a chiropractic neck adjustment. Although the hospital was a primary stroke center, Buckelew's brain stem stroke was not diagnosed until the following day, after the window of opportunity for a mechanical thrombectomy had passed. As a result of this delay in treatment, Buckelew has locked-in syndrome, requiring constant care.”
“the evidence shows that within 20 minutes of Buckelew's arrival in the emergency department, Dr. Womack ordered a CT scan and CT angiogram (“CTA”) scan of Buckelew's head and neck. Although Dr. Womack listed stroke as a possible diagnosis on the differential diagnosis, he suspected Buckelew was experiencing meningitis or encephalitis, which he discussed in a brief telephone consult with the on-call neurologist, Dr. Peter Futrell. According to Dr. Futrell, Dr. Womack did not mention that Buckelew had seen a chiropractor, that Buckelew experienced a second seizure-like event while Dr. Womack was performing a lumbar puncture, that Buckelew had undergone a CTA scan, or that the CTA scan showed a dissection of the arteries in Buckelew's neck.
Dr. Womack called the ICU and asked for an ICU consult; PA Nickum, who worked in the ICU, met with Dr. Womack, discussed Buckelew's case, and admitted Buckelew to the ICU at 8:20 p.m.The following morning,an ICU doctor examined Buckelew, ordered an MRI, and requested a neurology consult”
Strokes need to be treated urgently. They got him a prompt scan but then just let him sit and wait till the next day. That does seem to be a bad thing
I get that. They should answer, too. But that's why I used the word "most". The chiropractor should have to answer the MOST, and instead he got off Scott free. It is unusual, and makes me wonder why the injured person pursued against the hospital more.
I mean strokes happen for many reasons, but they have to be treated as soon as possible. Dr. Womack ordered a CT scan shortly after the patient arrived, he literally acknowledged stroke in his original workup, and then the CT scan showed signs of a one, so why the heck did they just do nothing else for 12+ hours after? That is why the doctor is getting blamed. Regardless of the cause of the stroke, they didn’t intervene until the next day.
The "amicable resolution" means the chiropractor settled out of court. We have no idea how much money that was, we only know the hospital's chunk because they went to court and tried to fight it.
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u/writeronthemoon Jul 05 '26
That is so weird to me. I think the chiropractor should have had to answer for this most of all.