Negligence

state: wisconsin
approx. 3 months ago my twin sister, age 48, slipped and fell on the ice. shortly thereafter, she began having left shoulder pain. she sought out a chiropractor who began treating her for a pulled muscle in the left shoulder area. he was also trying to break up some "calcium deposits" he had felt around the left shoulder area. she had no other health problems. my twin died of heart failure 3 weeks ago. the doctors informed us that the arteries were completely blocked and the vessels were damaged like that of a person with diabetes. she had never been diagnosed with diabetes nor has anyone in our family ever had diabetes. my question is: was the chiropractor negligent in anyway? please advise. thank you for your time.

PLEASE HELP!!!

I just registered and saw your question which remains unanswered. You are right to suspect that there is some relationship between the shoulder pain and the coronary blockages. When coronary vessels become narrow or obstructed the heart tissue downstream of the obstruction is starved. This is known as ischemia. When ischemia is present pain is produced but the patient may appreciate the pain in a location remote from the location producing the pain. This is known as referred pain. Shoulder pain is one classic pattern of referral. You should consult a malpractice lawyer in your locale.

[pele]

I am sorry about your sister. Unfortunately, chiropractors are not medical doctors, they have no medical education, no premed courses, no medical school. I am not an attorney, but I do not think you have a case because a chiropractor is not a medical doctor. I have worked in the medical profession for many years and have seen the growth of chiropractors go from just treating the spine to treating the whole body now, and now including children. It is scary, I know of a patient who had been treated by a chiropractor for three months for chest pain, she was getting "adjustments", when she finally saw a medical doctor because of severe pain, it turned out she had active tuberculosis and had gone without treatment for three months. You go to a chiropractor, you take your chances.