Woman Who Suffered A Stroke After Visiting Chiropractor Awarded $1 Million

A woman who suffered a stroke as she fell off of the chiropractor's table was awarded a total of $1 million for her pain, suffering, and medical expenses.

Becca Barlow, 31, reportedly went to a chiropractor at Louisville Family Chiropractic for a routine adjustment to her neck. However, while she was undergoing the routine adjustment to her neck, she experienced vertigo, dizziness, numbness, and nausea — all of which can be signals of blocked blood flow to the brain, Insider reported.

Barlow, a nurse, immediately realized that she was having a stroke and told the office staff to call 911. She fell off of the chiropractor's table, vomited almost immediately, lost consciousness, and had to be intubated in the ambulance, which took her to Norton Brownsboro Hospital in Kentucky for treatment.

At the hospital, Barlow underwent emergency surgery to repair three torn arteries in her neck. Although she recovered well from her physical injuries, she revealed that she will never see a chiropractor again, Yahoo News reported.

The chiropractor's defense lawyer claimed in a court case tried in March 2022 that when a patient has a stroke immediately after an adjustment, it's likely due to preexisting injuries or risk factors. However, despite the claims, the jury sided with Barlow in a 9-3 vote and awarded her a total of $1,130,800 for her pain, suffering, and medical expenses.

Barlow told the court that she had visited the same chiropractor, Dr. Leah Wright at Louisville Family Chiropractic, a total of 29 times for adjustments to nursing her mother's neck.

According to a statement by the American Heart Association(AHA), neck adjustments, also known as cervical manipulative therapy (CMT), might be linked to strokes in relatively young people. The procedure runs the risk of tearing important arteries in the neck. This can cause blood clots that may lead to stroke.

"They can go too far, too fast, turning the neck past therapeutic limits," he said.

Even though Barlow was fortunate to fully recover from the physical effects of her stroke, some other victims weren't so lucky.

Amber Burgess similarly visited a chiropractor in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, for the first time when she was 33, in May 2020. She also believes her neck adjustment caused a stroke. Unlike Barlow, Burgess was unfortunately left with partial paralysis in her arms and legs, so she needs a wheelchair or walker to get around now.