Can chiropractors treat minors without parents consent? My DD 15 is in Florida with her grandmother this week. DD called hubby to tell him grandmother (his mom) took her to the chiropractor to have her knee worked on. No one called me or DH for consent to work on DD, I'm Pi@@ed at grandmother and the doctor!
I took DD to the doctor for her knee and she has tendonitis in it she also has physical therapy here in VA.

If granny told the Dr she was the guardian, and she signed consent, that's pretty much all you are gonna need.

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Is it possible that your MIL signed as legal guardian?
I know that you have intake forms at chiropractor's offices (at least the legit ones) that need to be signed by an adult.

I have no idea what granny signed for, DH is calling her in a few mins to find out and it isn't going to be pretty.

I think your anger should be directed at grandmother alone. She was the adult who signed your daughter into the office and no doctor asks for birth certificates. Plus, your daughter is 15 years old and that's more than old enough to speak up if she didn't want to be treated. I'd be furious too but it's Grandmother who's to blame, not the doctor who was duped by her.

Who paid for it? Did your insurance pay it? I think you have a right to be very upset with grandmother for this, but not your daughter. I know if I were in therapy for my knee and my therapist and doctor found out I had went to a chiropractor, they would really be upset! I'm sure her therapist and doctor have her on some sort of exercises, etc. and the chiropractor could actually mess her knee up more than it already is. Yes, I think you definitely should have a talk with grandmother!

I don't think it is legal for one thing. I know for me to take my granddaughter to the doctor it requires a signed notorized statement (which I have on hand in case of an emergency) from my DD (her mother) giving me permission to get her medical treatment (of course if she is spending the week there you have probalby already sent that paperwork with her). Most doctors will not just treat anyone that walks in the door even if it is the grandparent bringing them in withour written consent from the parent. It depends on what the chiropractor did to the knee, if he did an adjustment he could have done some damaage (were x-rays taken, etc?) you don't do adjustments without taking x-rays to see what the problem is. If they just did some therapy like heat/ice ultrasound or something like that then it's not going to hurt it. I can't imagine they would be able to do an adjustment without parental consent though. The other thing is if you have insurance, some only pay for either/or, our insurance only pays for physical therapy or chiropractor you can go to either one but not both.

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I'm not excusing Grandma about taking your child to see a Doctor w/o you asking or being told, But Could it be your DD was complaining the knee was hurting her ? maybe your DD ask to be taken in (Knowing XXX therapist can make it feel better by doing this or that to the knee ) ?. How many times does your DD see her therapist ?? weekly is Normal around here, Maybe grandma didn't want her to miss a section ??and seeing you posted she was at grandma this week I take it that means a week. I'm thinking Grandma was trying to be helpful and not underhanded about this ( Unless there's a history with her being under minding and always causing trouble for you )...I'm sorry Grandma did this , she should have called to let you know or ask if it was OK.. Hope it all works out for the better and you can forgive her. I'm sure after she knows how wrong this was she will not repeat it again.

P.s I agree, Shouldn't be mad at the Doctor Had the Grandmother told the full story about DD only visiting them I'm sure he would have never touched her w/o you signing the papers.

Who payed for it? Who knows, not my insurance she doesn't have that info. Xrays no, they did an adjustment DD said they said her leg was 2 inches off from the other(how do they know). Therapy was done before she left and she knew the streches she needed to do. I'm sure DD was complaining but that doesn't mean grandmother should take her to her chiropractor. Two years ago when she was there grandmother took her to get her nose peirced and even the place in mall said no way without an parent. She still doesn't have her nose peirced. DH still has not called.
We are flying down tomorrow night(planned) it should be an interesting week.

That part is easy to tell. I have back muscles that spasm and pull my hip out of place. I've had one leg shorter than the other many times. Lying on your back someone standing at your feet can look at both legs and feet and you can actually see the difference.

I am no expert on this, but, it has been my understanding that you have to give legal consent for your DD to get medical treatment, if you or DH are not there. This may not be the case in an emergency, but, this was clearly not an emergency.

Personally, I would not let my child stay with a relative who tried to get her nose pierced, and I surely would not let my child stay somewhere without me giving legal consent for that person to seek medical treatment for DD if needed. What if she got a cold, the flu, stomach bug,whatever???? How would that work???

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I guess I don't understand. Your daughter was complaining about the pain and her grandmother wanted to help get rid of the pain, so she took her to a chiro to try and help out and that makes you mad? Did they give her meds that she's allergic to? Is the pain worse? Did you guys get a huge bill for it?

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I think that in my naive way of thinking (since I've never had a relative take one of our kids for a week), I'd try to focus on the positive aspects of the time that they spent together. Let the chiropracter's visit be a small part of it. But that's me and as I said, I've never been in a situation even remotely close to this.

wow, I'm sorry Grandma is like this. I really don't know what to say about the nose deal. I don't know if I would have been willing to send her off alone again if my Mother or in your case your Mother in law took my 13 yo to get her nose pierced, Sounds like a lot of disrespect for you and your dh.But I really think Grandma was trying to be helpful with the therapist tho, Your DD was complaining ( maybe don;t know yet if that was the case or not ) and Grandma didn't want her in any pain so she wanted to take her to a doctor for help. Maybe the Grandma didn't know they would do any readjustments and thought they might just give her a RX for the pain. You said you and your husband are going down there tomorrow night, maybe you could go by that doctors office and find out just how she did get her into treatment w/o your permission, I'm betting it's because your MIL has already been there in the past and they know her. Hope the adjustment doesn't mess things up with the other doctor back home. Maybe you could swing by the office before leaving and give all the information to her doctor , have that doctor call the one in FLA to see just what was done.
Good Luck with the visit hope all goes well.

I would be furious if MIL tried to take DD to get het nose pierced...and I wouldn't let her stay there alone again. But that's water over the dam. As far as the chiroprator goes, MIL should have called to discus it with you before taking DD in. If you agreed, you could have faxed a signed authorization to her or the doctor.

I'm not confrontational, but I'd let MIL know how I felt. What does DH think?

I would have already called and spoke with the grandmother. I wouldn't waste any time mulling it over - I'd call and get my answers.

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I just had to rewrite this lil story. Please execuse me for this.
Grandma>this kid is soooooo ugly the only thing that will improve her is a nose ring so she forced the kid to the mall tied her up and was sooooo disappointed that they wouldn't help this child improve her looks.
Truth>Kid bugged grandma soooo much that grandma took kid to mall knowing tha it was impossible to get a nose ring but that it would shut kid up.
Year 2 Grandma This kid needs her legs fixed and parents won't help so I will take her to the holy lands at the drs office and have this neglected childs legs miraculously repaired.
Truth>Kid bugged grandma sooo much about the leg pain that grandma to them to chiro for help.
Year 3> Grandma takes kid to plastic surgeon for full body makeover
Truth> Kid whines I'm ugly nobody likes me.
As you can probably figure I have been a grandma for a number of years and this is how it works in the real world.

I started taking my son to a Chiropracter for relief in allergies earlier this month.

I DID have to sign a statement as his parent, allowing my minor child to be treated.

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I know when my kids were out of state with my in-laws, my son had to go to the orthodontist because a bracket fell off. We did not give any written authorization for anything (and honestly, never thought about it). I know the papers asked "who is financially responsible" and *that* person had to be there to sign and pay. My in-laws put themselves down. They don't ask if you are the legal guardian. I know my chiro is the same. I just filled out new paperwork on my son to *update the files* and they only ask who is going to pay for it. You sign a form authorizing as the adult in care of the minor but it doesn't say you have to be the "guardian" or "parent". Perhaps the forms are similar at grandma's chiro?

I would be mad at grandma but I agree with poster above a bit. Is your child bugging grandma to death about things while she's visiting and grandma is just trying to help and/or appease? I know my kids are spoiled at grandmas and kids have a wonderful way of being overly dramatic about things. Have you asked your DD about it? Was she complaining and/or asking to get help?

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I love your sense of humor! There's more truth in this than a person would care to admit.

Well DH did call his mom and the first thing she said was I don't want to hear it. DD was not complaining. Grandmother was getting a treatment by doctor and telling him about DD knee. Grandmother then asked doctor to work on her and he did. Grandmother paid for treatment. We will be going by the Dr. office to see the paperwork from what he did to her and bring a copy back to DD doctor. DH told mother never ever do something like that again without calling us. But as some of you know you have MIL and mothers just like this one and I think you know what I mean. Thanks for the comments they help dealing with things like this. Good or bad I read them all.

Well, hopefully things aren't screwed up. Good to know it wasn't your DD pressuring grandma and yes, I thing we all know people like your MIL who will do what they want when they want too.

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I, too, can see and appreciate your sense of humor. However, your real world must be much different than mine. I am not a grandmother, but I work with teenagers every day. There is no way I would let a teenager manipulate me the way you imply.

This reminds me of the two "grandmoms" DD and I saw in JCPenney. DD was trying on some shorts, and she came out of the dressing room, and I told her "no, those are too short". DD of course huffed and puffed and rolled her eyes, and I, of course told her "I don't care how much you huff and puff, you are NOT getting those shorts!!!!" Back in the dressing room she went. Well, one of these ladies said to me "I thought they looked cute. If that was my granddaughter, I would buy them for her". Shopping with DD is stressful anyway, and this woman pushed my buttons......I hauled off and told her "well, I don't want my daughter walking around dressed like a slut". In my book, Mom trumps the Grandmom

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I guess I just don't see it as a big deal. But then again, I trusted my mom and do trust my MIL to do what they feel is right for my kids. I would never send them if I didn't (not that my MIL has ever offered to keep them). I'm sorry you and your dh don't have that kind of relationship w/ his mother.

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Boy, you said it!! I know from dealing with my health problems. If I was in therapy and seeing a specialized doctor and therapist for my neck problems and all of a sudden I went to a chiropractor who 'made adjustments', there would be some serious problems. I know my therapist and doctor know my situation and know the problems. This chiropractor makes adjustments on a child's knee without even having medical records in front of him?? He could have made some problems even worse. No x-rays? You don't just go jerking on knees and not know the full extent of the problem with the knee. I just hope this chiro hasn't made your daughter's problem worse. I would definitely take her to her therapist and doctor as soon as she gets home and have them take some x-rays and give her a thorough checkup on that knee. And then I'd send THAT bill to grandma!!

I do think it's a big deal. Your daughter is under the care of someone else for this issue, and it's something that if done wrong could really screw things up for her for a long time - perhaps permanently.

My IL's are similar to this. I do generally trust them and don't think they'd do anything that they would believe would harm our kids, but they are far more into homeopathy than I am and are convinced of the merits of some of their remedies and 'worry' about our kids taking 'chemicals' from doctors when they get sick. I think if they were keeping our kids and one of them got the sniffles they'd see it as an opportunity to help us understand how their remedies work and are superior, and would give them some juice mix rather than take them in to be seen by a Dr.. They're not manipulative by nature - they're just true believers in their methods and wish we were, too!

Well, I hope that your DD will be OK and not end up having any major problems due to this. I believe that the Grandmother probably thought she was helping, but regardless...She should have called you and asked for permission to have the girl treated by this doctor...She was really overstepping her bounds...When I got DD home, I'd have a long talk with her about this...Tell her to make sure she calls you if Grandmom ever wants to do something like this again...The next time (if there is one) Grandmom might take her to get her belly button pierced or a tattoo! I'm sure Grandmom loves DD, but the bottom line is that she is YOUR child...not the MIL's!...I would be mad as hell too! ~Lisa

I know from working with PT, OT, & ST, they dont like chiro and chiro dont like therapists. So I am sure when you tell the PT that she went to a chiro they will freak!. If for two years in a row she has done things you dont approve of will you be sending her there next year? Maybe you can have the MIL visit you all and that way she can visit with your daughter and you all can kind of supervise what is going on. hope you all can work things out.

steph

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Too bad your MIL wasn't even apologetic for it knowing it upset you and dh. I guess my point of view is, I would NOT send my child back by herself to stay with the grandmother. It's obvious, she will do what she wants, regardless of how you feel. She's proven in the past, with the nose piercing, that she will not call and get permission from you.
I hope your dd's knee is ok and not sustained further damage.

I agree, your MIL has proven that she is going to do what she pleases with YOUR child when she pleases, so don't give her an opportunity to be alone like this with your child again. A lot of these MILs 'just try to help', well that's the excuse they use, but really they are trying to trump the (usually) DIL's wishes. Or maybe they are just trying to play mommy again, I don't know; I have a MIL like this too. We do not allow them this sort of access to our kids because of her stunts (only once with my kids--she showed up at my dd's school trying to gain access to her--but numerous with the other grandkids that we've witnessed). For instance, my MIL took my niece that was visiting them for a few weeks one summer and 1). got her glasses! and then 2). got her long, beautiful hair cut completely off (looked horrible) without contacting either of her parents (they are divorced and BIL has custody--this is their former son-in-law). The little girl was only 9 or 10 at the time. Same MIL also signed other niece (different SIL's kid) up for MIL's 'preferred' preschool without her parents' permission, just to name one incident. We can't trust her after seeing these numerous things. Now, about the kids begging for this sort of thing, this is where grandma should have been the adult and explained to the child that "I can not do these things without your parents' permission", rinse and repeat. This is much more serious than buying a pair of jeans or shirt that the child wants/begs for (that I would of course let go and not even bother to bring up). My niece on my side stays with us a lot and I would never even give her tylenol without calling her parents unless it was an emergency and I couldn't get in touch with the parents. Just really sounds like your MIL can't respect boundaries (did I mention my MIL is just like that?!). If she truly is clueless, she needs to get one quickly before she endangers one of the grandkids.

I think you actually probably have legal rights here, and I am not sue happy, never have sued anyone or been sued, etc. There are very strict laws regarding the treatment of minors. Of course you would have to be willing to take suit against MIL also or the suit probably wouldn't stick against the Dr. I would certainly be down there though having a word with the Dr. It might save another child from this stunt in the future if nothing else. I will be willing to bet that your MIL happily signed herself up as Guardian of your child. Maybe she understands what she signed, maybe not (even sader if she didn't actually understand the paperwork she signed--or you really have the Dr. if she didn't sign a waiver at all). MIL needs to be told that 'Guardian' does not refer to having a child visiting for a few weeks; it is referring to a legal guardian of course. Personally, I wouldn't give her the opportunity to be alone with your child again. Especially after her response when your husband called her. She has given you yet another red flag waving high for all to see it...