The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has reported that the blame for last year's radiation overdoses were the result of improper CT Scan machine operation. So, who should pay for patient injuries – hospitals who didn't use the machines correctly or the manufacturers who didn't provide adequate training?
Several CT scan radiation overdose lawsuits have been filed around the country by patients who may have received hundreds, or thousands, times the amount of radiation used in a standard CT scan. Many of those patients have suffered brain damage or have an increased risk of suffering brain damage in the future. Others have suffered radiation overdose side effects such as nausea, weight loss, tissue destruction and more.
Although the FDA's investigation places blame on improper CT use by hospital staff and hospital malpractice, the question of liability still remains as companies such as GE Healthcare and Toshiba allegedly never provided proper instruction on how to use those machines. As a result, radiation overdose lawyers say that hospitals and CT scan manufacturers may share in that responsibility.
That question is now being debated – especially after a recently reported $7.5 million radiation overdose settlement with an Illinois family whose loved one died after receiving double the amount of radiation on nearly 20 different occasions. However, since the effects of radiation overdose may not appear for decades in most people, that question remains unanswered.
For now, the FDA has sent letters to manufacturer trade groups proposing a series of modifications to CT scanners in order to provide better training and clearer instructions to CT scan technicians and to equip machines with monitors and alarms that would warn technicians when radiation levels become unsafe.