Florida Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Blog

Life Saving Radiation Treatment Turned Lethal, Part 2 | Tampa Medical Negligence Lawyer

What: medical negligence | over-radiation of patient | mis-calibrated machine
Who: untrained technician | imaging technician
Where: Tampa Florida

A technician's responsibility is immense. As the person most responsible for safeguarding the patient's safety during testing, they make sure an optimal radiation dose is delivered. They are also required to make certain that new machines are set up properly, day to day warm-up checks are performed, as well as monthly and annual assessments, and that patient treatments are managed, as prescribed.

According to a New York Times article, at least 16 states and the District of Columbia do not require licensing or registration for medical physicists. "States can be either very tough or very lax," said Dr. Paul E. Wallner, a director of the American Board of Radiology.

Imaging technicians in eight states are permitted to perform testing other than mammographies with no credentials or educational requirements. Robert Pizzutiello, a medical physicist in New York believes all medical physicists should be licensed. He reports, in those states, "you could drive a truck in the morning and operate an X-ray in the afternoon."

The article reports that in 2005, inspectors from the Radiological Physics Center visited the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. The Times article stated they discovered a mis-calibrated machine that had over-radiated 77 brain cancer patients by 50 percent.

Florida is considered to be more stringent in terms of fining radiotherapy units for substandard care, but problems exist here, too. Dr. Geoffrey Ibbott, Director of the federally financed Physics Center believes this problem could be alleviated through proper processes. He stated errors, such as the one at Moffitt, would be much less likely to have occurred if, every time a new piece of radiation therapy equipment were installed, there was some sort of independent check.

All of this leads to a very simple question...

Is the patient receiving sub-standard care?  

While the diagnostics may have improved with the advances in technology, issues remain from unlicensed and untrained technicians, to a lack of systems that enable these hospital errors, as well as some manufacturers who are anxious to sell equipment that is still plagued with software bugs.