It’s a problem we’ve blogged about many times before – patients receiving mega-doses of radiation from CT scans and other medical imaging.
There are several dimensions to this problem. One, these potentially lethal machines are being operated by under-trained and under-educated technicians who don’t understand all of their dangers. Two (and perhaps most importantly), the manufacturers of these machines, including General Electric and other companies, have defectively designed them, failing to implement any kind of failsafe mechanisms that would prevent technicians from administering radiation doses that would kill an elephant.
Thankfully, The New York Times’ Walt Bogdanich has not let up on this story and last weekend, published another follow-up piece. The piece details just how badly designed some of these CT machines are. As one victim of radiation overdose told Bogdanich, when a truck backs up, “it goes ‘beep, beep, beep.’ If you fill up the washing machine too much, it won’t work. [But on a CT scan] there is no red light that says your irradiating too much.”
Let’s hope these defective machines get re-designed and soon.

This blog is maintained by the Boston products liability lawyers at The Law Office of Alan H. Crede.