One of the more under-reported types of medical negligence in this country occurs when a health care provider errors in the administration of radiation therapy.  Radiation mistakes generally occur in two ways:  (1) a patient receives radiation doses to the wrong part of the body; or (2) a patient receives radiation exposure several times higher than was originally prescribed.  Many of these injuries occur when a patient undergoes a radiology study such as a CT scan.  In that circumstance, many of these errors were clearly preventable as the cause for the radiation error was a software glitch or the technician's negligence in properly calibrating the machine.  The end result with any of these types of errors is often severe burns or injuries, or even death.  Last month, the New York Times published a special report in which investigators documented previously undisclosed instances of radiation errors within New  York State.  That study found that between 2001 and 2008, 621 radiation mistakes were reported.  Unfortunately, as set forth in that report, evidence suggested that this number likely reflects a gross under-reporting of radiation errors because there was no uniform enforcement protocol governing health care providers' reporting of such errors.  Sadly, this under-reporting of radiation errors does not appear to be limited to New York. 

At STSW, our lawyers have extensive experience dealing with radiation error cases.  If you or a loved one has been the victim of a radiation error, call our Baltimore, Maryland-based legal team for a free consultation.