The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

According to the FDA, there are about 150,000 CT brain perfusion scans done each year in the U.S. They are done to diagnose strokes. These are not ordinary CT scans. The patient is given an iodine injection first and then for 45 seconds, a long series of X-rays are taken that gives a detailed image of the brain’s blood flow. There is therefore more radiation administered in these scans than in routine CT scans.

The FDA is doing an investigation into some possible radiation overdoses at two hospitals: one in California and one in Alabama. In August 2009 there was a similar investigation into eleven Cedars-Sinai facilities in Los Angeles county and that review is finished now.

The current possible California overdoses were found by L.A. county safety inspectors who reported them to the FDA last week. They were at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and the CT scanners were made by Toshiba. Previous scanners were made by General Electric.

Possibly a Nationwide Problem

The fact that two manufacturers and several medical institutions are involved is giving rise to the suspicion that this problem may be nationwide. The case in Alabama involved a 59-year-old woman who had a CT brain perfusion scan in September at Huntsville Hospital and then developed a bald strip around her head where the X-rays had entered. The scan determined that she had not had a stroke, but her medical records evidently show that she was given too much radiation, even more than was given at the Cedars-Sinai centers.

This week, the FDA asked hospitals nationwide to review their radiation dosage guidelines for these CT perfusion scans and to train their CT technicians to check the scanner’s display panel for dosage data before they begin any scan.

Physicians are not the only professionals who can be charged with medical malpractice. X-ray technicians can be thus charged, as well as nurses, physician assistants and even the hospitals themselves.

If you have been injured by a medical professional who was possibly negligent in doing their job, you may have a valid legal claim. Please contact our medical malpractice attorneys today for a free case review.

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