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CA Governor Signs Radiation Overdose Bill into Law
In a statement issued by Consumer Attorneys of California, one of the Cedars patients, Michael Heuser, said the new law "should serve as a foundation for legislation nationwide. Congress needs to step in and use its power to ensure that that these sort of tragic mishaps don?t ever happen again."
The statement says that Heuser was labeled 'Patient 1' after he became the first to report troubles to health care officials. "He was bombarded by at least 8 times the allowable radiation dose, a level equivalent to 50,000 chest X-rays. Heuser had to fight with recalcitrant hospital officials to learn that he had been overdosed during the scan."
In a statement last month after the bill passed the state Assembly, its author State Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), said the legislation "will provide physicians the information they need to track dosage levels and prevent patients from receiving overdoses of
radiation."
See also:
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Cedars-Sinai Over CT Radiation Overdose
Cedars-Sinai Offers to Pay Medical Costs For Patients Overexposed to CT Radiation
Cedars-Sinai Caused Immediate Jeopardy in CT Scanner Case, Say State Officials
Cheryl Clark is senior quality editor and California correspondent for HealthLeaders Media. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists.
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Comments are moderated. Please be patient.
Mike Hanley (10/1/2010 at 10:30 PM)
www.xrayrisk.com has more info on radiation and cancer risk including an online calculator that lets you calculate radiation dose and estimate cancer risk from CT scans, x-rays and procedures.