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Senior vice president of hospital operations John Duff said he believes the overradiation was caused in 2004 when “the CoxHealth chief physicist responsible for initially measuring the strength of the radiation beam and gathering the data used to calibrate the equipment chose the wrong measurement device.”  The error was discovered last September when a second physicist was being trained on the system.

CoxHealth president and CEO Robert Bezanson said the hospital reported the problem to the national hospital accreditation agency, but they weren’t required to do so.  “There is no federal agency, nor is there any agency in the state of Missouri that requires reporting of radiation overexposure,” he said.

John Duff said he wants that to change:  “We are going to reach out to the [U.S.] Food and Drug Administration, even though there is no one there to disclose to, offering our support of their initiatives to strengthen radiation reporting and safety.  We also will attempt to work with our lawmakers and other hospitals that have been faced with similar situations to see how we can be a part of the solution to prevent this from happening to other hospitals and patients in the future.”

The New York Times reported:

The overdoses in Springfield echoed what occurred at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., where a similar commissioning error resulted in 77 brain cancer patients’ receiving 50 percent more radiation than prescribed in 2004 and 2005.  The failure of medical facilities to properly commission new radiological equipment was cited as a concern last November by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

An ongoing series from the Times, under lead reporter Walt Bogdanich, has put medical overradiation in the national spotlight.

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Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), speaking at the Feb. 25 health care summit called by President Obama, took on some of the misstatements about medical malpractice litigation that have been spread by supporters of so-called “tort reform.”  The video of Durbin’s entire speech is viewable above.  Here are some excerpts of his remarks:

Before I was elected to Congress, I worked in a courtroom.  For years, I defended doctors and hospitals, and for years I sued them on behalf of people who were victims of medical malpractice.  So I’ve sat at both tables in a courtroom.

…[A]s you lose accountability for what the doctors and hospitals are doing, more people will die — 4,800 a year, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s reference to this study….

But let me tell you what, limiting the recovery for pain and suffering for someone who is entitled — entitled because they’re innocent victims — to be paid isn’t eliminating junk lawsuits.

…If you were asked a basic question:  Over the last 20 years, has the number of paid malpractice claims in America doubled or been cut in half?  If you listen to most people here, you’d say it must have doubled.  No.  According to the Kaiser Foundation, they’ve been cut in half.

Oh, but how much — how about the money that’s being paid for these malpractice claims?  Clearly, that’s gone through the roof.  No.  Between 2003 and 2008, the total amount paid for malpractice claims in America was cut in half from $8 billion to $4 billion.

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“Toyota reviewing U.S. report of Prius with stuck gas pedal” — Business Week, 3/9/10

“Toyota workers raised safety concerns with bosses in 2006 memo” — Los Angeles Times, 3/8/10

“Millions of Toyotas recalled, none in Japan”  –  New York Times, 3/6/10

“Lawmakers want Toyota to disclose results of electronics tests” — Los Angeles Times, 3/6/10

“Toyota’s fix is a bust, owners claim” — Los Angeles Times, 3/3/10

“Toyota sued over August crash that killed CHP officer and three family members” — Los Angeles Times, 3/3/10

“Toyota executives lobbied Japan for safety changes” — Bloomberg News, 3/2/10

“Senate panel calls NHTSA response to Toyota safety issues ‘deeply troubling’” — Los Angeles Times, 3/2/10

“Toyota’s enablers” — Ralph Nader in the Los Angeles Times, 2/28/10

At least 56 people have died in Toyota accidents in which sudden acceleration has been alleged — Los Angeles Times, 2/28/10

“Lawmakers just getting started on scrutiny of Toyota” — Los Angeles Times, 2/28/10

“Toyota accused of withholding data” — New York Times, 2/26/10

“Lawmakers just getting started on scrutiny of Toyota” — Los Angeles Times, 2/26/10

“Toyota president apologizes for safety lapses” — Los Angeles Times, 2/25/10

“Toyota grilled over lobbying efforts, ties to regulators” — National Law Journal, 2/25/10

“In Congress, Toyota Chief Takes ‘Full Responsibility’”– New York Times, 2/24/10

“Toyota’s president is likely to learn what other corporate kings have when appearing at congressional hearings” — Los Angeles Times, 2/24/10

“Electronics could be a factor in Toyota’s sudden acceleration” — Los Angeles Times, 2/24/10

“Toyota unsure how to solve safety issues” — Washington Post, 2/24/10

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Litigation has not only advanced public safety, but has encouraged improvement in products almost too numerous to mention: air bags, seat belts, child safety seats, tires, minivan doors, hot water vaporizers, children’s pajamas, farm machinery, firearms, building materials, tobacco products, intra-uterine contraceptive devices, tampons, sleeping pills, anti-depressants, pain medication, appetite suppressants and many more. Toyota is just another sign of how much work remains to be done.

Robinson and Calcagnie point out how lawsuits have helped regulatory agencies gain access to critical information that companies are reluctant to share, and further how regulators with reduced budgets and staffs are having an increasingly hard time keeping up with the products they are charged with regulating.  You can read the entire commentary by Robinson and Calcagnie here.

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