Man dies after CT scan delay, and the FAA mulls fines for Radiology Corp. of America
by Brendon Nafziger, DOTmed News Associate Editor | November 22, 2010
Radiology news from around the world for Nov. 22.
Woman sues radiologist for mammo errors
A Montreal woman is suing her radiologist for nearly a quarter of a million dollars after two mammograms failed to detect malignant lumps in her breasts, the Toronto Sun reports.
"I don't want others to live through what I did," said Micheline Lalonde, a 66-year-old retired nurse, who is suing her radiologist for $235,000.
In 2006 and 2007, Lalonde underwent mammograms and was told by her doctor her results were normal. But last year, she noticed a lump on her right breast. Subsequent testing confirmed she had cancer in both breasts, and the disease had metastasized.
Lalonde later had a partial mastectomy and chemotherapy. She now wears a prosthesis on her damaged right arm, and says her "life expectancy has been shortened so much by this."
In July, the Quebec College of Physicians ordered the radiologist to no longer perform mammograms. Separately, the college launched a probe into 15,000 mammograms performed by a radiologist in three Quebec clinics. However, a similar review of mammograms four years ago found no problems with the readings.
Man dies after CT scan delay
The daughter of an Irish man who died last year from brain hemorrhaging after a car crash asked three times for a CT scan of her father before he was dismissed from the hospital without seeing a doctor, according to an account heard at a coroner's court in Dublin.
After arriving at St. James's Hospital A&E in Dublin on September 18 last year after a two-car collision, Daniel O'Brien, 77, who had left knee pain, was told by a nurse practitioner there were no objective signs of head injury, and discharged, the Herald reports.
O'Brien returned the next day complaining of head pain and nausea, and later died.
The paper reported that the man, who was on the anti-clotting drug warfarin, received a CT scan two and a half hours later, although an urgent scan is usually done within an hour.
The jury brought a verdict of accidental death, but recommended amending protocols for elderly patients on anti-coagulation drugs with suspected head injuries, and a review of CT scan ordering procedures on the weekends at St. James's Hospital, the Irish Times said.
FAA mulls fines for Radiology Corp. of America
The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a $168,000 civil penalty against Radiology Corporation of America Inc., a Delray Beach, Fla.-based mobile provider of PET/CT imaging, for allegedly attempting to ship hazardous material without properly declaring it.
In a statement posted on its website, the FAA said Radiology Corp. checked baggage with Delta Airlines in Atlanta on Feb. 6, 2010, without correctly labeling that the fiberboard box contained a soldering iron with liquid butane fuel, a flammable gas.
The FAA said Delta employees discovered the package and prevented it from being loaded onto the plane. Radiology Corp. has thirty days to respond to the notice, the FAA said.
Woman sues radiologist for mammo errors
A Montreal woman is suing her radiologist for nearly a quarter of a million dollars after two mammograms failed to detect malignant lumps in her breasts, the Toronto Sun reports.
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In 2006 and 2007, Lalonde underwent mammograms and was told by her doctor her results were normal. But last year, she noticed a lump on her right breast. Subsequent testing confirmed she had cancer in both breasts, and the disease had metastasized.
Lalonde later had a partial mastectomy and chemotherapy. She now wears a prosthesis on her damaged right arm, and says her "life expectancy has been shortened so much by this."
In July, the Quebec College of Physicians ordered the radiologist to no longer perform mammograms. Separately, the college launched a probe into 15,000 mammograms performed by a radiologist in three Quebec clinics. However, a similar review of mammograms four years ago found no problems with the readings.
Man dies after CT scan delay
The daughter of an Irish man who died last year from brain hemorrhaging after a car crash asked three times for a CT scan of her father before he was dismissed from the hospital without seeing a doctor, according to an account heard at a coroner's court in Dublin.
After arriving at St. James's Hospital A&E in Dublin on September 18 last year after a two-car collision, Daniel O'Brien, 77, who had left knee pain, was told by a nurse practitioner there were no objective signs of head injury, and discharged, the Herald reports.
O'Brien returned the next day complaining of head pain and nausea, and later died.
The paper reported that the man, who was on the anti-clotting drug warfarin, received a CT scan two and a half hours later, although an urgent scan is usually done within an hour.
The jury brought a verdict of accidental death, but recommended amending protocols for elderly patients on anti-coagulation drugs with suspected head injuries, and a review of CT scan ordering procedures on the weekends at St. James's Hospital, the Irish Times said.
FAA mulls fines for Radiology Corp. of America
The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a $168,000 civil penalty against Radiology Corporation of America Inc., a Delray Beach, Fla.-based mobile provider of PET/CT imaging, for allegedly attempting to ship hazardous material without properly declaring it.
In a statement posted on its website, the FAA said Radiology Corp. checked baggage with Delta Airlines in Atlanta on Feb. 6, 2010, without correctly labeling that the fiberboard box contained a soldering iron with liquid butane fuel, a flammable gas.
The FAA said Delta employees discovered the package and prevented it from being loaded onto the plane. Radiology Corp. has thirty days to respond to the notice, the FAA said.
