Radiation and Lawsiuts - Summary

[David Scherer <scherer@uiuc.edu>]

This posting fulfills my promise to summarize responses to my inquiry about
lawsuits against hospitals or colleges in which someone claimed a
radiation-related injury.  No on identified a single case.  Several people
referred me to the RPM article discussing the Whiting v. Pilgrim decision.
(Basically, victims cannot introduce a speculative reconstruction of dose
where a dosimetry system is in place unless they can show errors in the
measurements and/or system.)

One commentor also mentioned that injury claims for these institutions might
show up in workers compensation claims rather than in tort lawsuits.  If
anyone knows of such workers comp claims, I think the group would be interested.

Personal Observation/Opinion:  It seems to me that baseless claims are only
possible when a defendant corporation is viewed as large and uncaring.  I
cannot see a mom-and-pop cafe being ordered to pay millions of dollars to
someone who spilled hot coffee on themselves (in a moving car!)  Unfair as
it may be, justice is often about image.  It seems to me that utilities have
acquired the requisite public image (dollars for lives), while the local
hospital and college have not.  (We'll see if attitudes change.)

I also don't think the Whiting decision's test would be that useful for the
institutions I asked about.  If the dosimetry was not worn, it could not
pick up the radiation to which the worker was exposed.  This would appear to
be a measurement error.  It doesn't matter who caused the error, the
dosimetry result is flawed.  An independent dose reconstruction could be
allowed to see whether the injury was employment-related.  In most of the
institutions I have worked in have not had a vigorous enforcement mechanism
for use of dosimetry (e.g. HPs at the entries).

Regards,
Dave Scherer