Attorneys Reach $2 Million Settlement in Malpractice Suit Involving Misapplied Radiation Therapy

By Daniel Hawn

Published on September 06, 2005

The case involved a girl from Friona, Texas who suffered from Hodgkins disease. In April 2001, she went to a treatment center in Panhandle to undergo a series of radiation therapy treatments.

Two months later, during a treatment session, members of the hospital staff applied radiation to her pelvic region rather than to her chest as they were supposed to. According to court documents, this took place again during each of the next two days and caused the girl to become sterilized.

Documents from the Texas State Department of Health Services Bureau of Radiation Control revealed that the staff was working under tight time constraints when they performed the treatments that resulted in the girl's sterilization. The report goes on to state that despite the facility's requirement that radiation therapy be supervised by a doctor, there was no physician present to supervise the girl's treatments.

According to court records, x-rays taken the same day as the last session of misapplied radiation therapy revealed the hospital's staff error.

The $2.1 million settlement will be made in payments that extend until 2033. The victim's attorney said that the girl is now undergoing hormone replacement therapy.

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