Legal Case: Radiology Technician

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Medical Legal Case Working in the healthcare industry is exciting and rewarding but as with any job there are risks and liability issues. In the field of radiology, it goes beyond just taking images of whats going on in the inside of the body. Radiology Technicians have to be prepared for anything. The day can range from text book non life threatening injuries to thinking outside of the box for trauma injuries and all the while being careful to make sure the decisions you make are the best solutions for the patient. Radiology Technicians live by the ARRT Code of Ethics and Standard of Care. In the following case an older man was referred to a hospital for an air contrast lower gastrointestinal examination both the radiology technician and …show more content…

The technologist asked the patient if he was able to stand for the upright abdomen exam and the patient affirmed that he could. The radiology technician positioned the patient against the wall bucky, and as the technologist walked to the control panel, the patient collapsed and hit his head on the floor. The patient was taken to the operating room, where a neurosurgeon evacuated the hematoma. A malpractice lawsuit against the radiologist, the radiology technologist, and the hospital. The lawsuit alleged that the patient had sustained a “serious head injury with permanent sequelae” (Berlin, par3) because the defendants had failed to provide a standard of care in allowing the patient to stand alone without support of personnel during a radiologic examination that consisted of distending the colon with air and barium to such degree that sudden loss of consciousness should have been anticipated. The radiologist and radiology technician violated Section A, Code of ethics number 4, 5 and 6 which states, “4. the radiologic technologist practices technology founded upon theoretical knowledge and concepts, uses equipment and accessories consistent with the purposes for which they were designed and employs procedures and techniques …show more content…

Instead that it was the duty of the radiology technician to assess the patient and get additional assistance when necessary. A radiology expert witness retained by the plaintiff criticized each of the defendants. “The expert testified in a deposition that the hospital should have provided at least one other person to assist the technologist so that the patient would not have to stand unassisted. The expert also charged that the technologist acted improperly by permitting the patient to stand alone and that the technologist should have requested additional help. The expert criticized the defendant radiologist for not remaining in the room to supervise the technologist until the entire examination had been completed. The expert stated that the radiologist had a duty to appropriately supervise the actions of the technologist and that his failure to do so constituted a breach of the standard of care” (Berlin, par. 4). However, an expert radiologist retained by the defense supported the actions of the defendant radiologist, testifying that the hospital should be the one to determine how many technologists and how much assistance was needed for conducting lower gastrointestinal examinations. The expert for the defense agreed that it was the responsibility of the radiologist to

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