We first reported about patients being seriously overradiated while undergoing CT brain perfusion scans at Cabell Huntington Hospital in Alabama in a March 8 medical malpractice blog post. One of the patients there was alleged to have received 10 times too much radiation, while many others were similarly affected. The hospital continued to give the scans for more than a year following a national warning to medical facilities from the FDA advising of the attendant dangers.

It was unlikely that a story like that was going to go away and, indeed, there are now material developments in the matter. We update them here for our readers.

Most relevant is that the precursor to a class action lawsuit against Cabell Huntington -- namely, a notice of claim -- has been sent to the hospital, seeking a response within 30 days. If there is no response, the matter will likely go to trial.

It promises to be a dramatic event, with plaintiffs' counsel alleging that several thousands of patients could ultimately be involved.

The period of overradiation extended over a 13-month period, from October 2009 to November of last year. Various patients have already complained of suffering a wide variety of health problems from their exposure. Those symptoms include the following: feelings of burning skin, memory lapses, hair loss, headaches and nausea.

"The ball is in the hospital's court," said one of plaintiffs' attorneys.

Related Resource: Health Imaging & IT News Portals "W. Va. Law firm files over-radiation claim" March 25, 2011