A negligence lawsuit filed by the parents of Michael Colombini, a 6-year-old boy who was killed during an MR scan, is scheduled to go to trial in March 2008, according to attorneys handling the case.
In 2001, Colombini was killed when an unsecured oxygen tank was pulled into the bore of the MRI unit, striking him in the head. The defendants named in the suit are Westchester Medical Center and its parent corporation, Westchester County Healthcare, both of Valhalla, NY; Dr. Terence Matalon, who was the center's chief of radiology at the time of the incident but was not present when the death occurred; two of the radiologic technologists who were present at the time of the accident; and GE Healthcare of Chalfont St. Giles, U.K. (manufacturer of the MR unit that Colombini was in).
While the medical center has admitted liability, lawyers for the Colombini family told AuntMinnie.com they are seeking actual damages as well as punitive damages for what they've termed "a fully foreseeable event."
The trial was scheduled for this week, but was delayed as defense lawyers filed motions to have the suit dismissed for lack of evidence. But the action has survived several similar motions as well as a trip to the appellate court, where justices ruled the family is allowed to seek punitive damages.
Colombini was anesthetized and placed in an MRI unit for follow-up after surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. When the boy began to suffer respiratory distress, the MRI staff tried to use the suite's built-in oxygen supply, but it failed.
Someone -- exactly who it was has become a main point of contention in the suit -- brought a portable oxygen tank into the suite. The tank was pulled into the machine's magnetic field and hit the boy in the head. He died two days later.
By Marty Graham
AuntMinnie.com contributing writer
November 15, 2007
Related Reading
Did the MRI community learn from the Colombini tragedy? July 28, 2005
The fire extinguisher in your MRI suite: will it save a life or take one? September 22, 2004
MR accident results in child's death, July 31, 2001
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