An Oklahoma woman has been charged with workers' compensation fraud after claiming to have developed a thyroid condition after being exposed to radiation as part of her job as a medical assistant.
Rixa Jeaton Miller, a former medical assistant at Rehabilitation Physicians of Oklahoma, claimed to have been exposed to medical radiation while assisting with a fluoroscopy procedure. She said that she was provided with an x-ray gown but not a thyroid guard during the procedure.
Miller said she developed an enlarged thyroid and weight gain as a result of the exposure, but an investigation by the state attorney general's Workers Compensation and Insurance Fraud Unit found that she misrepresented information to both a doctor and the workers' compensation court.
For example, medical records indicate that Miller had been treated for an enlarged thyroid years before the incident, after initially claiming that she had no history of the disease. Miller's coworkers also said their employer would not have allowed anyone to assist with medical procedures without wearing a thyroid guard.
Miller is being charged with two counts of workers' compensation fraud. If convicted, she could face seven years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 for each count.
