Firm's Lawsuit Against Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa Makes Major Headlines
After receiving 50 percent more radiation than what was prescribed to him by his doctors due to improperly calibrated equipment at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in 2004, John Graham is now confined to a wheelchair and his right arm is paralyzed. Tomas Gamba of Gamba & Lombana is representing Mr. Graham and his wife Pauline in a lawsuit against Moffitt. Reports about the suit appeared in The St. Petersburg Times and The Tampa Tribune on Aug. 26th, the day after it was filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court.
A St. Petersburg Times article from April 2005 first reported that 77 patients had been exposed to excessive radiation levels for nearly a year because a machine was improperly calibrated and installed at the center. Federal inspectors detected the error in March 2005, about 10 months after the machine was installed to treat patients with brain tumors and malformations. The inspectors determined that the machine was administering radiation doses that were 50 percent more powerful than what was prescribed. Regulations required the center to have a second physicist independently verify the calibrations upon installation, but the suit alleges that the verification was never completed.
In the article from the St Petersburg Times about the suit, the firm's Tomas Gamba explains that Graham has been diagnosed with radiation necrosis, which is the death of cells that control movement and body functions due to extensive radiation. Although Moffitt has conceded the mistake, it continues to deny that it caused Mr. Graham any harm. The suit is currently pending in Tampa.