Lethal Radiation Treatment Victim's Family to Get $15 Million in Settlement

 Posted on October 19, 2013 in Defective Medical Devices

It was recently reported in Insurance Journal that a $15 million radiation treatment lawsuit settlement was finalized. The lawsuit was filed by the family of Zacarias Chichioco, Jr., who died in 2011, against Varian Medical Systems Inc. and physicians affiliated with the Pacific Cancer Institute in Wailuku, Hawaii.

According to the article, the victim was diagnosed with lung cancer in February 2008. He was being treated by Dr. Daryl Makishi, a doctor at the Pacific Institute. Dr. Makishi developed a treatment plan of radiation treatments for his patient. Chichioco received 35 radiation treatments delivered through a linear accelerator which was developed by Varian Medical Systems.

Very quickly after beginning these treatments, Chichioco began hallucinating and had pain when swallowing. He also suffered hearing loss and the left side of his face became paralyzed. He was operated on for skin grafts in the hopes to alleviate these symptoms, but nothing worked.

Finally it was discovered that Chichioco had received more than 2.5 times the correct amount of radiation from this defective medical device during the first 21 treatments, causing all these severe injuries. The family's attorneys discovered that even though manufacturer Varian discovered a programming error in their product in 2007 and provided Pacific Cancer with updated software, they never provided the facility with documentation explaining how to avoid that error.

The family's attorney said that after being left in such a weaken condition after receiving the almost-lethal doses of radiation, as well as the severe injuries that Chichioco suffered through, he lost all trust in the medical field and refused treatment. Although Chichioco passed away in May 2011 from the lung cancer, his family feels that the over-radiation contributed to his death.

If you or a family member has received injuries caused by a defective medical device, you need an Illinois attorney who specializes in medical cases. Contact our defective medical product lawyers today to find out what compensation you may be entitled to for pain and loss you've suffered.