Only after more than 200 patients were overly radiated, more than 8 times the normal limit, did the Food and Drug Administration issue an alert last week warning hospitals across the country to check their CT protocols. Excessive radiation exposure increases the likelihood of cancer

There is no oversight; hospitals manipulate these machines without patients’ knowledge, mostly to get a clearer picture, while ignoring great risks to their patients. New legislation is necessary to protect patients from these abuses. Several decades has passed since the Legislature limited patients’ recovery for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases. The time to establish comprehensive patients’ rights is now.