Widow of man killed in New York MRI accident sues radiology providers
The widow of a man killed in a high-profile MRI accident last summer has now sued the radiology providers involved, seeking unspecified damages.
Adrienne Jones McAllister and her attorneys first filed the complaint on Tuesday in in the Nassau County Supreme Court. The suit comes after her husband, 61-year-old Keith McAllister, died in July due to injuries stemming from him entering the imaging suite during an exam.
Mrs. McAllister, of Hempstead, New York, was reportedly being examined for a knee problem, and a technologist purportedly told the man to come help her off the table. Mr. McAllister was wearing a 20-pound weight-training necklace at the time and was sucked into the scanner upon entering.
The incident occurred at Nassau Open MRI, which is named as one of the defendants, Newsday reported April 7. Plaintiff attorney Ben Crump and colleagues claim the facility was negligent and careless during the exam, allowing unsafe conditions on the premise and failing to implement proper patient protections.
“This horrific and entirely preventable tragedy underscores the critical importance of safety protocols in medical facilities,” Crump said in August after he was hired by the family. “Keith McAllister should be alive today. No one, especially someone simply accompanying their loved one, should be exposed to fatal danger in a medical setting.”
Mrs. McAllister said she has suffered severe and serious personal, psychological and emotional injuries after the incident, according to the complaint. These include “permanent effects of pain, disability, disfigurement and loss of body function.”
Nassau Open MRI, located in Westbury, New York, did not immediately respond to a Newsday request for comment. Others named as defendants include East Coast Radiology PC, which had a contract allowing the freestanding facility to use its MRI machine, and others who own and operate the real estate.
As reported by Radiology Business last year, the incident first occurred on July 16 in Long Island. Mr. McAllister upon entering the suite was abruptly pulled into the scanner by his chain. Reports indicated he was pinned to the machine for an hour, suffering at least one heart attack during that time. He was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition and later succumbed to his injuries the following day.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.