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Chandler v. Multidata Systems International Corp.5/10/2005
Opinion Vote: AFFIRMED.
Mooney, P.J., and Hoff, J., concur.
Opinion:
Natacha Chandler, along with a number of persons exposed to excess radiation and survivors of persons who died as a result of excess radiation, almost all of whom are Panamanian residents and citizens (collectively "Plaintiffs"), appeal the judgment of the trial court dismissing their claims against Multidata Systems International Corp., Inc. ("Multidata"), and Theratronics International Limited, MDS (Canada), Inc., MDS Nordion, and MDS, Inc. (collectively "Canadian Defendants") for forum non conveniens. We affirm.
Between August and December 2000, Plaintiffs (or their decedents) received radiation therapy from the Instituto Oncológico Nacional ("ION" ;) (translated as the "National Oncology Institute"), which is located in Panama City, Panama. During this time, they were over-exposed to radiation, resulting in injuries and several deaths. Once the effects of the over-radiation surfaced, the government of Panama requested an investigation into the over-radiation by the International Atomic Energy Association ("IAEA"), which included a panel of several international experts and a number of Panamanian supporting experts. The IAEA published a report explaining its understanding of the events leading to the over-radiation ("IAEA Report").
In October 2001, the injured patients and the survivors of deceased patients, totaling 112 persons, brought an action in St. Louis County, Missouri, against Multidata, a Delaware corporation whose principal place of business is in St. Louis County, and Canadian Defendants, which are all Canadian corporations, for lost chance of recovery or survival, wrongful death, and negligence due to Multidata's and the Canadian Defendants' alleged defective radiation therapy products. In particular, Plaintiffs alleged that Multidata negligently manufactured and sold a computer-operated treatment system known as the Treatment Planning System ("TPS") and that the Canadian Defendants negligently manufactured and sold a Cobalt 60 Theratron 780C Teletherapy Unit ("Theratron Unit"), both of which were used by the radiation oncology team to administer radiation therapy at the ION.
According to the IAEA report, the TPS is designed to calculate dosage times where the radiation oncology team uses up to four shielding blocks to protect a patient's healthy tissue and organs while administering radiation to the cancerous tissue. At some point, one of the radiation oncologists decided to add a fifth block during treatment. The oncologist asked the physicists to enter data regarding the fifth block into the TPS to calculate a new dosage in light of the added block. However, because the TPS is not equipped to calculate a dosage where five blocks are used, the physicists re-configured the entry of data to make it appear to the TPS that the five blocks were actually one single block. As a result, the TPS miscalculated the amount of radiation a patient would actually receive during a therapy session and prescribed a greater number of therapy sessions than the patient should have been given. Ultimately, one of the radiation oncologists and all three physicists on the radiation oncology team at the ION lost their licenses to practice for life. In addition, two of the three physicists were criminally convicted in Panama of negligent homicide due to their roles in the over-radiation.
In response to Plaintiffs' petition, Multidata and the Canadian Defendants moved to dismiss the action under the doctrine of forum non conveniens on the basis that Panama is a more convenient forum. After extensive discovery, including depositions of several experts, the court held
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