ABSTRACT
The practicing occupational or medical health physicist is going to make numerous measurements and calculations as a part of his or her job. All invariably relate to the potential dose that a worker or patient may receive or may have received. While certain record keeping must comply with various federal regulations and specific administrative directives, this chapter will limit itself to another aspect, the practical problems involved in radiation litigation. One third of all workers or patients will develop a naturally occurring cancer. No one knows what percentage of these people will think that the past occupational or medical exposure caused their cancer and file a suit to recover substantial damages. Most such cases will be invalid due to the existing dose limitations used but some may be valid due to a high-dose accident or due to the stochastic nature of the injury. Thousands of such cases have been filed in the United States. They include people living downwind from facilities which produce or test nuclear weapons or their components, 1 people who live downwind from nuclear reactor accidents, 2 people who work at nuclear facilities, 3 people who have received medical X-rays, 4 people who work in private industries which use radioactive materials, 5 etc. Almost any situation involving radioactive materials carries the potential for future personal injury lawsuits.
