(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Actor Chuck Norris, star of Walker, Texas Ranger, is suing medical device manufacturers for more than $10 million saying that gadolinium, a chemical that is used in MRI scans, poisoned his wife, Gena Norris.
“Gadolinium is a metal found in so-called contrast agents used in many MRIs,” says the Associated Press. “Studies have shown it is retrained by organs such as the brain, bones, and skin.”
The lawsuit claims that the gadolinium left her feeling weak, tired, in pain, and feeling burning sensations.
According to the American College of Radiology, gadolinium-based contrast agents have been used since the late 1980s in over 300 million patients for diagnostics and treatment. It is considered to provide “crucial, life-saving medical information,” the university states.
Cutter Law, who is representing Norris in the lawsuit, has been filing several lawsuits recently for those who claim that the chemical has harmed them.
In May, The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that there is no evidence that the metal was found harmful. The same conclusion was reached by a European Union in July, but they have recommended suspending the use of it.
“The Norris’ lawsuit acknowledges no official, publicly stated link between gadolinium and symptoms reported by people who believe the metal has affected their health. But that’s in part because blood and urine testing for gadolinium only became available recently and most doctors were not aware of any disease that was associated with gadolinium other than one that affects people with kidney problems,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also accuses other gadolinium manufacturers of knowing about the risk without telling consumers.
According to Todd Walburg, an attorney for the Norrises, one of the major problems is that this is a condition that is usually underdiagnosed and misdiagnosed.
Norris filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in San Francisco.
