In re Cincinnati Radiation Litigation

From 1960 to 1972, doctors at two hospitals (the doctors) (defendants) exposed cancer patients (the patients) (plaintiffs) to radiation for experimental purposes, funded by the Department of Defense. The experiment’s purpose was to test the physical and psychological effects of radiation on humans and not to treat cancer patients. However, the patients were told that they were receiving radiation for cancer treatment. The patients selected for the program were primarily indigent, were poorly educated, and had lower-than-average intelligence. For the first five years, the patients were not asked to sign consent forms. Starting in 1965, the patients were asked to sign consent forms indicating that the patients were participating in a scientific experiment. However, the patients alleged that the forms did not state the risks of radiation or indicate that the patients were part of a government-funded experiment to understand the impact of radiation on soldiers. The patients sued, alleging that the doctors had failed to disclose known risks, including the risk of death, the likelihood of nausea and vomiting, as well as carcinogenic and genetic hazards. The patients claimed that their participation in the experiment without informed consent violated their right to bodily integrity under the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution. The doctors moved to dismiss the claim, arguing that because the patients had been voluntarily present at the hospital and could have left at any time, the patients could not bring an action based on a violation of their liberty interest to bodily integrity.