Four Michigan medical center workers have been charged in the death of 5-year-old Thomas Cooper, who was “incinerated” inside a pressurized oxygen tank that exploded.
Cooper was placed inside the chamber at the Oxford Center in Troy, where he was being treated for sleep apnea and ADHD on Jan. 31, a family lawyer told NBC News.
While the FDA approves of hyperbaric chambers to treat various injuries and ailments, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Tuesday the effectiveness of that treatment for what was ailing Cooper “is not supported by medical science.”
Nessel told reporters “a single spark” inside the chamber is believed to have caused the fire that quickly killed the boy.
“Fires inside a hyperbaric chamber are considered a terminal event,” Nessel said. “Every such fire is almost certainly fatal and this is why many procedures and essential safety practices have been developed to keep a fire from ever occurring.”
The boy’s mother was standing next to the chamber when her young son was burned alive. She also suffered “significant burns on her arm” while trying to rescue Thomas, but the family’s lawyer said “emotional trauma” is a bigger concern.
Oxford Center founder and CEO Tamela Peterson, facility manager Gary Marken, safety manager Gary Mosteller and chamber operator Aleta Moffitt were arrested on Monday in connection with Cooper’s death and were scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon.
Peterson, Marken and Mosteller are all facing charges of second-degree murder. The latter two have also been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Moffitt has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false information on a medical records chart.
An attorney for one of the defendants called the boy’s death “a tragic accident” and asked the public to wait for experts to figure out what happened before passing judgment.
In an email to The Associated Press after the chamber explosion, the Oxford Center claimed it was the first time in more than 15 years of performing that therapy that they’d experienced such an incident.
“We do not know why or how this happened and will participate in all of the investigations that now need to take place,” the center said.
With News Wire Services
Michigan boy ‘incinerated’ in oxygen chamber explosion, 4 charged
