A hyperbaric chamber in Michigan exploded in January, killing a 5-year-old boy. Now, four people are facing charges related to the child’s death.
The Troy Police Department arrested four people on March 10 in connection with the chamber explosion at The Oxford Center, including the medical facility’s CEO, Tamela Peterson, primary management assistant Gary Marken, and safety manager Jeffrey Mosteller, who have all been charged with second-degree murder. A fourth person, hyperbaric chamber operator Aleta Moffitt, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and putting false information on medical records.
“Due to many failures by men and women who would call themselves medical professionals — and wanton or willful disregard for the likelihood that their actions would cause the death of a patient — 5-year-old Thomas Cooper was killed,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Nessel further accused the facility of failing to perform yearly inspections of the chamber and neglecting to have a licensed technician performing the treatments.
“This was an unscrupulous business, operating powerful machines beyond their manufacturers’ intended term of use on children’s bodies — over and over again — to provide unaccredited and debunked so-called treatments, chiefly because it brought cash into the door,” Nessel said.
On January 31, Cooper, 5, was brought by his parents to the center for sleep apnea and ADHD treatment, according to his family. Just before 8 a.m., Thomas’s hyperbaric chamber exploded, killing him.
James Harrington, the attorney representing Thomas’s family, told NBC News that the little boy’s mother, Annie Cooper, tried to reach her son following the explosion, but the chamber was filled with flames. She suffered “significant burns to her arms,” according to the attorney. Harrington added that the little boy’s family was “absolutely devastated” by Thomas’s death, and that they planned to file a lawsuit “to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”
Troy Police Department Chief of Police Josh Jones said the charges were the culmination of an “extensive and difficult investigation.” Second-degree murder charges carry a potential life sentence in Michigan.
Hyperbaric chambers are FDA approved. The chambers are filled with 100 percent oxygen and are under pressure, making them exceptionally combustible.
“Fires inside a hyperbaric chamber are considered a terminal event. 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,” Nessel said. “The investigation into this tragedy has revealed how the Oxford Center in Troy and several of its key decision makers held safety among their lowest considerations in their hyperbaric treatment practice.”
The Oxford Center questioned the timing of the arrests and charges in a statement provided to local news outlet WWJ.
“After cooperating with multiple investigations starting immediately after the tragic accident in January, we are disappointed to see charges filed,” the organization said. “The timing of these charges is surprising, as the typical protocol after a fire-related accident has not yet been completed. There are still outstanding questions about how this occurred. Yet, the Attorney General’s office proceeded to pursue charges without those answers.”
The center added that its “highest priority every day is the safety and wellbeing of the children and families we serve, which continues during this process.”
The Independent has requested comment from The Oxford Center.