Three people have been charged with second-degree murder after a 5-year-old boy was killed when a hyperbaric chamber exploded at a medical facility in Michigan earlier this year, officials announced Tuesday.
Thomas Cooper died on Jan. 31 in the incident at the Oxford Center in Troy, officials said.
The chamber contained 100% oxygen, making it extremely flammable, Lt. Keith Young of the Detroit Fire Department said at the time.
Safety protocols from the National Fire Protection Association and the manufacturer of the hyperbaric chamber were “completely disregarded” at the time of the boy’s death, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
“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,” Nessel said at a press briefing announcing the charges on Tuesday.
The owner of the Oxford Center, 58-year-old Tamela Peterson, and two other employees of the facility — safety manager Jeffrey Mosteller, 64, and Gary Marken, 65, the primary management assistant — have now been charged with second-degree murder in connection with his death, Nessel’s office said.
They also face an alternative charge of involuntary manslaughter. Nessel said a jury will ultimately decide if the state has enough evidence to prove the murder charge.
Nessel said they are confident the second-degree murder charge, which is a potential life offense, is appropriate. The charge requires the prosecution to prove the defendant “knowingly created a very high risk of death or great bodily harm, knowing that death or harm would be the likely result of their actions.”
The operator of the hyperbaric chamber, 60-year-old Aleta Moffitt, also faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter and one count of falsifying medical records, Nessel’s office said.
The Oxford Center said it has been cooperating with multiple investigations into the “tragic accident” and is “disappointed” in the decision to file charges.
“The timing of these charges is surprising, as the typical protocol after a fire-related accident has not yet been completed,” the Oxford Center said in a statement. “There are still outstanding questions about how this occurred. Yet, the Attorney General’s office proceeded to pursue charges without those answers.”
“Our highest priority every day is the safety and wellbeing of the children and families we serve, which continues during this process,” the statement added.
The defendants are in custody and will be arraigned Tuesday afternoon, the district attorney’s office said.
Their arrest on Monday followed an “extensive and difficult investigation,” Troy Police Department Chief of Police Josh Jones said in a statement.
Thomas was killed “within seconds” when a single spark appears to have ignited a fire inside the chamber, Nessel said. His mother was also injured, authorities said.
“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.”
Nessel detailed several safety standards she said were “completely disregarded by the Oxford Center staff” on the day of Thomas’ death. According to Nessel, the investigation found that the daily maintenance check was not performed, the pre-dive safety check was not conducted on Thomas, an “essential” patient-worn grounding strap was not used, there was no medical doctor or safety supervisor on the premises at the time of the treatment and the treatment was not performed by a licensed technician.
Yearly inspections of the hyperbaric chamber, as suggested by the manufacturer, were also not conducted, according to Nessel.
“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.
The Oxford Center provides hyperbaric oxygen therapy for children with autism, ADHD and autoimmune diseases and other health conditions, the district attorney’s office said.
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