The parents of a 5-year-old Michigan boy who was killed in an explosion inside a hyperbaric chamber are suing the manufacturer and others for $100 million over the boy’s death.
The attorney for the family of Thomas Cooper described hyperbaric oxygen chambers, like the one the little boy died in, as “death chambers,” in a lawsuit filed Monday in Oakland County Circuit Court in Michigan, according to the Detroit Free Press.
“These machines are a problem,” lawyer James Harrington said during a Monday press conference. “The people operating them are a problem. And we saw what these problems can result in. They’ve resulted in the death of young, beautiful Thomas.”
On January 31, Cooper was taken to the Oxford Center in Troy by his parents to undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat his ADHD and sleep apnea when the machine exploded, killing him.
The lawsuit, which calls the chambers “coffins waiting to ignite,” seeks more than $100 million in damages.
“The industry knows that these machines can turn into literally a firebomb in an instant,” Harrington said. “But yet, there isn’t even one sticker. There isn’t even one warning that’s provided. People need to be warned.”
Thomas Cooper, five, was killed while he was receiving treatments inside a hyperbaric chamber that exploded at The Oxford Center in Troy, Michigan, on January 31. (Fieger Law)
Hyperbaric chambers are pressurized, tube-like devices that provide patients with pure oxygen to help them heal more quickly from certain injuries or illnesses.
The lawsuit acknowledges that the Food and Drug Administration has approved hyperbaric oxygen treatment for 13 conditions, such as carbon monoxide poisoning. However, due to the machines being filled with 100 percent oxygen and being under pressure, they are exceptionally combustible.
The machines were not approved to be used as therapy for the boy’s conditions.
In addition to the hyperbaric chamber’s manufacturer, Sechrist Industries, seven defendants were named in the lawsuit. Four of the defendants were arrested and charged in connection with the chamber explosion in March.
They include 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. Meanwhile, hyperbaric chamber operator Aleta Moffitt was charged with involuntary manslaughter and putting false information on medical records. All four have pleaded not guilty.
The other defendants named in the lawsuit include Oxford Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Center, Oxford Kids Foundation and Office Venture Troy, LLC.
Harrington, the family’s lawyer, said greed is the driving force behind the way the machines are manufactured, and called on the industry to make necessary improvements.
“Allocate some of the billions of dollars that you make towards safety,” Harrington said. “And don’t keep an eye solely on shareholders, boards of directors and profits and bottom line. Make sure that they’re being used for that and not … experiment projects on young children in American families.”
The boy’s mom, Juana “Annie” Cooper, was seriously burned when she tried to get her son out of the fiery chamber, her lawyer said, noting that while the physical wounds had healed, the emotional toll remains.
“This will forever change you,” Harrington said. “There’s nothing we can do to bring him back. There’s no justice that can ever be considered perfect justice, because perfect justice would be we win the case, and Thomas is playing in the backyard.”
