A five-year-old boy was “incinerated” when a pressurised oxygen chamber exploded at a medical facility in the US state of Michigan.
Four people have been charged over the child’s death at the Oxford Centre in Detroit, Michigan’s attorney general has said.
Thomas Cooper, from Michigan, was pronounced dead at the scene, while his mother, who was standing next to the chamber, suffered injuries to her arms when it exploded on 31 January.
“A single spark it appears ignited into a fully involved fire that claimed Thomas’s life within seconds,” attorney general Dana Nessel said at a news conference on Tuesday.
“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.”
The centre’s founder and chief executive, Tamela Peterson, has been charged with second-degree murder, according to online court records.
Facility manager Gary Marken, 65, safety manager Gary Mosteller, 64, and the hyperbaric chamber’s operator that day, Aleta Moffitt, 60, have also been charged.
Marken and Mosteller are charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
Moffitt is charged with involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false medical information on a medical records chart.
Raymond Cassar, Marken’s attorney, said the second-degree murder charge comes as “a total shock” to him and his client.
“For fairness, he is presumed innocent,” Mr Cassar said.
“This was a tragic accident and our thoughts and our prayers go out to the family of this little boy.
“I want to remind everyone that this was an accident, not an intentional act. We’re going to have to leave this up to the experts to find out what was the cause of this.”
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Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reported that according to the family’s lawyer, the boy had received multiple sessions of hyperbaric therapy for sleep apnea and ADHD.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared hyperbaric chambers to be marketed as safe and effective for a list of 13 disorders, including severe burns, decompression sickness and non-healing wounds.
But the list does not include many of the other disorders advertised by the Oxford Centre – including sleep apnea and ADHD.
The FDA also recommends that consumers only use hyperbaric centres that are inspected and accredited by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society.
The Oxford Centre does not appear on the society’s February 2025 list of accredited facilities.
