Background: Thomas Cooper (GoFundMe). Inset: The Oxford Center where he died after a hyperbaric chamber exploded (Google Maps).
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office charged four people in connection to the death of a 5-year-old boy who was killed in an explosion inside a hyperbaric chamber.
Three of the people — Oxford Center owner Tami Peterson, safety director Jeffrey Mosteller and director of operations Gary Marken are charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Thomas Cooper, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. A fourth person, Aleta Moffitt, who was operating the chamber at the time of the fire, stands accused of involuntary manslaughter and intentionally putting false information on a medical form.
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Hyperbaric treatment experts consulted the AG’s office and came to some “horrifying” conclusions, Nessel said.
According to Nessel, the chambers at the center were beyond their service time and should not have been used. There were no daily maintenance checks nor any safety supervisors on site or a licensed technician operating the machine, Nessel said.
Nessel said the center ignored safety protocols to prevent fires from occurring in the highly flammable chambers.
“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 hyperbaric treatment practices,” Nessel said.
The attorney general argued that second-degree murder charges are appropriate because the trio acted in “wanton and willful disregard of the likelihood that the natural tendency of said act would result in death.” Nessel alleged the defendants “knowingly created a very high risk of death or great bodily harm.”
Hyperbaric chambers are typically used for carbon monoxide poisoning, decompression sickness or inflammatory bowel diseases, among other uses, according to the National Library of Medicine. However, it appears Thomas was being treated in the chamber for ADHD and sleep apnea, which are not approved therapies by the Food and Drug Administration, according to Nessel.
“This was an unscrupulous business that operated powerful machines beyond their manufacturers’ intended term of use on children’s bodies over and over again to provide uncredited and debunked so-called treatments chiefly because it brought cash into the door,” she said, noting the center also offered “unfounded treatments” for patients.
The Oxford Center, which is in Troy, a Detroit suburb, released the following statement to local Fox affiliate WJBK.
“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. Our highest priority every day is the safety and wellbeing of the children and families we serve, which continues during this process.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, police and fire crews responded just before 8 a.m. on Jan. 31 to a call about an explosion at the medical facility in the 100 block of Kirts Boulevard, the agency said in a press release. When they arrived on scene they found Thomas dead inside the hyperbaric chamber. His mother who was sitting next to the chamber also suffered injuries.
His family hired well-known attorney Geoffrey Fieger to consider a possible lawsuit. Fieger is best known for representing Dr. Jack Kevorkian and the families of the victims of the 2021 mass shooting at Oxford High School.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy, and our hearts are with the family as they navigate this immeasurable loss. We ask that the public and media respect the family’s privacy at this time,” said James Harrington, managing partner of Fieger Law. “We are investigating every aspect of this matter and will report our findings in due time. The safety of children should always be the top priority, and this incident raises serious concerns about hyperbaric chambers and the oversight and regulation of hyperbaric treatments.”
The Oxford Center specifically treats children in hyperbaric chambers, its website says. Peterson started the business after a chamber helped her 9-year-old daughter recover from viral encephalitis, which is an inflammation of the brain.
“The safety and wellbeing of the children we serve is our highest priority,” the center said in a statement to The Associated Press following the incident. “Nothing like this has happened in our more than 15 years of providing this type of therapy. We do not know why or how this happened and will participate in all of the investigations that now need to take place.”
A GoFundMe for Thomas has raised about $70,000. The heartfelt tribute described Thomas as an active boy who enjoyed books, particularly James the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
“He was the smartest and cutest kid that liked to zoom, zoom, zoom,” the fundraiser said. “He asked to see pictures of germs, liked to know how things worked, he liked to make field journals and he had finally started adding facial features to his people drawings.”
It continued: “Before his passing, he asked for a Chinese red pocket money for the new year. He placed it underneath his pillow and declared “he’d have the best luck ever!” The day of his passing was the day he was planning to spend his red pocket with his little brother.”
