BREAKING NEWS: A tragic incident involving a hyperbaric oxygen chamber has resulted in the death of 5-year-old Thomas Cooper of Royal Oak, Michigan. The boy died in a fire on January 31, 2023, at the Oxford Center in Troy. Criminal charges have been filed against the center’s CEO, Tamela Peterson, and three employees, who are currently facing a hearing to determine if they will stand trial.
During a critical hearing at 52-4 District Court in Troy, attorneys questioned Majid Mashayekh, vice president of quality assurance and regulatory affairs for Sechrist Industries, the manufacturer of the hyperbaric chamber involved. This subpoenaed testimony comes after a nearly three-month break in the case, intensifying the urgency surrounding the proceedings.
Mashayekh revealed that the hyperbaric chamber had exceeded 20,000 uses—the threshold beyond which Sechrist no longer services the device—almost three years prior to Thomas’s last treatment. “There are specific requirements for how many hours or how many cycles the unit can be used before the device requires a major overhaul,” Mashayekh stated, underscoring the safety protocols that were allegedly ignored.
Defense attorneys challenged the credibility of Sechrist’s life-cycle counter, questioning a sudden jump of 3,772 uses within just four months. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe your on-site tech wrote down the wrong cycle count?” attorney Alona Sharon, representing one of the accused, pressed Mashayekh. The pressure is mounting as more details emerge about the circumstances surrounding this horrifying incident.
In a shocking turn, Mashayekh testified that the chamber was still in use at the Oxford Center in January, despite being sold months earlier. The defense argued that the fire was not connected to any malfunction, with Mashayekh asserting, “With that training you have… that this accident had nothing to do with a malfunction in the equipment?”
State Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the charges against Peterson and her employees, citing failures to adhere to safety protocols outlined by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Sechrist Industries. All four defendants have pleaded not guilty, and Judge Maureen McGinnis is considering whether there is sufficient evidence to send them to trial in Oakland County Circuit Court.
The case has drawn significant attention due to the controversial use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy at the Oxford Center for conditions not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including ADHD and sleep apnea. Hyperbaric treatments are typically authorized for serious medical issues but are increasingly marketed for alternative uses, raising safety concerns within the medical community.
As the legal proceedings continue, more witnesses are expected to testify on Tuesday, December 2. The developments in this case are not only pressing but also highlight critical questions about safety standards in alternative medical practices.
Stay tuned for further updates as this story unfolds.
