UPDATE: Urgent testimony resumed today in Troy, Michigan, as attorneys intensify their questioning of a hyperbaric chamber manufacturer following the tragic death of 5-year-old Thomas Cooper in a fire on January 31, 2023. The hearing is pivotal as the CEO of the Oxford Center and three employees face criminal charges linked to the incident.
In a dramatic session at the 52-4 District Court, attorneys grilled Majid Mashayekh, the vice president of quality assurance at Sechrist Industries, which manufactured the hyperbaric chamber involved in the fire. The questioning comes after a nearly three-month pause in the case, with significant implications for safety standards in hyperbaric therapy.
During the session, Mashayekh revealed that the hyperbaric chamber had exceeded 20,000 uses, a critical threshold that prompted Sechrist to notify Oxford Center’s CEO Tamela Peterson in November 2022. “There are specific requirements for how many hours or how many cycles the unit can be used before it requires a major overhaul,” Mashayekh stated, indicating that the chamber was deemed unserviceable nearly three years before Thomas’s tragic death.
The courtroom was tense as defense attorneys questioned the accuracy of the chamber’s usage log, specifically a staggering increase of 3,772 cycles in just four months. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe your on-site tech wrote down the wrong cycle count?” challenged attorney Alona Sharon, representing one of the accused. Mashayekh maintained that all records were accurately kept and unaltered.
In December 2022, Peterson had informed Sechrist that the counter number was incorrect, yet the chamber remained in operation at the Oxford Center when Thomas died. “We were told the unit was no longer at their facility and the unit was sold,” Mashayekh testified, contradicting the fact that it was still in use at the time of the incident.
State Attorney General Dana Nessel has stated that the Oxford Center failed to adhere to essential safety protocols established by both the National Fire Protection Association and the manufacturer, placing the lives of patients at risk. All four defendants, including Peterson and employees Jeffrey Mosteller and Gary Marken, have pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
The emotional weight of the case is palpable, as Thomas was undergoing treatment for ADHD and sleep apnea, conditions not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for hyperbaric therapy. His family’s attorney emphasized the devastating impact of this tragedy, stating that the incident highlights serious lapses in safety protocols at alternative medical facilities.
The next scheduled testimony is set for December 2, 2023, as Judge Maureen McGinnis evaluates whether sufficient evidence exists to proceed to trial in the Oakland County Circuit Court. Witnesses are expected to provide further insight into the alarming safety practices at the Oxford Center.
As the investigation unfolds, the case raises significant questions about the safety and regulation of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, especially in contexts where its use is not FDA-approved. The community mourns the loss of young Thomas Cooper while seeking accountability for the systemic failures that led to this heart-wrenching tragedy.
Stay tuned for further updates as this critical story develops.
