Tamela Peterson, Oxford Center CEO in Detroit and three others to be charged in the death of 5 year old boy, Thomas Cooper who was ‘incinerated’ in oxygen chamber explosion as prosecutors allege unsafe operations and disregard for safety in a cash grab for desperate patients turning to alternative medical facility.
Four people, including a CEO have been charged in the death of a 5-year-old boy who was ‘incinerated’ in a pressurized oxygen chamber while being treated at an alternative medicine center earlier this year, Michigan officials announced Tuesday.
Thomas Cooper was killed when the chamber he was in suddenly exploded as he was receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy for ADHD and sleep apnea at the Oxford Center in Detroit on Jan. 31.
His mother, Annie Cooper, was standing next to the chamber at the time and suffered significant burns as she tried to save the 5 year old, authorities said.
‘A single spark it appears ignited into a fully involved fire that claimed Thomas’ life within seconds,’ Attorney General Dana Nessel announced during a Tuesday press conference in her office’s decision to bring charges against the center’s owner and three employees.
Tamela Peterson, 58, the center’s founder and chief executive, was charged with second-degree murder. The facility’s manager, Gary Marken, 65, and safety manager, Gary Mosteller, 64, were charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter charges, WOOD-TV reported.
Meanwhile, Aleta Moffitt, 60, who was operating the chamber when it exploded, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false medical information on a medical records chart.
All four staffers were slated to be arraigned on the charges in Troy District Court later Tuesday.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, an advanced alternative treatment for ‘wounds’ which traditional medicine have not healed and offering a high concentration of oxygen in the treatment of various ailments involves having patients breathing in 100% oxygen in a pressurized chamber.
The alternative procedure has been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration for a list of 13 disorders — including severe burns, decompression sickness and non-healing wounds.
But the list doesn’t include many of the disorders advertised by the Oxford Center — or the two the 5 year old was being treated for at the time of the explosion, according to the Attorney General’s office.
Nessel said her office extensively consulted experts on hyperbaric chambers and treatments before bringing the charges.
‘Horrifying and simple conclusions were reached,’ she said.
‘The Oxford Center routinely operated sensitive and lethally dangerous hyperbaric chambers beyond their expected service lifetime and in complete disregard of vital safety measures and practices considered essential by medical and technical professionals.’
‘Fires inside a hyperbaric chamber are considered a terminal event,’ she added. ‘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.’
Meanwhile, Nessel condemned the center for ‘unscrupulously’ putting the boy’s bodies at risk through unaccredited and debunked treatments — on the virtue that it ‘brought cash through the door.’
The center in the aftermath of the tragedy stressed that ‘the safety and wellbeing of the children we serve is our highest priority.’
‘Nothing like this has happened in our more than 15 years of providing this type of therapy,’ it said in a statement.
‘We do not know why or how this happened and will participate in all of the investigations that now need to take place.’
Raymond Cassar, Oxford Center’s manager attorney, said the second-degree murder charges was ‘a total shock,’ according to the nypost.
‘For fairness, he is presumed innocent,’ Marken’s attorney 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.’
Moffitt’s lawyer, Ellen Michaels, meanwhile extended prayers and sympathy to Cooper’s family, imploring ‘patience and fairness as this process unfolds.’
‘This event has had a profound impact on so many, including my client, the community, and the first responders,’ the attorney said in a statement.
‘I pray for healing for all those affected. Aleta Moffitt is a dedicated professional with many years of experience in the health care industry. She has always been a committed and hardworking individual, adhering to all corporate policies and procedures while prioritizing the well-being of her patients.’
The family of the 5 year old are set to file a lawsuit against Oxford Center amid ongoing investigations.
The tragedy underscores the fragility and sometimes hazardous and lethal consequences of alternative medicine operatives, with one commentator on the web reflecting, ‘in many instances it is unregulated, and unapproved for MANY conditions. From herbs that can be safe for an adult but poisonous to children because of weight based dosing & not having a fully liver, children with cancer who are now FAR worse due to home remedies, to seeing children brought in because they were burned while the mom was trying a heated oxygen blow at home from a device on Amazon, we have seen so many injuries from these kinds of “alternative therapies”.
Iron bolts continue to remain on doors outside the Oxford Center as the facility is to remain indefinitely shut.
