3 charged with a second level murder after a 5 -year -old child died in a hyperbaric room explosion

Three people had been charged with a second-level murder after a 5-year-old boy was killed when a hyperbaric room exploded in a medical facility in Michigan earlier this year, officials announced Tuesday.

Thomas Cooper died on January 31 in an incident at the Oxford Center in Troy, officials said.

The room contains 100% oxygen, making him very flammable, Lieutenant Keith Young from the Detroit fire department said at that time.

The safety protocol of the National Fire Protection Association and the Hyperbaric Room Manufacturer is “fully ignored” at the time of the boy’s death, Attorney General Michigan Dana Nesel said.

“Because of many failures by men and women who will call themselves medical and naughty or intentional professionals ignore the possibility that their actions will cause the death of a 5-year-old-year-old patient,” Nesel told the press briefing who announced the accusation on Tuesday.

Oxford Center owner, 58-year-old Tamela Peterson, and two other employees from the facility-Safety Jeffrey Mosteller, 64, and Gary Marken, 65, the Main-Kini Management Assistant have been charged with two-level murder in connection with his death, the Nesel Office said.

They also face alternative accusations of unintentional murder. Nessel said the jury would eventually decide whether the state had enough evidence to prove the accusation of murder.

Nestel said they were sure the accusations of the second -level murder, which was a violation of a potential life, was appropriate. The accusation requires prosecution to prove that the defendant “consciously creates a very high risk of death or large body damage, knowing that death or loss will be the result of their actions.”

The 60 -year -old hyperbaric room operator, Aleta Moffitt, also faced accidental accusations of unintentional murder and one accusation of falsifying medical records, said Nesel’s office.

The center of Oxford said that he had collaborated with several investigations of “tragic accidents” and “disappointed” in the decision to file demands.

“The time from this accusation is surprising, because the typical protocol after the accident related to the fire has not been completed,” Oxford’s center said in a statement. “There are still extraordinary questions about how this happens. However, the Attorney General’s Office continues to submit a demand without that answer.”

“Our highest priority every day is the safety and welfare of children and families that we serve, which continues during this process,” added the statement.

The defendants were detained and will be charged on Tuesday afternoon, said the District Attorney Office.

Their arrests on Monday took part in a “extensive and difficult investigation,” Troy Josh Josh Police Department Head said in a statement.

Thomas was killed “in a matter of seconds” when one spark seemed to trigger fire in the room, said Nessel. His mother was also injured, said the authorities.

“The fire in the hyperbaric room is considered a terminal event. Every fire like that is almost certain to be fatal, and this is why many important safety procedures and practices have been developed to maintain fire so that it never happens,” Nessel said. “This tragedy investigation has revealed how the Oxford Center in Troy and some of the main decision makers holding safety among their lowest considerations in their hyperbaric care practices.”

Nessel detailed several safety standards that he said was “fully ignored by the Oxford Center staff” on the day of Thomas’s death. According to Nesel, investigations found that daily maintenance examination was not carried out, pre-resistant safety examination was not carried out on Thomas, a cleaning rope that was “worn by the patient” was not used, no doctor or safety supervisor at the location during treatment and treatment was not carried out by licensed technicians.

Annual hyperbaric room inspection, as suggested by the manufacturer, is also not done, according to Nessel.

“This is an immoral business, operating strong machines outside the term use of their manufacturers in the body of children-repeated-to provide maintenance that is not accredited and denied, mainly because it brings cash to the door,” Nekel said.

The center of Oxford provides hyperbaric oxygen therapy for children with autism, ADHD and autoimmune diseases and other health conditions, the district prosecutor’s office said.