In a devastating incident that has sparked outrage and legal action, a five-year-old boy, Thomas Cooper, tragically lost his life during what was supposed to be a therapeutic session. The incident occurred at the Oxford Center in Troy, Michigan, a suburban Detroit medical facility, where Thomas was undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

The therapy involved Thomas being placed inside a pressurized oxygen chamber, a device designed to increase the amount of oxygen his body could absorb. However, something went terribly wrong. The chamber reportedly exploded, turning into what attorneys have described as a "human incinerator," tragically ending Thomas's young life "in seconds".

The horror of the situation was compounded by the presence of Thomas's mother, who was also severely injured while desperately trying to rescue her son. Emergency services rushed to the scene, but their efforts were futile; Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene due to severe burns.

Now, Fieger Law, representing Thomas's parents, James and Juana Cooper, has filed a staggering $100 million lawsuit, alleging "corporate greed" and a shocking disregard for human life. The lawsuit names multiple defendants, including the Oxford Center, Sechrist Industries (the chamber's manufacturer), and several individuals associated with the facility's operation.

The lawsuit paints a grim picture, accusing the defendants of knowing the inherent dangers of the hyperbaric chamber, particularly the catastrophic consequences of a fire within its confines. It alleges that they failed to adequately warn the Coopers about the potential risks and did nothing to mitigate the deadly hazard.

According to the legal filings, Fieger Law claims the defendants prioritized profits over patient safety, knowingly strapping patients into a device that could become a death trap with the slightest spark. The lawsuit goes on to state the actions weren’t simple negligence but “conscious, deliberate, and depraved."

Adding to the gravity of the allegations, the lawsuit asserts that the defendants were fully aware that a fire inside the pressurized chamber would leave the occupant with "zero chance of survival," turning it into an uncontrollable inferno before the door could be opened for rescue.

The tragedy has prompted criminal charges as well. In March, four individuals were charged in connection with Thomas's death, including Tamela Peterson, the center's founder and chief executive, who faces a charge of second-degree murder. Facility manager Gary Marken and safety manager Gary Mosteller were charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.

The operator of the chamber at the time of the explosion, Aleta Moffitt, also faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and intentionally falsifying medical records. All four individuals have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Defense attorneys argue the incident was a tragic accident, not an intentional act. Raymond Cassar, Marken’s attorney, expressed condolences to the family and reminded everyone that the event was an unforeseen accident.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, while approved for certain medical conditions by the FDA, involves breathing 100% oxygen inside a pressurized chamber. The increased air pressure allows the lungs to gather more oxygen, promoting healing and treating conditions like decompression sickness, carbon monoxide poisoning, and severe anemia.

Typically, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is administered in a one-person chamber, essentially a large, enclosed tube containing a bed. Patients lie inside and breathe pure oxygen pumped into the pressurized environment.

The FDA has specifically approved this therapy for conditions like slow-healing wounds (such as diabetic foot ulcers), gas gangrene, radiation damage, and severe anemia when blood transfusions are not an option. However, the Oxford Center's practices have come under scrutiny.

Legal filings suggest that the Oxford Center was using hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat a far wider range of conditions than those approved by the FDA. According to the filings, a nurse at the center had noted the "goals" of Thomas's treatment as addressing "ADHD symptoms, hyperactivity, sleep and overall health."

The facility allegedly offered this therapy for conditions such as HIV, fetal alcohol syndrome, epilepsy, bladder infections, attention deficit disorder, and autism – despite the FDA's limited approval for only 13 conditions due to the unproven efficacy for others.

According to the lawsuit, one of the firm's claims is the Sechrist chamber’s design made "an emergency extraction impossible." Fieger law also claims fire hazards could result in fatalities due to the "combination of an oxygen-rich, high-pressure environment with the inability to depressurize the vessel quickly for rescue."

The legal filings indicate that the firm believes Sechrist was aware that introducing a single spark, arc, or ignition source in the chamber-pressurized with pure oxygen-would create an inferno from which no patient could possibly escape alive. "It becomes an uncontrollable inferno in seconds, and the pressurized door cannot be opened until the chamber has slowly decompressed," Fieger added.

James Harrington, managing partner at Fieger Law, emphasized the potential dangers of these machines, stating, "These machines are a problem." He further revealed that a similar incident occurred in the southwestern United States after Thomas's death, resulting in another fatality related to a hyperbaric chamber.

Harrington also mentioned that his firm has taken measures to secure the facility where Thomas's death occurred. "We were actually successful to get the facility padlocked through a court order so that nobody could go in and tamper with the evidence," Harrington said.

The FDA itself has acknowledged awareness of "reports of serious injuries and deaths with use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) devices." However, the agency also stated that "currently, the root cause of these events is not known," adding to the complexity and concern surrounding this type of therapy.

The lawsuit alleges the Sechrist chamber was designed to make an emergency extraction impossible. This design flaw, combined with the highly flammable oxygen-rich environment, created a scenario where a fire became a death trap.

The case raises critical questions about the safety regulations and oversight of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, as well as the ethical responsibilities of medical facilities and manufacturers in ensuring patient safety. The legal proceedings are ongoing, and the pursuit of justice for Thomas Cooper continues.