Family Files $100M Suit After Michigan Chamber Explosion

The family of 5-year-old Thomas Cooper filed a $100 million civil lawsuit in Oakland County Circuit Court after a hyperbaric oxygen chamber at the Oxford Center in Troy, Michigan, ignited and exploded on Jan. 31, killing Thomas and severely burning his mother. The complaint names the facility, CEO Tamela Peterson, managers and the chamber operator, the manufacturer Sechrist Industries and related entities as defendants and alleges negligent hiring, training and supervision. It alleges the monoplace chambers were designed, manufactured and used without basic safety features — including fire suppression/deluge systems, automatic fire detection, effective emergency extraction, grounding straps, warnings and required yearly inspections — and accuses the center of putting profits over patient safety. Attorney James Harrington called the devices "death chambers," presented photos and cited a prior U.S. fatality, saying the suit seeks industry-wide change and answers about why safety practices were ignored. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Oxford Center owner and three other workers have been criminally charged in connection with Thomas's death, with some defendants facing murder charges and the chamber operator charged with involuntary manslaughter and falsifying records. The suit seeks $100 million in damages and notes Thomas was receiving treatment for ADHD and sleep apnea, conditions not authorized by the FDA for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.