Lawsuit coming in Michigan hyperbaric chamber explosion that killed 5-year-old, attorney says
The attorney representing the family of the 5-year-old boy who died in a hyperbaric chamber explosion in Troy, Michigan, says a lawsuit will be filed.
The Fieger Law Firm says Thomas Cooper was being treated for sleep apnea and ADHD at the Oxford Recovery Center on Jan. 31 when the chamber he was inside exploded. His mother, who was in the room, was injured.
A day after the explosion, the boy's family retained a lawyer.
Attorney James Harrington claims the center has a history of being involved in questionable business practices. He says his office is getting ready for a lawsuit demanding answers into what led to the boy's death.
"This is never event. Under no circumstances ... should anything ever like this happen and the only way this happens is negligence," said Harrington. "This industry in Michigan is unregulated. There's not a lot of science to back these claims that are being made as to what ailments and problems can actually be fixed or better by this hyperbaric treatment."
"What we have here is literally the worst thing that any parent at any time could ever go through with one of their children."
A preliminary investigation discovered legal issues with the center's business practices, including allegedly misleading clients about the efficacy of treatments. Harrington says the lawsuit will be filed pending their investigation.
"The previous problems with the law violating that the employees have had that you're talking about, those are things that are part of the puzzle that we are slowly starting to put together," he said.
In the meantime, Harrington asks the public to support the family.
"This is very, very hard," he said. "This is a Metro Detroit family that has been just devastated by this loss ... and please, just everybody, just pray for the family."