OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – An attorney from Fieger Law provided an update on the case of the 5-year-old boy killed in a hyperbaric chamber explosion in January.
The attorney representing Thomas Cooper’s family spoke to Local 4 on Tuesday.
Cooper was killed on Jan. 31, 2025, when the hyperbaric chamber he was receiving treatment in at the Oxford Center in Troy exploded. Cooper’s mother was also injured.
The family hired Fieger Law to represent the 5-year-old boy and his mother.
Jim Harrington said a lawsuit hasn’t been filed yet as the investigation continues, but they filed a motion for injunctive relief so the firm’s team can enter the building where the explosion happened and conduct their own inspection with their experts.
Tamela Peterson, Gary Marken and Jeffrey Mosteller are facing second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter charges. Aleta Moffitt is facing an involuntary manslaughter charge and is accused of intentionally placing false information in medical records.
A GoFundMe has been started to raise money to help the family.
---> Hyperbaric chambers: What they are, what they treat, risks, and accreditation
What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy?
According to the FDA, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is known for treating scuba and deep-sea divers affected by the rapid change in pressure around them.
The FDA said it can also be used to treat other health problems, including carbon monoxide poisoning and diabetic foot ulcers. The increased air pressure in the chamber helps the lungs collect more oxygen, which can get more oxygen to the tissues that need, and help the body heal and fight certain infections.
As of July 2021, the FDA has only cleared hyperbaric chambers for 13 disorders. HBOT is being studied for other conditions, including COVID-19, but the FDA has not cleared or authorized the use of any HBOT device to treat anything other than the 13 disorders listed.
As of Jan. 31, 2025, the Oxford Center had more than 100 conditions listed on its website in the hyperbaric oxygen therapy page as “conditions treated.”
The FDA recommends those who need treatment get it at an accredited facility saying, “Explosions and fires have occurred in HBOT chambers that have not been reviewed by the FDA and are located at unaccredited facilities.”
The FDA said the facility should be accredited by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society. According to the UHMS map, only two locations in Michigan have been accredited and they are in Grand Rapids and Niles.
In a statement to Local 4, the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) said that state law does not require hyperbaric oxygen facilities to be licensed or regulated by LARA.
The Oxford Center opened in 2008. The fire department said the facility will be closed “until further notice” while they continue to investigate the explosion.
The Oxford Center released the following statement on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025:
“This is an exceptionally difficult day for all of us.
“As law enforcement officials have shared, at our location in Troy, Michigan this morning, a fire started inside of a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The child being treated in that chamber did not survive and the child’s mother was injured.
“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.
“We do not know why or how this happened and will participate in all of the investigations that now need to take place.”
