'Medical' clinic employees charged after 5 year old dies in hyperbaric oxygen tank explosion

A child recently died while receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy.^[] Now, the owner and three employees face charges of second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter, as lawyers say the death could have been prevented.

“This tragedy could have been prevented if proper safety protocols were followed,” Nessel said. “Instead, deliberate negligence and a blatant disregard for safety cost a child his life."

A cardiologist comments on the case

Cardiologist Muhammad Siyab Panhwar, MD, commented on the case in an Instagram reel, noting that the Oxford Center falsely advertises itself as a medical center—billing itself as "functional medicine and alternative health medicine" clinic (which he goes on to refer to as, "woo-woo bullshit").

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According to Dr. Siyab, the clinic's website lists a host of conditions they treat with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, but according to Dr. Siyab, the listed conditions (which include ADHD, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer, per the clinic's website) are not FDA-approved or backed by evidence to be treated with this therapy. "There are a lot of wellness centers and health spas, basically not medical facilities with physicians that are offering these hyperbaric oxygen treatments for a whole host of things that they actually don't work for, have no indication for, and may actually be unsafe," Dr. Syab said.

"Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is actually a valid medical therapy but only for a very select few medical conditions, including decompression sickness, carbon monoxide poisoning, diabetic wounds, etc," he continued. "This is a therapy that needs a lot of supervision and needs to be administered by trained physicians or professionals to ensure they have the right set up and it is safe... These facilities will often operate without the appropriate adherence to fire safety, chamber construction standards, or basically safety precautions, putting the people that go there at risk."

A case of negligence

John Fitch, JD, an Ohio-based personal injury lawyer and the founder of the Fitch Law Firm, explains that negligence in hyperbaric chamber operations can occur when a facility fails to meet federally mandated safety protocols—which can be viewed as negligence. 

According to Fitch, some key violations in hyperbaric chamber management can include failing to inspect, maintain, and calibrate the chamber to FDA and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) standards; operating chambers beyond their service lifespan or using outdated equipment without proper safety modifications; and administering hyperbaric oxygen therapy for conditions that are not FDA-approved, among other reasons.

“Any facility that ignores these fundamental safety measures may be legally liable for gross negligence or reckless endangerment,” Fitch says. “In cases resulting in death, as with the Oxford Center explosion, such negligence can escalate to criminal homicide charges.”

A lawyer discusses physician responsibility

A physician responsible for operating a hyperbaric chamber may be legally negligent if they “fail to exercise due diligence in ensuring patient safety,” according to Fitch.

In these incidents, Fitch says, liability can be established if a physician:

• Allows untrained or unqualified personnel to operate the chamber

• Fails to follow FDA and UHMS safety guidelines, causing the patient to experience preventable harm

• Ignores clear equipment warnings or operates equipment without proper inspections and maintenance

• Fails to intervene when known risks exist

• Does not properly document patient evaluations, leading to improper treatment administration

Risks of criminal liability may be more common in medical equipment management malpractice cases, such as managing hyperbaric chambers, than in surgical malpractice cases, Fitch explains to MDLinx. While surgical malpractice tends to fall under civil medical malpractice law—where a plaintiff seeks monetary damages for harm—when gross negligence in medical equipment management leads to fatal outcomes, this can fall under criminal law.

“In the Oxford Center case, the attorney general charged the facility owners with second-degree murder [or] involuntary manslaughter, indicating that the negligence was so severe that it demonstrated a reckless disregard for human life,” Fitch says. “Unlike a surgical error, which may result in a civil lawsuit and medical board review, failure to follow life-or-death safety protocols in a hyperbaric chamber can result in felony criminal charges, including potential life imprisonment.”

Fitch adds that doctors should “implement strict compliance measures to protect patient safety and minimize legal risk” when conducting hyperbaric treatments.

“Physicians must recognize that any failure to comply with industry safety standards not only puts patients at risk but also exposes them to civil lawsuits, medical board discipline, and, in extreme cases, criminal prosecution,” Fitch says. “Ensuring rigorous adherence to safety regulations is the only way to safeguard patients and protect medical practice[s] from catastrophic liability.”