Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 3
Jeffrey Mosteller Gets 19 Months in 5-Year-Old's Fatal Hyperbaric Chamber Explosion
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 3

Jeffrey Mosteller Gets 19 Months in 5-Year-Old's Fatal Hyperbaric Chamber Explosion

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 3

Summary

  • Jeffrey Mosteller, 66, was sentenced this week to at least 19 months in prison after pleading no contest Monday to involuntary manslaughter in the death of 5-year-old Thomas Cooper.
  • Thomas was inside an oxygen-rich hyperbaric chamber at the Oxford Center in Troy, Michigan, for ADHD and sleep apnea treatment when a fire ignited and triggered the explosion; his mother was injured nearby.
  • Mosteller, the center's former safety manager, could serve up to 15 years depending on prison conduct under the plea deal tied to the maximum penalty on the charge.
  • Three other former Oxford Center employees still face prosecution, including the owner and a management assistant on second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter counts, and the chamber operator on involuntary manslaughter.

Insights

What hidden regulatory loopholes allow unaccredited wellness centers to operate deadly high-pressure oxygen chambers for unapproved treatments?
How did a simple static spark in a Michigan clinic expose a fatal lack of oversight in the alternative health industry?