5-Year-Old Killed in Hyperbaric Chamber Explosion at Troy Medical Facility — What Oversight Exists?

Thomas Cooper was 5 when a hyperbaric oxygen chamber exploded Jan. 31, 2025, at the Oxford Center, a medical facility in Troy. The explosion happened at approximately 8 a.m. The chamber contained 100 percent oxygen. A single spark ignited that oxygen, and Thomas Cooper died within seconds.

His death turned attention not only to the treatment room where the explosion occurred, but to the government oversight absent from it: Michigan had no system to license, inspect or even track hyperbaric chambers operating in facilities such as the one in Troy.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Michigan law does not mandate any oversight concerning hyperbaric chambers. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs confirmed that state law does not require hyperbaric oxygen facilities to be licensed or regulated by LARA, leaving the agency without authority to inspect them. The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society offers voluntary accreditation for facilities, but participation is not required.

Troy city inspections address general fire and building code compliance, but city officials have no explicit authority under current state law to inspect the operational maintenance or medical safety of hyperbaric chambers themselves. In practice, neither level of government was assigned to conduct the routine operational safety review that families might reasonably expect at a facility offering specialized medical treatment.

No state inspection records exist for the Oxford Center's chamber. Investigators have alleged failures that underscore what can be missed when no inspection system is in place: The daily maintenance check and pre-dive safety check were not performed the day Thomas Cooper died. An essential patient-worn grounding strap was not used during his treatment, allowing a static discharge to ignite the fire. No licensed technician, medical doctor or safety supervisor was on the premises at the Oxford Center when Thomas Cooper was treated.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged Oxford Center owner Tamela Peterson and three employees with criminal offenses. Peterson, safety manager Jeffrey Mosteller and Gary Marken were charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, while operator Aleta Moffitt was charged with involuntary manslaughter and falsifying medical records. The four defendants were bound over for trial after a judge found probable cause on the murder and manslaughter charges.

The criminal case will examine individual responsibility. It does not, on its own, create a way to identify, inspect or monitor other chambers that may be operating in the area. Because Michigan does not maintain a public registry of hyperbaric facilities, no comprehensive count of chambers operating in Troy or Oakland County exists, and state officials have not announced post-explosion inspections of other facilities.

Lawmakers have proposed a change. Michigan legislators introduced bills in February 2026 that would add freestanding hyperbaric oxygen therapy facilities to the list of licensed health facilities, require accreditation and mandate periodic inspections by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs every three years. The bills remain pending and are not yet enacted.

For now, families seeking hyperbaric treatment have no state-mandated inspection regime to verify safety, though they can check whether a facility holds voluntary UHMS accreditation. The protections lawmakers have proposed remain unavailable to Troy-area families deciding whether to trust a facility with their child's care.