WAKE UP, PEOPLE! We have a RESPONSIBILITY in this profession, and the games some play will catch up with them; the consequences can be life-altering (rightfully so, in my opinion). It seems I piss off a lot of folks these days because I refuse to “stay in my lane” during audits, PHAs, training courses, etc. But I refuse to walk by or turn a blind eye to a serious hazard or fail to answer a safety question from a worker. Not for fear of being prosecuted, but because I BELIEVE the men and women doing the dirty and dangerous work deserve the very best I can bring for their safety.
A former safety director at a Michigan hyperbaric chamber facility will spend at least 19 months in prison. He pleaded no contest Monday to involuntary manslaughter in the death of 5-year-old boy. The child was killed when a chamber exploded during treatment in January 2025. The safety director is the first of four employees charged in the death of the 5-year-old to complete the criminal proceedings. His co-defendants are the CEO of the Oxford Center in Troy, the facility manager, and the chamber operator.
“This is arrogance,” Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Kwamé Rowe said. The judge and the prosecution called the decision not to use grounding straps during therapy arrogance. “It was incumbent upon you to say something, to say these grounding straps are needed,” Rowe said. Patients wear the straps to prevent static sparks and eliminate fire hazards by safely releasing static electricity.
