Indian hospital Nair, in Mumbai, witnessed a tragic mishap which killed a 32-years old man. According to reports, the man got sucked into an MRI scanner while he was holding a metallic oxygen cylinder. The man, Rajesh Maru, who was accompanying a relative inside the MRI room died in the accident. Initial autopsy report suggested that the reason for the man’s death was that he inhaled the leaking liquid oxygen from the cylinder.
An eyewitness told that as soon as the man entered the room with the cylinder, the machine pulled him and the cylinder with a lot of force. His hand got stuck between the machine and the cylinder. When force was applied to pull them apart, the oxygen cylinder leaked. The post-mortem of the man suggested that the man died due to pneumothorax which is a condition caused when a lot of air enters the lung pockets.
An MRI machine uses strong magnetic fields to generate images of the body organs. Because of the strong magnetic field, no metal objects are allowed inside the MRI room. Even though it’s a safe procedure, however, if the safety procedures are not followed it can result in severe injuries. It was the negligence to follow the strict safety procedures which led to the death of Maru.
Rajesh Maru’s uncle, Priyanka Solanki, told that Rajesh was asked by one of the junior staff members to carry the cylinder inside and he assured Rajesh that the machine was off. “The ward boy asked him to help. They said it was okay. He went close to the machine and instead got pulled along with the oxygen cylinder inside the machine. Instead of taking responsibility, the hospital workers scolded us for Rajesh having gone close to the MRI machine with the cylinder in his hand.” Mumbai police have arrested the doctor and junior staff members over charges of causing a death due to negligence. The patient who was supposed to undergo MRI scan, Laxmibai Solanki, is still admitted to the same hospital.
This is not the first time any such accident has taken place because of not following the safety procedures. In 2001, an oxygen tank flew through the air and fractured the head of a 6-years old boy. The boy just underwent surgery and was in the MRI room for his scans. This incident took place at Westchester Medical Center, NY. Another incident took place in 2014 in Mumbai when a technician stayed stuck in the MRI machine for four hours. He was also carrying an oxygen cylinder that triggered the magnetic pull. The man suffered severe injuries, fractured one shoulder and damaged his kidneys as well.
So here’s a word of advice, whenever you go for a MRI scan, make sure you remove all metallic objects from your body.