An Indian man was involved in a freak accident at Nair Municipal Hospital in Mumbai recently. According to local media reports, he was sucked into an MRI machine while carrying an oxygen tank into the room.
Rajesh Maru who was 32-years-old had accompanied his female relative to the hospital. When he entered the MRI room after a ward assured it was safe, he was immediately yanked towards the MRI chamber by it’s powerful magnets. The oxygen cylinder was damaged during the impact and Maru overdosed and died from inhaling liquid oxygen when it leaked.
Rajesh Maru who was 32-years-old had accompanied his female relative to the hospital
This incident was reported to have happened on 27 January at Nair Municipal Hospital in Mumbai while Maru was accompanying a female relative named Laxmi Solanki.
According to preliminary reports of the case, police found that the cause of death was due to the inhaling of liquid oxygen which leaked out from the damaged cylinder. The crack in the cylinder was likely caused from the collision with the machine.
Mumbai police spokesman Deepak Deoraj told AFP, “We have arrested a doctor and another junior staff member under section 304 of the Indian penal code for causing death due to negligence.”
MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging and it is a machine that uses powerful magnets and radio waves to take detailed pictures inside the body. Unlike X-rays and CT scans, an MRI does not use radiation. Since it employs the use of extremely strong magnets, objects which contain ferrous metals cannot be brought into the room as it will be drawn towards the machine.
“We have arrested a doctor and another junior staff member under section 304 of the Indian penal code for causing death due to negligence”
Maru’s uncle said that his nephew had been asked to carry the oxygen cylinder into the room by a junior staff member. The junior staff member assured them that the machine was switched off. Jitendra Maru told AFP, “The ward boy who was supposed to prevent such incidents told my family members to go inside when the machine was turned on. We are shocked and devastated.”
The victim’s uncle said Maru had been asked to carry the cylinder by the junior staff member who assured him the machine was switched off.
“The ward boy who was supposed to prevent such incidents told my family members to go inside when the machine was turned on. We are shocked and devastated,” Jitendra Maru told AFP.
“The ward boy who was supposed to prevent such incidents told my family members to go inside when the machine was turned on”
Maru’s brother-in-law, Harish Solanki told the Indian Times that he blamed the junior staff for asking the family to take the oxygen cylinder into the MRI room. They were confused at this because a previous staff member had asked them to “remove all metallic objects such as belts, wallets and pins.
Solanki told the paper “We hesitated and my niece Priyanka even mentioned that the cylinder was metallic, but the ward (assistant) said the machine wasn’t on. Maru took the cylinder in, which was sucked toward the machine by its magnetic force. Maru got dragged along.”
The oxygen cylinder was damaged during the impact and Maru died from inhaling liquid oxygen when it leaked
Maru was then rushed to the emergency room for treatment but tragically after 10 minutes he was pronounced dead as he had already inhaled fatal amounts of liquid oxygen emitted from the damaged cylinder.
Mumbai is the capital of the state of Maharashtra. The state government of Maharashtra announced that a compensation of 500,000 rupees ($7,870) would be given to the victim’s family.
This incident has been filed and the authorities will be doing further investigations concerning the three individuals held responsible for negligence. These three individuals include Dr Siddhant Shah, Vitthal Chavan and Sunita Surve. The CCTV footage of the incident has been handed over to the authorities for closer inspection. The state government of Maharashtra would give the family a compensation of 500,000 rupees ($7,870)
