SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — It's been nearly three weeks since a 5-year-old boy was killed in a hyperbaric chamber explosion at the Oxford Recovery Center in Troy.
As the family of 5-year-old Thomas Cooper mourns his death, they're also beginning to fight for answers on how the explosion happened and what could’ve prevented his death.
"Under no circumstances should anything like this ever happen — ever," said James Harrington, managing partner at Fieger Law.
Harrington is representing the Royal Oak family.
"When we met with the family, it was one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve ever seen," he told 7 News Detroit.
The morning of Jan. 31, Thomas was at the Oxford Recovery Center in Troy receiving treatment in a hyperbaric chamber, which is something Thomas had done before for his ADHD and sleep apnea.
Previous coverage: 5-year-old boy killed in hyperbaric chamber explosion loved running, swimming; GoFundMe set up for family
"It was private pay. It wasn’t insurance. It was money that they had worked hard to earn to pay for this," Harrington said. "He had, I believe, 35 treatments, and this happened on the 36th treatment."
On that 36th treatment, the hyperbaric chamber that Thomas was in exploded.
Harrington said that something many do not know is that Thomas' mother tried to save her baby boy.
"She was in the waiting room and was alerted that something was going wrong and rushed back, and he was engulfed in flames and she was trying to get him out and sustained significant burns to her arm," Harrington said.
Previous coverage: 5-year-old boy killed after hyperbaric chamber explodes in Troy
He said that the physical wounds will be permanent. And there's the lifelong emotional pain that everyone in Thomas' family will endure including his mom, dad and 3-year-old little brother.
"He’s having a tough time," Harrington said.
What's left today is to fight for answers, which is why Harrington said he is working with the Coopers.
He said their team at Feiger is investigation "everything."
"Everything. We are investigating everything. So, we have sent out letters to preserve all the evidence," Harrington said.
He said that in the next few weeks, they will be filing some type of lawsuit with the end goal of learning why the chamber exploded, what could have prevented it and finding a way to make sure this never happens to another child.
A GoFundMe has been created for the family.
When asked what the community can do to show the Cooper family their support, Harrington replied "I think the most important thing for the family is to pray."
