Man dies after getting sucked into an MRI machine at Nair Hospital

Another case of death by negligence sends shockwaves across the city as a man dies of Saturday evening after getting sucked into an MRI machine along with an oxygen cylinder he allegedly carried into the room for his ailing relative. The incident occurred at the BMC-run Nair Hospital, Mumbai Central.

The deceased, Raju Maru (32) was the brother of Laxmi Solanki who was admitted at Nair Hospital ICU (MICU) with suspected meningitis and pneumonia. As Laxmi was supposed to undergo an MRI scan on Saturday morning, MICU ward boy Vithal Chavan took Laxmi along with her family to the Hospital’s MRI section.

While Laxmi was on the MRI trolley that already has a dedicated space for oxygen cylinders, the family was told to remove all metallic objects. However, Chavan allegedly asked them to take an oxygen tank inside the chambers on the grounds that the patient would need it. He also allegedly told them that the MRI machine was not on.

As Maru walked in with the oxygen tank, he immediately got pulled in into the MRI machine along with the cylinder. A technician switched off the machine in a reflex and Maru was pulled out. His index finger which got stuck behind the cylinder was severed in the process. The cylinder was found with a broken knob and the gas has had escaped.

Efforts to revive Maru in Nair Hospital’s trauma ward failed as he passed away due to excess inhalation of oxygen. The family didn’t want the autopsy to be done at Nair Hospital and demanded it to be done at JJ Hospital, Byculla. The post-mortem performed on Sunday afternoon revealed that Maru had died of a lung collapse, on the spot.

Nair Hospital's dean Dr Ramesh Bharmal expressed grief for the tragic incident and told an inquiry is instituted to understand what went wrong. He said the patients will be referred to the BMC-run KEM and Sion hospitals for scans until the seven-year-old MRI machine is fixed,

The hospital’s CCTV footage is being looked into. Laxmi Solanki was not hurt anywhere in the scene. The Agripada police have registered a case against the trio under IPC section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) the doctor, the ward boy Vithal Chavan and a woman cleaner.