Hyperbaric Chamber Lawsuit Filed Over Fire During Cerebral Palsy Treatment

The family of a child with cerebral palsy and his grandmother, who died in a hyperbaric chamber fire, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that operated the chamber.

Francesco Pio Martinizi, 4, and his grandmother, 62-year old Vincenza Pesce were killed after being caught in an explosion and flash fire in a pressurized chamber of pure oxygen at the Ocean Hyperbaric Oxygen Neurologic Center in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida on May 1.

Martinizi came to the United States from Italy to receive oxygen treatment for his cerebral palsy. Pure oxygen hyperbaric chambers are illegal in Italy and many other countries due to the risk of fire and explosion.

Pesce, who was in the chamber with the boy to keep him company, died a day after the blast. Martinizi suffered burns over 90% of his body and died 44 days later.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but some investigators have said that a tube attached to the chamber came loose. The wrongful death lawsuits charge the facility with failing to take the necessary safety precautions to prevent the explosion.

Hyperbaric chambers are used to place patients in a 100% oxygen environment under slightly increased pressure, to provide patients with an infusion of oxygen-rich blood and more oxygen reaching the tissues of the body. It is used to treat decompression sickness, air embolisms, victims of carbon monoxide poisoning, and studies have shown that hyperbaric treatments can increase the gross motor function abilities of children with cerebral palsy.

Martinizi was able to come to the U.S. for the cerebral palsy treatments based, in part, on donations from residents in his home village.