A 32-Year-Old Mumbai Man Dies After Getting Sucked Into An MRI Machine

Healthcare in India has been under scrutiny for quite some time now. From Fortis Hospital charging the family extravagant fees to doctors of Max Hospital declaring wrongly pronouncing a baby stillborn, medical practitioners and their wrongful diagnosis and practices are now coming to light.

A shocking incident occurred last night in which a man, visiting a relative at BYL Nair Charitable Hospital in Mumbai, got sucked into the MRI machine and died from serious injuries therewith. Rajesh Maru entered the MRI room with an oxygen cylinder when the machine was on and got pulled into the machine due to the magnetic forces of the machine reacting to the metal of the cylinder.

The grieving family of the deceased has blamed the hospital for severe negligence. They said that the technician assured them the machine was turned off when Rajesh was entering the room.

As per a report by the Hindustan Times, Harish Solanki, Maru’s brother-in-law and an eyewitness to the whole accident, said that they were aware that metallic things are not allowed inside the scanning room. According to NDTV, he said,

“When we told him that metallic things aren’t allowed inside an MRI room, he said ‘sab chalta hai, hamara roz ka kaam hai‘ . He also said that the machine was switched off. The doctor as well as the technician didn’t say anything,”

Solanki added saying that as soon as he entered, his left hand holding the cylinder got sucked into the machine. His hand got stuck between the cylinder and the machine. When they finally managed to pull him out, his fingers were severed and he was unconscious.

On being rushed to the trauma ward, he was given electric shocks, but the doctors failed to revive him.

The dean of the hospital, Dr Ramesh Bharmal, deemed this as a ‘tragic’ accident and has cordoned the MRI machine room. He said,

“An FIR was filed and an enquiry committee has been set up, which will give a report in a week’s time.”

The police have arrested the resident doctor Saurabh Lanjrekar, ward boy, Vitthal Chavan, and attendant Sunita Surve, all three who were working in the MRI room when the accident occurred.

The autopsy report suggested that Maru died because he inhaled a huge amount of liquid oxygen. It seems that when the cylinder got pulled by the machine’s magnetic force, oxygen started leaking. Since Maru was stuck with his hand holding the cylinder, he inhaled the liquid oxygen, which caused him to become unconscious.

Rajesh was at the hospital attending to a relative there. It cost him his life because the medical staff couldn’t ensure the machine was turned off. Despite the family members bringing it to their notice that metal is not allowed inside the room, they insisted on him entering and ended up paying for it with his life. This is a clear-cut case of medical negligence, lack of proper training and ‘chalta hai’ unprofessional attitude of people in our country.

This kind of carelessness is unacceptable and the people responsible for it must be punished severely.