Mumbai MRI death case | Freak mishap turns into blame game

Eyewitnesses to the freak accident at Nair Hospital on Saturday evening blame the carelessness of the hospital’s on duty staff for the mishap that claimed 30-year-old Rajesh Maru’s life. “It is mere carelessness of the on-duty doctors and technicians of the MRI section as they did not caution Maru about entering the MRI room with the oxygen cylinder,” said Nayan Jitiya, Maru’s relative.

Maru was accompanying his elder sister’s ailing mother-in-law, Laxmi Solanki, who was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital on January 26 for breathlessness. She was on oxygen support and was advised to get an MRI done. On Saturday, around 7.30 pm when Solanki was being taken for the MRI on a stretcher, Maru was holding an oxygen cylinder in his hand. They were accompanied by two other relatives. Maru’s body was later taken to JJ Hospital for a post-mortem.

Priyanka Solanki, who was with Maru at the time of the incident said, “We were told by the aaya (helper) to remove our ornaments. The ward boy said that the MRI machine is switched off so Maru could enter first to keep the oxygen cylinder and then help them take the patient into the room. The door was only half-way open when he was instantly swept into the MRI machine due to its magnetic force. Within seconds he was stuck inside the machine and oxygen from the cylinder began leaking.”

Solanki added, “The doctors immediately took him to the casualty room but he was declared dead within 10 minutes of examination.”

Following the incident, the family approached the Agripada police station and lodged an FIR against the hospital. “Around 8 to 8.15 pm the relatives came in to file an FIR. We have arrested three accused — the on duty resident doctor, Dr Saurabh Langekar, a ward boy and the helper. Another doctor from the radiology department, Dr Siddhart Shah was present in the MRI room, however, no case has been registered against him by the family,” said Savalaram Agawane, Senior Police Inspector, Agripada police station.

Agawane added, “We will carry out a detailed investigation into why the authority on duty allowed the victim to enter the MRI room with an oxygen cylinder. Even if the relatives were unaware or stubborn, it is the hospital’s responsibility to stop them.”

MRI FACT CHECK

MRI
Magnetic Resonance Imaging

• a medical imaging technique used to form detailed pictures of the body’s organs, tissues and physiological processes
   
• widely used for medical diagnosis, staging of diseases and follow-ups

1
MRI machine per hospital

Rs 5 crore+
Cost per machine

30
MRIs per day at Nair Hospital

MRI room
a separate room inside the radiology section of a hospital

Why?

• The machine uses powerful magnetic fields and radio waves to generate images
   
• It attracts iron-containing objects and may cause them to move suddenly and with great force
   
• It will also pull on any iron-containing object in the body
   
• This poses a possible risk to the patient or anyone in the object’s ‘flight path’
   
• The machine is usually switched on throughout the day as MRI appointments are slotted one after the other
   
• Even on standby mode, radiation produced by the machine is present in the room

MANDATORY PRECAUTIONS

• Great care is taken to be certain that iron-containing objects are not brought into the area
   
• Every MRI facility has a comprehensive screening procedure and protocol that must be carefully followed
   
• As a patient, it is vital to remove all metallic belongings before an MRI exam. These include hearing aids, watches, jewellery, cell phones, and items of clothing that have metallic threads or fasteners. Additionally, makeup, nail polish, or other cosmetics that may contain metallic particles should also be removed if applied to the area of the body undergoing the MRI examination
   
• It is very important to inform the MRI technologist about any implant or other internal objects like pacemakers or non-removable metals inside the body that one may have
   
• Stretchers on which patients are taken to the room are radiation compatible
   
• In addition, a metallic implant or other objects may cause signal loss or distort the MR images

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

1. 65-year-old Laxmi Solanki, a patient at the hospital, is taken to the MRI room on a stretcher accompanied by 30-year-old Rajesh Maru who is carrying an oxygen cylinder
    
2. The ward boy directs Maru to enter the MRI room first to place the cylinder as the machine is switched off
    
3. Within seconds, the MRI machine swallows Maru entirely. While he is stuck in the machine, the oxygen cylinder begins leaking
    
4. Eyewitnesses and hospital staff present at the site attempt to pull Maru out of the machine. His hand is stuck and there is blood all over