NY - Man Dies After Being Sucked Into MRI Machine by Necklace.

[sds71]

Police were told that 61-year-old Keith McAllister was wearing a large metallic chain around his neck and had entered an MRI room while a scan was in progress.

The chain around McAllister's neck caused him "to be drawn into the machine which resulted in a medical episode," the police said. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition but was pronounced dead a day later after succumbing to his injuries.

Man dies after being sucked into MRI machine by necklace

The incident occurred at a medical building in Westbury, New York, the police said.

www.newsweek.com

Nassau County woman recalls harrowing experience of her husband being pulled into MRI machine

The incident happened Wednesday afternoon at Nassau Open MRI in Westbury, Long Island.

longisland.news12.com

 

[LordMo]

if anyone else is wondering about how big the necklace was, this article states it was a 20-lb weight training chain necklace, which instead starts begging the question: how did nobody notice and tell him to take it off before entering the room?

Man dies after weight-training chain pulls him into MRI machine | Jefferson City News-Tribune

WESTBURY, N.Y. (AP) -- A man who was pulled into an MRI machine in New York after he walked into the room wearing a large weight-training chain around his neck has died, according to police and his wife.

www.newstribune.com

 

[Ssschu]

I don't believe for one second the MRI tech led an old man with an absurdly large 20 lb metal chain around his neck into the MRI room.

 

[10ofRods]

No one but the patient should have been in there. Or someone with medical clearance and no metal on their bodies.

It's odd that he was asked by the attendant to go help his wife, when the magnet is never off in an MRI room.

The waving good-bye thing that his wife mentions is rather bizarre. Sounds like he was still conscious immediately after the impact with the machine.

Anyway, his wife says she was the patient getting the MRI on her knee when she asked the attendant to send her husband into the room to help her get up (why not allow hospital personnel to do that? why did the attendant allow it without the protocol that ensures patients don't have metal on?)

The magnet in the MRI machine is always on. Sounds like he hit the magnetized metal pretty hard. Of course, wearing a 20 lb weight chain around his neck would have dragged that part of the body hard up against the magnet.

I get the feeling that the attendant and clinic are going to face some negligence charges. You don't just let random people walk into an MRI room without making them put on the gown and signing papers and stating that they have no metal implants that could interact with the magnet. Titanium does not respond to magnets, which is why it is used in medical hardware.

Iron/steel, cobalt and nickel (often used in sterling jewelry) must be removed.

Where I live, a person has to have an A.A. and certificate as a radiology tech to be an attendant. And everyone knows that the magnet is always on (they should tell the patients this too, but wow, the attendant apparently allowed an unscreened person into that room).

JMO

 

[10ofRods]

I don't believe for one second the MRI tech led an old man with an absurdly large 20 lb metal chain around his neck into the MRI room.

I am having trouble with this too! OTOH, that appears to be what happened (she had no way to communicate with her husband once she was in there). Is she lying about asking the attendant to go get him? Why would the attendant do that? Even if it had been, say, a smaller metal chain, he still would have been stuck to the machine.

How did they get him out? The magnet can't be turned off, according to everything I've read about MRI's. I was taught that even in a power outage, no one should enter an MRI or other radiographic facility without taking off their steel/iron jewelry (such as the stainless steel posts for ear rings) because while the patient probably won't be dragged by their ear, the post will be torn out of their ear and the lobe will be damaged.

Belt buckles. Orthopedic braces. They're supposed to check everyone for that before allowing them in the room. Really, a non-patient should not be asked to go into the room! Was this attendant completely untrained? Or is the wife lying?

I want to know!

 

[LordMo]

I don't believe for one second the MRI tech led an old man with an absurdly large 20 lb metal chain around his neck into the MRI room.

CBS is saying a witness described him entering the room despite being told not to, so you might be right.

Man sucked into MRI machine dies from his injuries, Long Island police say

A man who was sucked into an MRI machine and suffered severe injuries on Long Island has died, according to police.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Ssschu]

I am having trouble with this too! OTOH, that appears to be what happened (she had no way to communicate with her husband once she was in there). Is she lying about asking the attendant to go get him? Why would the attendant do that? Even if it had been, say, a smaller metal chain, he still would have been stuck to the machine.

How did they get him out? The magnet can't be turned off, according to everything I've read about MRI's. I was taught that even in a power outage, no one should enter an MRI or other radiographic facility without taking off their steel/iron jewelry (such as the stainless steel posts for ear rings) because while the patient probably won't be dragged by their ear, the post will be torn out of their ear and the lobe will be damaged.

Belt buckles. Orthopedic braces. They're supposed to check everyone for that before allowing them in the room. Really, a non-patient should not be asked to go into the room! Was this attendant completely untrained? Or is the wife lying?

I want to know!

I think the wife is changing the narrative to try and lay blame/liability on the MRI center. Early reporting was that she is claustrophobic and was crying out and he barged in there despite being told not to. Now the wife has gone to the media spinning a different narrative IMO. I think she's setting up for a lawsuit and pay day.

 

[10ofRods]

CBS is saying a witness described him entering the room despite being told not to, so you might be right.

Man sucked into MRI machine dies from his injuries, Long Island police say

A man who was sucked into an MRI machine and suffered severe injuries on Long Island has died, according to police.

www.cbsnews.com

Well, that explains everything.

And 61 isn't that old. Just saying. It's very sad. I just read something about how people take iphones into MRI's (and most survive just fine - not much that's susceptible to magnetism in an iphone, maybe some speaker damage). Did she take her phone and request him? Then he's told no and goes in anyway?

 

[10ofRods]

I think the wife is changing the narrative to try and lay blame/liability on the MRI center. Early reporting was that she is claustrophobic and was crying out and he barged in there despite being told not to. Now the wife has gone to the media spinning a different narrative IMO. I think she's setting up for a lawsuit and pay day.

Sounds like it. Amazing that they allowed him near enough that he could hear her calling out. Of course she doesn't want to face what really happened. If she was screaming, I see why he went in.

 

[LadyL]

Sounds like it. Amazing that they allowed him near enough that he could hear her calling out. Of course she doesn't want to face what really happened. If she was screaming, I see why he went in.

I've had a few MRI's and many other medical scans over the past 7 years. For some of them, my husband was sitting right outside the room. He would've heard me had I called out.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I have no doubt the man barged in there, despite being told not to, to get to his wife. There's no way a tech would have allowed him in. I'm guessing she panicked and called for him.

I feel very bad for the tech involved, who will now probably lose their job. I also feel very bad for the patient and her husband who died, but it's not the hospital's fault.

 

[DizzyB]

I have a couple of friends who are MRI techs. I went to visit one day and accidentally brought my purse into the room, with my keys inside. You could feel the pull of the magnet, and it wiped the strip off of every credit card in the bag. A twenty pound chain could certainly pull you in.
There was an accident years ago that was widely talked about in the tech community-an oxygen tank got sucked into the magnet and killed a child.
Boy, 6, Killed in Freak MRI Accident

 

[ChatteringBirds]

There was an accident years ago that was widely talked about in the tech community-an oxygen tank got sucked into the magnet and killed a child.

That is just such a horrific tragedy, DizzyB. Sooo sad.

 

[PrairieWind]

When my wife had an MRI she wanted me to go in with her because she is claustrophobic and just wanted me to be in the room with her. The techs had no problem with that but I had to fill out the same paperwork and empty all my pockets, take off all metal, etc. But i don't recall that they actually searched me or anything.

 

[tlcya]

MOO, the wife didn't call him in to help her of the table at the conclusion of her MRI. MOO She was still in progress and probably panicked and called out for him. I do not for one second believe the tech encouraged him in any way to enter that room.

I think his wife screamed out for him and he rushed in to tragic results.

Now I am off to try to understand what a weight training chain is and why one would wear one to accompany someone to the hospital for treatment or testing.

google has left me even more confused. I can see it in the gym while lifting weights but what in H e double toothpick is the point in wearing it that day for that occasion???

I feel for the man's loved ones but I can't help but chalk this up to dumb ways to die.

ETA link w image
Incredible Strength Gains Using Chains

 

[Skigh]

MOO, the wife didn't call him in to help her of the table at the conclusion of her MRI. MOO She was still in progress and probably panicked and called out for him. I do not for one second believe the tech encouraged him in any way to enter that room.

I think his wife screamed out for him and he rushed in to tragic results.

Now I am off to try to understand what a weight training chain is and why one would wear one to accompany someone to the hospital for treatment or testing.

google has left me even more confused. I can see it in thegym while lifting weights but what in H e double toothpick is the point in wearing it that day for that occasion???

I feel for the man's loved ones but I can't help but chalk this up to dumb ways to die.

ETA link w image
Incredible Strength Gains Using Chains

I could not understand ,either,why someone would wear a heavy weight training chain to a hospital appointment especially one where his wife was receiving treatment in a room where metal was prohibited. He could not have failed to notice he was wearing it and must have been aware of the dangers.

 

[LadyL]

MOO, the wife didn't call him in to help her of the table at the conclusion of her MRI. MOO She was still in progress and probably panicked and called out for him. I do not for one second believe the tech encouraged him in any way to enter that room.

I think his wife screamed out for him and he rushed in to tragic results.

Now I am off to try to understand what a weight training chain is and why one would wear one to accompany someone to the hospital for treatment or testing.

google has left me even more confused. I can see it in the gym while lifting weights but what in H e double toothpick is the point in wearing it that day for that occasion???

I feel for the man's loved ones but I can't help but chalk this up to dumb ways to die.

ETA link w image
Incredible Strength Gains Using Chains

wow I was not expecting something that big
why in the heck would he have that on at a hospital?
he couldn't take it off in the car?
bizarre

 

[vls12345]

I had seen a headline about this story when it first happened & he was injured. I hadn't realized he died a day later.

I'm sorry for him & his loved ones, regardless of circumstances. Sorry for the workers & clinic too. It was probably just a bad combo of unfortunate events -- the wife panicked & yelled for him, he quickly responded without thinking/realizing the danger of wearing the weighted necklace (acting before thinking), the tech was probably surprised as the man barged in. I'm sure it was a pretty quick set of events that turned into tragedy. It''s easy to be an armchair jockey in retrospect but I imagine the reality happened so quickly (& likely instinctively) that I have a hard time placing blame at this point. (In some cases, you want someone who will instinctively "jump in" to help... with CPR or to try to save a drowning person, etc. So, under some circumstances & with a different outcome, his actions might have been lauded rather than called dumb.) MOO.

For sure, though, this should lead to stricter protocols & procedures to prevent this happening anywhere in the future.

 

[MrPoll62]

I have no doubt the man barged in there, despite being told not to, to get to his wife. There's no way a tech would have allowed him in. I'm guessing she panicked and called for him.

I feel very bad for the tech involved, who will now probably lose their job. I also feel very bad for the patient and her husband who died, but it's not the hospital's fault.

 

[MrPoll62]

I agree. I'm sure the techs had no time to react. Once he got close enough, he was dragged like lightning till he hit MRI. Such a terrible event.