Mumbai MRI accident: Ward boy told us machine was switched off, said relative of deceased

Solanki said that a doctor and a technician were present when the ward boy asked them to get the cylinder in the room.

Relatives of the 32-year-old Lalbaug resident who died in the accident at the MRI centre of Nair Hospital, has blamed hospital staff of ‘medical negligence’.

The deceased’s family members outside BYL Nair Hospital. (HT Photo)

According to his family, Rajesh Maru, who died in the accident, was at the hospital to help his brother-in law’s 65 year-old mother, who was getting treated for viral fever.

Harish Solanki, Maru’s brother-in-law, who was an eye witness in the accident, said that a woman staff member instructed them, including the patient, to remove all metal objects before entering the MRI scan room.

“However, the ward boy asked us to get an oxygen cylinder into the MRI room, ‘insisting’ that the patient will need it,” said Solanki.

“One of the relatives pointed out that the cylinder was also made of metal, but the ward boy said that the machine was switched off,” Solanki added.

Solanki said that a doctor and a technician were present when the ward boy asked them to get the cylinder in the room.

As soon as he entered the MRI room, Solanki said that Maru’s left hand, which was holding the oxygen cylinder, got ‘sucked’ into the machine and his finger got stuck between the machine and the cylinder.

“The ward boy and I managed to pull him out, during which his finger was severed. When we pulled him out, he was unconscious, so we rushed him to the trauma centre where they gave him electric shocks, but he could not be revived,” Solanki said.

Maru’s maternal uncle, Narayan Jitiya, 58, said he got a call from Solanki around 9:30 pm, to inform him about the incident. “We immediately rushed to the trauma centre, but they did not allow us to enter,” he said.

Maru’s post-mortem was conducted at Sir JJ Hospital, Byculla, where doctors found the cause of death to be because of chest trauma, which led to collection of air between his lungs and the chest wall.

Meanwhile, Dr Ramesh Bharmal, dean of the hospital, called it is a ‘tragic’ incident. “An FIR was filed and enquiry committee has been set up, which will give a report in a week’s time. The MRI machine room has been cordoned. Till the machine is inspected by the company, we will send the patients to KEM hospital,” he said.