Key update on fatal MRI accident: Lawsuit filed after man was pulled into machine with metal chain | –

A woman whose husband died after being pulled into an MRI machine has filed a lawsuit, alleging negligence by the medical facility and others involved, marking a major development in a case that has drawn attention to the dangers of powerful medical imaging equipment. According to Newsday, Adrienne Jones-McAllister filed suit in state Supreme Court in Nassau County over the death of her husband, Keith McAllister, 61, who died following an accident at the Nassau Open MRI in Westbury, New York, on July 16, 2025. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages and names multiple entities associated with the facility.

Lawsuits and Negligence Claims

Court papers filed Tuesday accuse the facility and associated companies of failing to take basic safety precautions.

Adrienne Jones-McAllister claims staff did not order her husband to remove his “large metal chain” before entering the MRI room and that the building was not secure. The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants were negligent and negligent “by allowing unsafe conditions on the premises and failing to establish or implement safety protocols.” She says she suffered “severe and serious personal, psychological and emotional injuries”, including what she described as “permanent effects of pain, disability, disfigurement and loss of bodily function”.

The file also describes the shock of witnessing the accident, noting that she “witnessed and was fully aware through all her senses of her husband’s injuries, suffering and eventual death.”

The suit is named Nassau Open MRI PC; East Coast Radiology Computer, which has a contract allowing the Westbury facility to use its MRI machine; The Sun Foundation, which leased the site; and GM Partners Westbury LLC, which owns the property. The case is being handled by attorney Andrew Finkelstein of Jacoby & Myers, along with the Crump Law Firm. Representatives of the companies named in the lawsuit did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to Newsday.

What happened on July 16, 2025

The accident happened while Adrienne Jones-McAllister was undergoing an MRI scan of her knee. According to the lawsuit, her husband was with her at the appointment. She previously said she asked if he could enter the room to help her up from the table once the examination was complete.

However, the lawsuit states that he was “called” into the room by a technician while the machine was still running. At the time, Keith McAllister was wearing a heavy metal chain around his neck, reportedly weighing about 20 pounds and used for weight training. When he entered the room, the MRI machine’s strong magnetic field pulled him toward it. “The male victim was wearing a large metal chain around his neck which pulled him into the machine, causing him to have a medical seizure,” the Nassau County Police Department said at the time. He was trapped in the machine and, according to a family fundraiser, remained attached “for approximately an hour before they were able to free the chain from the machine.”

His final moments and medical response

Paramedics arrived and took him to the hospital in critical condition. He suffered multiple heart attacks after the accident. Despite efforts to save him, he died the next day. His wife later recalled that he was able to “wave goodbye” to her before he died.

Since then, the case has remained under investigation, with the circumstances of how he was allowed to enter the room wearing the metal forming a central question in the legal proceedings.

Risks of MRI machines and safety protocols

Magnetic resonance imaging machines, or MRIs, rely on extremely strong magnetic fields to generate detailed images of the body. These fields can exert strong forces on metal objects. According to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the magnetic force is strong enough to affect “iron, some steel, and other magnetizable objects,” and can be “strong enough to toss a wheelchair across a room.” For this reason, strict safety protocols have become the norm. Patients and anyone entering the room are typically asked to remove all metal items, including jewelry and accessories, before approaching the device. Likewise, Columbia University Irving Medical Center guidelines warn that metal objects can be pulled at high speed toward the scanner, posing a serious risk of injury.

Family accounts and unanswered questions

In the aftermath of the incident, family accounts indicated possible lapses in communication. On a GoFundMe page set up to support the family, Adrienne’s daughter, Samantha Bowden, noted that the technician “forgot to inform” Keith McAllister that the chain had been removed. The lawsuit also notes that there had been a prior conversation about the series between McAllister and the technician, though the details of that exchange have not been fully disclosed. It is still unclear how much compensation the widow is seeking. The case is expected to continue before the courts, where questions regarding liability, safety protocols and the sequence of events inside the MRI room will be examined in detail.