New York MRI Chain Accident: What the Reports Confirm

On 16 July 2025, a 61-year-old visitor entered an MRI examination room at Nassau Open MRI in Westbury, New York, while a scan was underway. He was wearing a large metallic chain around his neck. According to Nassau County police, the magnetic force pulled the chain—and the man—toward the machine. He died the following afternoon. [1]

What the police account establishes

The man's presence in the scanner room and the metallic chain were central to the police description. He was not the patient being scanned. Emergency responders transported him to hospital, where he later died. Contemporary coverage identified the location and dates; we link those reports below instead of presenting an unverified reconstruction of the scene. [2]

What is disputed or not established

There is a material difference between accounts of how he entered the room. Police initially characterized the room entry as unauthorized. His wife later told News 12 that she had asked for assistance after her knee scan and that a staff member had allowed her husband to enter. These are conflicting accounts, not a settled finding about staff behavior. [3]

Public reporting cited here does not establish the full screening sequence, every communication inside the department, or the findings of a completed independent root-cause investigation. The observed tragedy is real; assigning a specific procedural failure requires evidence beyond the news coverage.

Why this belongs in an MRI safety archive

A superconducting MRI scanner ordinarily retains its static magnetic field between scans. Objects that respond strongly to the field can be drawn rapidly toward the magnet. The FDA specifically lists projectile events among MRI risks and stresses screening of people and objects entering the MR environment. [4]

The practical question for departments is not whether staff would recognize an enormous chain on a calm day. It is whether access controls and screening processes still hold when someone is distressed, trying to assist a relative, or unfamiliar with the environment. These are general safety questions, not conclusions about this facility's actions.

How to keep the lesson useful

Use verified source material when reviewing visitor access, equipment checks and local MR procedures. Our MRI Safety Zones I–IV guide explains where public access ends and controlled MR entry begins. For all patient-specific decisions and emergency responses, follow institutional policy and trained MR safety personnel.