A woman whose husband died after being dragged into an MRI machine has filed a lawsuit alleging negligence on the part of the medical facility and others involved, marking a significant development in a case that has drawn attention to the dangers of powerful medical imaging equipment. according to news dailyAdrienne Jones-McAllister filed a lawsuit in state Supreme Court in Nassau County over the death of her 61-year-old husband, Keith McAllister. Keith McAllister died on July 16, 2025, following an accident at the Nassau Open MRI Center in Westbury, New York. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of damages and names multiple entities associated with the facility.
Lawsuits and Negligence Allegations
Court documents filed Tuesday accuse the facility and associated companies of failing to take basic safety precautions. Adrienne Jones-McAllister claimed staff did not instruct her husband to remove the “large metal chain” before entering the MRI room and that the location was unsafe. The lawsuit further alleges that the defendants were negligent and careless, “allowing unsafe conditions to exist on the premises and failing to establish or enforce safety protocols.” She said she had suffered “serious personal, psychological and emotional harm”, including what was described as “permanent effects of pain, disability, disfigurement and loss of physical function”. The document also describes the trauma of witnessing the incident, saying she “witnessed and was fully aware of her husband’s hurt and pain and eventual death.”
The 61-year-old man was fatally injured after he was horribly sucked into an MRI machine while wearing a necklace/Image source: Gofundme
The suite is named Nassau Open MRI PC; East Coast Radiology PC, which has a contract to allow the Westbury facility to use its MRI machines; Sun Enterprises, which leases the space; and GM Partners Westbury LLC, which owns the property. The case is being handled by attorney Andrew Finkelstein of Jacoby & Meyers LLP and the Crump Law Office. Representatives of the companies named in the lawsuit did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Newsday reported.
What happened on July 16, 2025
Adrienne Jones-McAllister was undergoing an MRI scan of her knee when the incident occurred. Her husband accompanied her to the appointment, according to the lawsuit. She previously said that after the scan was completed, she asked him if he could come into the room and help her off the table. However, while the machine was still running, a technician “summoned” him to the room, the lawsuit says. At the time, Keith McAllister was wearing a heavy metal chain around his neck, said to weigh about 20 pounds, that he used for weight training. As he entered the room, the powerful magnetic field of the MRI machine pulled him toward the room. “The male victim was wearing a large metal chain around his neck, which caused him to be pulled into the machine, resulting in a medical incident,” the Nassau County Police Department said at the time. He was stuck on the machine and was “trapped for nearly an hour before they released the chain from the machine,” according to the family fundraiser.
His final moments and medical response
Emergency crews arrived and he was taken to hospital in critical condition. He suffered multiple heart attacks after the incident. Despite efforts to resuscitate him, he died the next day. His wife later recalled that he “waved goodbye” to her before his death.
Keith McAllister, 61, died after being dragged into MRI machine (GoFundMe)
The case is currently under investigation and how he was allowed into the room wearing the metal is a central question in the legal proceedings.
Risks of MRI Machines and Safety Protocols
MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, machines rely on extremely strong magnetic fields to produce detailed images of the body. These fields can exert powerful forces on metallic objects. According to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, magnetism is strong enough to act on “iron, some steels, and other magnetizable objects” and can be “strong enough to throw a wheelchair across a room.” Therefore, strict security protocols are standard. Patients and anyone entering the room are generally required to remove all metal objects, including jewelry and accessories, before approaching the machine. Guidelines from Columbia University Irving Medical Center similarly warn that metal objects can be pulled toward the scanner at high speeds, posing a serious risk of injury.
Household Accounts and Unanswered Questions
Accounts from family members following the incident pointed to a possible miscommunication. in a to fund me On a page set up to support the family, Adrienne’s daughter Samantha Borden said technicians “forgot to tell” Keith McAllister to remove the chain. The lawsuit also states that McAllister and the technician had previously had conversations about the chain, but the details of that exchange have not yet been fully disclosed. It is unclear how much compensation the widow is seeking. The case is expected to make its way through the courts, where questions about liability, safety protocols and the sequence of events inside the MRI room will be scrutinized.
