An "alternative" clinic and the man who ran it have been fined more than $700,000 following the death of a vulnerable patient who used a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
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Malcolm Hooper on Monday faced the Victorian County Court, where he was fined $176,750, while his South Yarra clinic Oxymed Australia was fined $550,000 for three workplaces safety offences after the death Craig Dawson in April 2016.
Mr Dawson, a wheelchair-bound sufferer of multiple sclerosis with epilepsy, had a seizure in a unit at Oxymed and died a few days later in hospital.
He had been undergoing twice-weekly, four-hour sessions at Hooper's clinic for 18 months and died following a cardiac arrest.
The court heard that Oxymed had an inadequate risk assessment system in place.
Judge Amanda Fox described it as an "alternative" health facility that people may have turned to when mainstream treatment had failed.
"You do not need medical qualifications to own and operate these sorts of chambers," Judge Fox said.
Experts previously told the court that using hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat patients with multiple sclerosis was controversial, not supported by scientific data and not approved by Medicare.
WorkSafe Victoria health and safety acting director Andrew Keen said Mr Dawson's death was a "tragic example" of employers not putting safety first.
"If you are running a business in Victoria, you have a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of not only your workers but also members of the public, including your customers," Mr Keen said in a statement.
"WorkSafe will not hesitate to take action against employers who put people's lives in danger by not having basic safety procedures in place."
Australian Associated Press
