Invisible Force: MRI Accident Investigations

CAIREreporting.org & Tobias Gilk
  • 5.0 (21)
  • Documentary
  • Updated Biweekly

Invisible Force is an investigative documentary podcast about MRI accidents, patient safety failures, healthcare mysteries, and the hidden risks of modern medicine. Hosted by veteran MRI technologist John Posh and MRI safety expert Tobias Gilk, the show digs beyond sensational headlines to uncover what really happened, why it happened, and how similar tragedies can be prevented. What sounds at first like a freak accident, an unprecedented event, or a bizarre urban legend almost always turns out to be something far more revealing: stories bearing witness to human decisions, organizational failures, misunderstood risks, and warnings that were missed or ignored. The cases investigated on Invisible Force are real. A man is pulled into an MRI scanner by a heavy metal chain around his neck. A patient suffers serious burns during a routine MRI exam. An oxygen tank becomes a dangerous projectile. A hospital bed suddenly accelerates toward a powerful magnet. A pacemaker or other implanted medical device behaves unexpectedly in the MRI environment. The headlines often describe these incidents as rare, freak, or unprecedented. But are they? Invisible Force examines real MRI accidents, MRI injuries, MRI deaths, MRI burns, MRI projectile incidents, implant-related complications, healthcare worker injuries, patient safety failures, and the regulatory blind spots that allow many of these events to occur. Through deep investigative reporting, documentary storytelling, expert analysis, and science-based explanations, the podcast reconstructs incidents step by step to determine what happened, who knew what, and whether the outcome could have been prevented. Although MRI is one of the most important diagnostic tools in modern healthcare, many people are surprised to learn how little oversight exists for MRI safety compared with other areas of medical imaging. MRI scanners do not use ionizing radiation, yet the powerful magnetic fields and radiofrequency energy involved can create unique risks for patients, visitors, and healthcare workers when safety systems fail. The show explores why accidents happen, how healthcare organizations respond after serious incidents, how investigations are conducted, how information reaches the public, and why some of the most important lessons in patient safety remain hidden from view. Many incidents are quietly handled by hospitals, imaging centers, regulators, attorneys, compliance departments, insurance carriers, and accreditation organizations long before the public ever learns the full story. Listeners don't need a background in radiology, medicine, physics, or healthcare to follow the investigations. Complex scientific and technical concepts are explained in clear language, making Invisible Force accessible to anyone who enjoys investigative journalism, documentary storytelling, true-crime-style reporting, disaster investigations, science communication, healthcare accountability, public policy, risk management, or stories about how complex systems succeed and fail. At its core, Invisible Force isn't just about MRI. It's about what happens when everyone assumes someone else is responsible. It's about the gap between official explanations and underlying causes. It's about how organizations learn—or fail to learn—from mistakes. And it's about the invisible forces that shape outcomes long before a headline appears. Whether you're a patient, healthcare professional, journalist, attorney, policymaker, safety advocate, or simply someone who enjoys compelling real-world investigations, Invisible Force offers a rare look inside one of the least understood corners of modern healthcare. Because the most important question is rarely what happened. The most important question is why it happened—and how to prevent it from happening again.

  1. 7h ago

    S2E3 "MRI Safety Week Special: The Michael Colombini Legacy—and Why MRI Safety Still Isn't Required"

    Twenty-five years ago, the death of six-year-old Michael Colombini in a tragic MRI accident shocked the radiology world and forever changed how healthcare professionals think about MRI safety. The accident inspired the American College of Radiology's first MRI safety guidance, launched the modern MRI safety movement, and transformed best practices around the world. But here's the question nobody seems willing to answer: If we now know how to prevent most MRI accidents, why aren't those safety practices required? In this MRI Safety Week special, The Invisible Force Podcast concludes its three-part investigation into the 2001 Michael Colombini MRI accident by examining the extraordinary legacy it left behind. We trace the creation of the ACR White Paper on MR Safety, the evolution of the ACR Manual on MR Safety, and how one devastating event became the foundation of modern MRI safety practice. But the story doesn't end there. Through an investigation of CMS requirements, Joint Commission standards, MRI accreditation programs, and state oversight, we uncover a troubling reality: despite decades of progress in MRI safety knowledge, many of the most important MRI safety practices remain recommendations rather than enforceable requirements. In this episode: • The Michael Colombini MRI accident and its lasting impact • The origin of MRI Safety Week • How the ACR White Paper on MR Safety was created • The evolution of the ACR Manual on MR Safety • MRI accreditation and Joint Commission standards • CMS requirements for MRI patient safety • Why MRI safety regulations remain surprisingly weak • The gap between MRI safety best practices and enforceable rules • What hospitals, imaging centers, regulators, and patients need to understand Twenty-five years after the most influential MRI accidents in history, the MRI community possesses an extraordinary body of safety knowledge. The question is whether anyone is willing to require it. Whether you're an MRI technologist, radiologist, healthcare leader, patient-safety advocate, policymaker, or patient, this episode explores one of the most important unanswered questions in modern medical imaging. Topics: Michael Colombini, MRI Safety Week, MRI safety standards, MRI regulations, MRI accreditation, ACR Manual on MR Safety, CMS Conditions of Participation, Joint Commission MRI standards, MRI accidents, patient safety, healthcare regulation, medical imaging safety, MRI technologists, radiology policy, and MRI risk management. Created and written by: CAIREreporting.org and Tobias “Toby” Gilk Hosted by: Tobias “Toby” Gilk and John Posh Music & Art: Reggie Battle Production: Multitude Website: InvisibleForcePodcast.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  2. Jul 14

    S2E2 "From Surgery, to Disaster, to Lawsuit: The MRI Accident That Exposed Flaws in Radiology and Launched a Million-Dollar Medical Malpractice Suit"

    A six-year-old boy survives brain tumor surgery and is preparing to go home. Then a routine MRI turns into one of the most infamous accidents in medical history. In this episode of the Invisible Force podcast, we continue our investigation into the mystery of the 2001 MRI accident that claimed the life of Michael Colombini at Westchester Medical Center in New York. After an oxygen system failure inside the MRI suite, a steel oxygen cylinder was brought into the scanner room and was violently pulled into the MRI magnet, striking the young patient and triggering a tragedy that would permanently change the conversation around MRI safety. In our documentary style, we examine the frantic effort to rescue Michael from the MRI scanner, the hospital's public response, and the national media coverage that followed. We also explore the New York State Department of Health investigation, the role of hospital leadership, and the extraordinary statement by Westchester Medical Center CEO accepting responsibility for the care of the hospital's patient. The second half of the episode follows the Colombini family's wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital, physicians, MRI personnel, and MRI manufacturer GE Healthcare. Through court records and legal filings, we explore how the case shaped understanding of MRI technologist responsibilities, physician oversight, hospital liability, medical negligence, and MRI safety standards. This episode also examines how one of the most significant MRI accidents ever recorded helped drive the creation of modern MRI safety guidance, including the work that would eventually lead to the American College of Radiology's MRI safety framework. Created and written by: CAIREreporting.org and Tobias “Toby” Gilk Hosted by: Tobias “Toby” Gilk and John Posh Music & Art: Reggie Battle Production: Multitude Website: InvisibleForcePodcast.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  3. Jun 30

    S2E1 “The Original Fatal MRI Accident”

    The O.G. fatal MRI accident - that reshaped MRI safety best practices around the world - happened in 2001 at Westchester Medical Center in New York. This second series from Invisible Force takes you back to that accident, recreating the accident that wound up killing six-year-old Michael Colombini. While many in radiology know the headline of the most infamous deadly MRI accident, surprisingly few know what happened or what went wrong on this, the 25th anniversary of the incident. This episode tells the story of how the young boy found himself inside the MRI scanner, and the sequence of events that turned what would have been a miraculous diagnosis and surgery into a tragedy that snuffed out Michael Colombini’s life. The next two episodes in the series will look at the near-term implications, including the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) investigation into WMC and the lawsuit, and then the longer-term fallout from this accident that shocked the conscience of the radiology profession, looking at the development of best practices and the sorry state of MRI safety licensure or regulation minimums. Please subscribe to make sure you don’t miss a single episode! Created and written by: CAIREreporting.org and Tobias “Toby” Gilk Hosted by: Tobias “Toby” Gilk and John Posh Music & Art: Reggie Battle Production: Multitude Website: InvisibleForcePodcast.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  4. Jun 16

    S1E12 "Au Revoir"

    In July, 2025, Keith McAllister died in an MRI accident at Nassau Open MRI that was both anticipatable and preventable. What has the State of New York done in the intervening year to make MRI safer in their state? This episode tries to answer that question, and gives you a sneak-peek at our upcoming episodes. The New York State Department of Health gaslit our hosts, pretending there was an investigation into the fatal MRI accident when there wasn’t one. When pressed on these details, they froze us out, so we resorted to a Freedom of Information Law request. After almost six-months, they finally responded to our request on what the state is doing to provide some minimum level of MRI safety to New Yorkers… Despite reports of ‘following the events,’ and ‘ongoing investigations,’ and ‘attention to safety,’ we can’t say what – if anything – the NYSDOH is doing to help make MRI scans safer for New Yorkers. We can say, however, that Invisible Force will be doing new series on the MRI accident at Westchester Medical Center in which Michael Colombini died, as well as one on an accident at Redwood City Hospital where a nurse was trapped against an MRI scanner by an ICU bed. Created and written by: CAIREreporting.org and Tobias “Toby” Gilk Hosted by: Tobias “Toby” Gilk and John Posh Music & Art: Reggie Battle Production: Multitude Website: InvisibleForcePodcast.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  5. Jun 2

    S1E11 “Protect Yourself”

    All of these agencies and organizations promise to ensure quality & safety of medical care… do they actually do this for MRI safety? And if they don’t, what can we do to help make sure that the people we love are getting MRI exams at places that take our safety seriously? In this episode our hosts change the focus from the MRI death of Mr. Keith McAllister and Nassau Open MRI to each of us, and what we, as MRI patients, can do to help protect ourselves or our loved ones, helping to assure MRI safety at the hospital or imaging center where we seek care. Are the signs from MRI state licensure, or MRI accreditation, that are good indicators for us to find safe MRI providers? Should we be getting our MRIs at hospitals instead of outpatient imaging centers? Should we only be going to MRI providers who have MRI safety officers (MRSO) on staff? Created and written by: CAIREreporting.org and Tobias “Toby” Gilk Hosted by: Tobias “Toby” Gilk and John Posh Music & Art: Reggie Battle Production: Multitude Website: InvisibleForcePodcast.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  6. May 19

    S1E10 “MRI Safety Expert Witnesses”

    OK, it was a horrible MRI accident, but does that mean that there’s no accountability? In this episode our hosts break down the errors they’ve seen, as well as offering their takes on what they believe both civil and criminal liabilities might be. In this episode our hosts, John Posh and Tobias Gilk, put on their pretend lawyer or MRI expert witness hats and discuss what legal duties or liability might be shouldered by Nassau Open MRI, the radiologist, and the MRI technologist. The hosts find that all three had duties to MRI safety that appear to not have been met, creating potential civil liability. The host pair also look into New York criminal law, identifying whether there’s sufficient information to consider charging the three with criminally negligent homicide for the MRI death of Mr. Keith McAllister. Created and written by: CAIREreporting.org and Tobias “Toby” Gilk Hosted by: Tobias “Toby” Gilk and John Posh Music & Art: Reggie Battle Production: Multitude Website: InvisibleForcePodcast.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  7. May 5

    S1E9 "Once More… From The Beginning"

    After months of wild-goose chases, obfuscation, and gaslighting, our hosts are feeling more confident in the details of our fatal MRI accident story that they’ve been able to dig up. This episode features a retelling of the events of the death of Keith McAllister at Nassau Open MRI, informed by the investigations of the past several months, with many of the original holes filled in. Where the original telling of the story of this MRI death was based on news reports, the investigations of our hosts, John Posh and Tobias Gilk, has been able to change what we understand to be the truth. In this episode, they ‘take it from the top’ with a more comprehensive view of what happened at Nassau Open MRI in New York. While there are still gaps in what is known about this deadly MRI accident, this episode gives us the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of what happened that resulted in the death of Mr. Keith McAllister. Created and written by: CAIREreporting.org and Tobias “Toby” Gilk Hosted by: Tobias “Toby” Gilk and John Posh Performances: Mischa Stanton Music & Art: Reggie Battle Production: Multitude Website: InvisibleForcePodcast.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  8. Apr 21

    S1E8 “Nassau Open MRI”

    In October of 2025, Nassau Open MRI out on Long Island, NY, formally closed up shop. Earlier they had deactivated their website, now they were officially closing their doors. They also weren’t talking to us. We had pretty much given up hope of getting anything from them until a remarkable employee of theirs interrupted one of Toby’s talks to ‘out’ themselves! Here we learn about the 2025 ARMRIT meeting in which the MRI technologist from Nassau Open MRI stood up in the middle of a crowd and ‘doxxed’ himself to a few hundred colleagues. But not only did he stand up in the room, but he also had a long sit-down conversation about the fatal MRI accident, MRI safety practices, and the quench button that purportedly malfunctioned. It was from this sit-down conversation that many new revelations about this fatal MRI accident emerged. Maybe the Nassau Open MRI radiologist didn’t know MRI safety? Maybe the tech pushed a button that wasn’t the quench button? Maybe much of what we thought we knew about this deadly MRI accident was just spin, and the facts were different… Created and written by: CAIREreporting.org and Tobias “Toby” Gilk Hosted by: Tobias “Toby” Gilk and John Posh Performances: Mischa Stanton Music & Art: Reggie Battle Production: Multitude Website: InvisibleForcePodcast.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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About

Invisible Force is an investigative documentary podcast about MRI accidents, patient safety failures, healthcare mysteries, and the hidden risks of modern medicine. Hosted by veteran MRI technologist John Posh and MRI safety expert Tobias Gilk, the show digs beyond sensational headlines to uncover what really happened, why it happened, and how similar tragedies can be prevented. What sounds at first like a freak accident, an unprecedented event, or a bizarre urban legend almost always turns out to be something far more revealing: stories bearing witness to human decisions, organizational failures, misunderstood risks, and warnings that were missed or ignored. The cases investigated on Invisible Force are real. A man is pulled into an MRI scanner by a heavy metal chain around his neck. A patient suffers serious burns during a routine MRI exam. An oxygen tank becomes a dangerous projectile. A hospital bed suddenly accelerates toward a powerful magnet. A pacemaker or other implanted medical device behaves unexpectedly in the MRI environment. The headlines often describe these incidents as rare, freak, or unprecedented. But are they? Invisible Force examines real MRI accidents, MRI injuries, MRI deaths, MRI burns, MRI projectile incidents, implant-related complications, healthcare worker injuries, patient safety failures, and the regulatory blind spots that allow many of these events to occur. Through deep investigative reporting, documentary storytelling, expert analysis, and science-based explanations, the podcast reconstructs incidents step by step to determine what happened, who knew what, and whether the outcome could have been prevented. Although MRI is one of the most important diagnostic tools in modern healthcare, many people are surprised to learn how little oversight exists for MRI safety compared with other areas of medical imaging. MRI scanners do not use ionizing radiation, yet the powerful magnetic fields and radiofrequency energy involved can create unique risks for patients, visitors, and healthcare workers when safety systems fail. The show explores why accidents happen, how healthcare organizations respond after serious incidents, how investigations are conducted, how information reaches the public, and why some of the most important lessons in patient safety remain hidden from view. Many incidents are quietly handled by hospitals, imaging centers, regulators, attorneys, compliance departments, insurance carriers, and accreditation organizations long before the public ever learns the full story. Listeners don't need a background in radiology, medicine, physics, or healthcare to follow the investigations. Complex scientific and technical concepts are explained in clear language, making Invisible Force accessible to anyone who enjoys investigative journalism, documentary storytelling, true-crime-style reporting, disaster investigations, science communication, healthcare accountability, public policy, risk management, or stories about how complex systems succeed and fail. At its core, Invisible Force isn't just about MRI. It's about what happens when everyone assumes someone else is responsible. It's about the gap between official explanations and underlying causes. It's about how organizations learn—or fail to learn—from mistakes. And it's about the invisible forces that shape outcomes long before a headline appears. Whether you're a patient, healthcare professional, journalist, attorney, policymaker, safety advocate, or simply someone who enjoys compelling real-world investigations, Invisible Force offers a rare look inside one of the least understood corners of modern healthcare. Because the most important question is rarely what happened. The most important question is why it happened—and how to prevent it from happening again.

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