A man died last week after being pulled into an MRI machine by a “large metallic chain” police said he was wearing around his neck – highlighting the importance of checking for any metallic objects before going near the powerful magnets used in the medical imaging machines.

The incident occurred Wednesday afternoon at a medical building in Westbury, New York, according to the Nassau County Police Department.

The family of a Long Island man who was killed when he was violently yanked into an MRI machine by a 20-pound chain around his neck hired an attorney in a likely precursor to a lawsuit. Keith McAllister,