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A new lawsuit accuses American Airlines of carrying uncharged automatic external defibrillators on aircraft after a teenager died aboard a June 2022 flight.
A mother is accusing American Airlines of being negligent with their emergency medical equipment, after she claims her son died because of an uncharged automatic external defibrillator (AED).
In a federal lawsuit filed on Monday, March 13, 2023, in the Southern District of New York, Melissa Arzu is suing on allegations they failed to meet standards set by the Aviation Medial Assistance Act of 1998.
Mother Claims Son Died Because of Uncharged Defibrillator
Under the Aviation Medical Assistance Act of 1998, Congress directed the Federal Aviation Administration to determine what medical equipment airlines should have onboard in the event of an emergency, such as AEDs. It also doesn’t allow damages to airlines for passengers who attempt to help someone in medical distress, if the flyer doesn’t work for the airline and “the carrier in good faith believes that the passenger is medically qualified.”
In the case of American Airlines Flight 614 on June 4, 2022, Arzu accuses American of being negligent in managing their equipment. Kevin Greenridge was a teenager traveling on the flight between Ramon Villeda Morales San Pedro Sula International Airport (SAP) in Honduras to Miami International Airport (MIA). During the trip, the lawsuit claims Greenridge “suddenly went into cardiac arrest and became unconscious.” When the crew attempted to intervene with an AED, the suit alleges it did not shock Greenridge’s heart into starting again because the battery was not charged.
“The foregoing incident and resulting death of the plaintiff’s intestate were caused wholly and solely by reason of the carelessness, recklessness and negligence of the defendant [American Airlines],” the lawsuit reads. It goes on to accuse the Fort Worth-based airline of being derelict in its duties by “failing to maintain an [AED],” and ensuring “the AED and its mobile battery pack were fully and properly charged.”
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified “reasonable” damages and legal fees against the carrier. American Airlines has not publicly commented on the incident, nor have they responded to the complaint in court as of press time. No decision has been made in the lawsuit.
Feature image courtesy: alamosapublichealth/Flickr/CC BY 2.0
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