Category: AED Liability

Statistics show that over 250,000 people die each year from heart attacks outside of hospitals. Many residents of West Palm Beach have elderly family members or are elderly themselves, and are therefore more susceptible to heart attacks than the general population.

Those who survive public heart attacks often have their life saved by an AED machine. An automated external defibrillator delivers a shock to the chest after measuring the pulse to see if ventricular fibrillation is taking place. Not all heart attacks are caused by ventricular fibrillation, but studies show that most public heart attacks are. For this reason, AED machines in public places can save lives.

It is important for Florida residents to plan ahead and know what to do in case you or a loved one has a heart attack in a public place.

1. Call for medical attention. If you are having a heart attack, get help from a friend, a family member or someone passing by, and ask them to call for medical attention. If a loved one is having a heart attack, call for medical attention immediately.
2. Look for an AED. Check for a brightly colored object mounted on the wall, near an entrance or exit. In 1997, the state of Florida mandated that an AED be present and marked clearly in all public places that elderly people tend to visit. These include casinos, stadiums, golf courses, and shopping centers.
3. Remove the defibrillator from the wall mounting. This will create an alarm, alerting staff that someone with CPR training is needed.
4. Find someone with CPR training. Most public places have staff on-hand that are certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A CPR-trained individual may attempt manual resuscitation (clearing the victim’s airways and pumping the chest) before using an AED.

Have you or someone you love suffered a heart attack in a public place that did not have an AED machine present? If the heart attack could have been treated by an AED machine, you may be entitled to compensation. Call Florida heart attack injury lawyer Craig Goldfarb to set up a free consultation.

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If you suffer a heart attack in a public place, an AED may be the best chance of saving your life. But, what if the AED has no batteries?

A new study of 1,150 deaths related to AED failure has found than almost one-quarter of these deaths are caused by battery problems. The study conducted by researchers at the University of Arizona was published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Lawrence A. DeLuca and his team looked at reports of 41,000 adverse events reported in AEDs over the past 15 years. While battery problems were a leading cause of AED failure, problems with wiring and pads were of equal concern.

Causes of AED Failure:

• Battery/power failure: 23.2%
• Pad or connector problems: 23.7%

The study was inspired by DeLuca’s own experience. He was on vacation at a resort when another guest went into cardiac arrest. DeLuca grabbed the AED and tried to administer rescue shocks. However, as soon as the machine started to charge, it went dead. Although the doctors ran to get another AED, it was too late. The man died. DeLuca, a professor of emergency medicine, blames AED battery failure.

Quick treatment with an AED is essential for surviving cardiac arrest; the likelihood of restarting the heart by 7 percent to 10 percent every minute increases. AEDs and their batteries should be checked regularly to ensure that they are in working order in the event of an emergency.