Fitness club sued for non-AED use in NJ EMT's death

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Fitness club sued for non-AED use in NJ EMT's death

February 17, 2009
By Jennifer Golson
The Star-Ledger
http://www.ems1.com/ems-products/aeds/articles/454388-Fitness-club-sued-for-non-AED-use-in-NJ-EMTs-death

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Thomas Durkin wasn't just an emergency medical technician. The former president of the Kendall Park First Aid Squad was passionate about safety.

That's why his family believes the South Brunswick man knew he was within inches of a device that could have helped save him after he collapsed at the Hillsborough Pool, Racquet & Fitness Club on Jan. 8, 2007.

Durkin, 44, went into cardiac arrest while playing racquetball. As he started turning blue, someone called 911 and a staff member rushed over with an automated external defibrillator, or AED. The portable machine delivers an electric shock to the heart and helps the muscle resume its normal beat.

The staff started cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but instead of using the device, they waited nearly 7 minutes for Hillsborough police to arrive and perform defibrillation. The father of two was later pronounced dead.
 
Only 2 years after the fact and we're finally catching wind of this in the media....then again, it's probably due to the legal red tape involved. Either way, it sounds like the fitness club dropped the ball on this one.
 
So, their argument seems to be that they weren't required to have everything in place until 4 days later?

I doubt the 4-day argument will stand up in court. In order to have the AED, at least in my state (and their regulation sounds similar), they are required to have medical oversight, an initial and continuing education program, CPR/AED trained personnel available during business hours, and an emergency response plan.

It would be interesting to hear the testimony of the CPR/AED trained personnel who brought the AED to the man's side and then failed to use it...
 
Critical thinking people, let's try and use it for awhile.

They didn't use the defibrillator? Does that mean that they never applied the pads, or that they never shocked him with it? If they didn't shock him, did the machine indicate that one was needed?

Hopefully the people sueing have at least thought about these questions, or this lawsuit is doomed from the beginning.
 
I strongly feel that this could also be related to education and the need for annual refresher training.
 
Critical thinking people, let's try and use it for awhile.

They didn't use the defibrillator? Does that mean that they never applied the pads, or that they never shocked him with it? If they didn't shock him, did the machine indicate that one was needed?

Hopefully the people sueing have at least thought about these questions, or this lawsuit is doomed from the beginning.

Thats what Im thinking. It never states if the pads were applied. Maybe no shock was advised.

Why would you bring the thing over there if you werent going to use it.
 
Why would you bring the thing over there if you werent going to use it.
That's actually not an uncommon occurrence. People react intuitively up to a certain point in the emergency, then they get scared. It happens in CPR and first aid too. Nobody has a problem grabbing the kit and running to the scene. It's actually going through with the aid that becomes the stumbling block. The stress of the situation causes them to freeze up, unsure of exactly what they were supposed to do in what order. Then very quickly they think, "oh well, the ambulance driers will be here any second now anyhow."

We see the very same thing happen with first responders, for that matter.
 
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