Posted on 12/15/2005 10:51:26 AM PST by Xenophobic Alien
DENVER - A family is suing the Cherry Creek Mall, claiming a failure to respond with an automatic defibrillator allowed their daughter to die.
Additional Resources... 9NEWS reporter Paul Johnson talks with Memory's parents about their daughter and their lawsuit. 9NEWS 10 p.m. Dec. 14, 2005.
Eighteen-year-old Memory Rollins of Denver was working at American Eagle Outfitters in the mall two years ago when she went into cardiac arrest.
Rollins was an active teen; a dancer and a model. However, because of an electrical problem with her heart called Long QT Syndrome, she had a pacemaker.
Although doctors thought it unlikely, Rollins collapsed while at work in 2003. There were five automatic defibrillators in the mall, but no security guards brought one to help her, according to Patrick Rollins, Memory's father.
"I don't have my daughter, and I feel that there was a good chance she would have survived this episode," Patrick says.
The defibrillators are designed to detect when someone is in cardiac arrest and deliver a shock to restart their heart. They've become standard in many workplaces and public facilities.
The Rollins are also asking why, if the mall went to the trouble of buying the machines, they were not marked and stored in a way the public could access them.
A spokesperson for Cherry Creek Mall said he cannot comment on the case while it is before the courts.
"We extend our deepest sympathies to the family," mall General Manager Nick LeMasters said.
The Rollins family says they know they can't bring Memory back, but they hope they can make it so such an incident will never happen at the mall again.
This lawsuit should encourage public places to get rid of their Defib units. So if you ever need one, and the place doesn't have one, be sure to have your survivors thank this family.
A better question they should be asking is why they as parents didn't buy her a personal one she could carry around in a backpack in the event of just such an emergency considering her pre-existing medical condition.
Things happen. It's not the fault of the mall. If they wanted to, they could have bought one and made sure it was with their daughter at all times. It sounds extreme but I see the reaction of the parents as extreme. Her death is not the fault of others ... it was simply her time. The parents need to get on with their lives and stop dreaming about oodles of money to replace their daughter.
My response, as the mall owner, would be to take out all medical life saving devices so I could not be sued for not using them as quickly as some lawyer thinks they should be used...
You read my mind. I just posted the same thing. They're readily available and affordable.
If the family (and their lawyer) were honest,they'd say "but they hope that they can buy a really nice place in the Florida Keys with the settlement money".
Note to self: Never name a child... memory.
Okay, I know I'm going to get yelled at for this, but here it is...
Does the family now have dementia since they have lost their Memory?
If a defribbulator was used and she died they would have sued also.
Yep, about $2500 which would also be tax deductible.
Or perhaps teach them to actually train their rent a cops how to actually handle emergency situations?
Why did the mall buy this things, if not to use...hmmm...
Parents & their lawyers... wall... firing squad.
'nuff said
You've hit the nail on the head. The best way for a business like this to avoid liability is to have no first aid supplies at all. And make sure that the security guards don't have access to a phone either. Better to let some bystander get sued for not dialing 911 fast enough.
They're around for ALLOT less than that!
ALLOT less!
Even if that were not true, being inexpensive, isn't their daughters life worth it? Or are others supposed to foot the bill about their concerns?
I wonder why her doctors didn't install an internal defibrillator (ICD).
Please forgive my ignorance about this but wouldn't using a defibrillator on someone with a pacemaker be just as bad for them as doing nothing? Would the pacemaker make any effort counterproductive to a defibrillator?
Are security guards trained to use defibrillators? If not, then I can understand why the security guard did not go get one.
Also, it sounded a little bit like there was some risk for her to actually go into arrest while out in public or working, etc.
So, they should have bought her one. Or, couldn't they have worked with her employer to make sure that someone there knew how to help their daughter?
I'm sorry, if it were my kid, I would make damn sure that I as the parent had as many bases covered as possible.
What kind of name is Memory anyway? Parents must have been hippies.
If the mall employees had used a defib, and gotten less than perfect results, you know these folks would have sued them for that. Short of having had a board certified ER physician on-scene, there is no way the mall could have avoided being invited to the families litigation lottery short of not responding at all.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.