anybody know what her pacemaker would do when it got zortched with the paddles???
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.
Oh, c'mon. That's funny I don't care who you are.
And forgive me Father and bless those poor hippies in their loss...
It's a good point but how much do they cost? I can't recall. Our church wanted a couple and I think people donated money so we could buy them. The price was given and I firgit.
Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that's for veterinarians.
Litigation. What a great way to honor Memory's memory.
Sorry, I don't think its unreasonable that if you have an AED on site, that when you have a person go down with no pulse, to use it. That's like arguing, yea I had the reach pole that could reach the drowning person, but hey, I didn't use it... but not my problem right?
She may have died anyway, but certainly what you have here is a case of UNTRAINED STAFF.
I will tell you this much, had it been my kid, I'd sue too, so that someone elses kid does not get treatment available because the mall management company was too damned inept or cheap to train their staff property. I'd do it to make sure that no one else had to go through what I did, and then I'd set up a trust with the money to fund getting these devices and proper training into other places.
Your instant assumption that greed is the motivator is depressing. There was clearly ineptitude in this situation.
I checked a couple of Web sites that have instructions for how to use an AED and yes, they can be used on someone with a pacemaker. However, that apparently makes placement of the electrodes very tricky, so only trained professionals are supposed to use them on such victims.
I carry an extension cord with a plug on one end and alligator clips on the other. I figure if someone appears dead, I'd plug it in and hook it up to their nipples. Hey, if it don't work, they were dead anyway.
That shouldn't be part of the job description for an $8/hr security guard. And if it isn't, then the guard has no duty to respond with one.
No duty owed, not breach of duty, no negligence.
But someon should ask the parents that if this cardiac arrest was so foreseeable, why do they expect the mall to take greater precautions than they did?
I agree with you that it wasn't the mall's fault. Some things just can't be adequately guarded against.
I don't think her having a defib unit on her would've made much difference, unless someone nearby recognized her symptoms and applied the proper response.
The mall shouldn't be held liable. Her parents are also not liable or negligent for what happened to her.
That said, their suing the mall is indicative of the lawsuit happy society we live in, and why all kinds of liability insurance are making it harder and harder for small businesses to stay in business. The added cost to consumers is also not helping. Imagine what will happen to the cost of hiring simple security for a commercial building if every single security guard was required to be qualified to provide EMT quality first response.
Mall was gonna get sued either way.
My uncle recently had a pacemaker and some sort of defib device implanted in his chest.
Good point. The parents should have brought her one.
Most "rent a cops" as you described them make at or near minimum wage. If we are expecting "rent a cops" to respond and administer medical aid in life threatening incidents, they'd better expect to pay them much more.
"However, because of an electrical problem with her heart called Long QT Syndrome, she had a pacemaker. "
So a shopping mall is to be sued for her and her parents' lack of preparedness? How is a security guard supposed to make a rapid medical diagnosis and provide an AED? I would venture to say it was NOT in his job description.
LOL..these stupid lawsuits bring our nation to its knees.
anybody know what her pacemaker would do when it got zortched with the paddles???
I read further and see they're around $2,500- that's not too bad. She should've instructed her co-workers of her problem and made sure they and security knew in advance and also knew where the AEDs were located, but she was just a kid.
I have hypoglycemia and every office I have worked in, I let a few people know in advance so if I ever pass out or something (just in case) and that's nothing as serious as this - planning ahead is good when you have existing conditions.
Sorry, but like it or not it is. Owners and managers of property do have responsibilities to the people in them. Management is responsible for having adequately trained staff.
Clearly this was a situation where they weren't trained properly, and they at the end of the day because of that messed up.
Definatley negligence.
You guys are sick - and as soon as clean the coffee off the keyboard I'm going to tell you exactly how offended I am...
Yep.
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