Airline Disputes Cousin's Story of Death

[NJmaverick]

Source: AP

NEW YORK (AP) - American Airlines on Monday insisted it tried to help a passenger who died after complaining she couldn't breathe, and disputed the account of a relative who said that she was denied oxygen and that medical devices failed.
The airline said the oxygen tanks and a defibrillator were working and noted that several medical professionals on the flight, including a doctor, tried to save the passenger, Carine Desir, 44, who had heart disease.

"American Airlines, after investigation, has determined that oxygen was administered on the aircraft, and it was working, and the defibrillator was applied as well," airline spokesman Charley Wilson said Monday.


Read more: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=2008-02-25_D8V1G5580&show_article=1&cat=breaking

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This is why I urged people not to jump to conclusions, until all the facts were known.

[Mojorabbit]

1. Well there are two sides

that have been presented. Now we need to hear from the other passengers to get a complete picture.

[AndyTiedye]

3. Methinks Both Sides Will Have Their Day In Court

[NJmaverick]

4. I will say this

Based on what I know about medicine and what the flight attendents on DU have said, the Airline's story sounds more plausible than the Cousin's story. I would like to hear what the medical people that worked on her had to say. From experience, I can tell you bystanders often lack the knowledge and understanding to properly comprehend what they see.

[joeglow3]

6. And sadly, some see the courts as a lottery! nt.

[atreides1]

2. Looks like they did all they could

The lady already had diabetes and heart disease, individually they are bad news but together not a good thing. We all tend to jump to conclusions these days, when you consider the last eight years in this country!

Hell, here at DU the infighting about who will be the nominee is starting to make the American Civil War look like a 4th of July picnic.

[The Croquist]

9. As someone who lives between Atlanta and Savannah

Out current infighting is like a 4th of July picnic.

Try tracing your ancestors. A lot of the records went up in courthouse fires.

[LibDemAlways]

5. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. The

family can pursue this in the courts if they feel the situation wasn't properly handled.

[poppysgal]

7. Sad just the same

It is a sad story no matter what. Whatever happened and believe there were other people on that plane and the story will be told, it is still sad that the woman died.

[Xithras]

8. There were doctors on the plane. The truth will come out.

An autopsy will determine the cause of death, and if it's anything other than oxygen deprivation the airline will be in the clear. It's entirely possible that she couldn't breathe because her heart was failing (shortness of breath is a common effect of a heart attack).

If oxygen wouldn't have saved her, the delay in getting it to her won't be held against the airline. As for the defib training, what the article says is true...they only work in certain conditions to fix certain ailments. They are a stop-gap substitute for a real paramedic with real paddles.

The doctor who helped her will be able to describe what actually happened, and the autopsy will tell us what killed her.

[The Croquist]

10. Agreed

The "facts" are really not known yet. There are many witnesses but we don't know how much any of them understood what was going on. The airline statement:

"The flight attendant responded, 'OK, but we usually don't need to treat diabetes with oxygen, but let me check anyway and get back to you.'"

Is in my opinion a perfectly good response. The flight attendant was told that the woman had diabetes and her training had taught her that oxygen is not needed for diabetes. The attendant is not a doctor and I can't blame them for getting advice before administering treatment. It may be necessary for a heart attack and the airlines claims that they quickly provided it. The question is; is the statement accurate?

Her cousin stated that the oxygen tanks were empty but maybe it was just that the treatment was ineffective and in his panic / stress he didn't really understand what was going on. Again we don't know how accurate that statement is.

Fortunately there were doctors on board. Unless they have ties to the airline or the family they are probably the best source for an accurate description of what happened.

[panzerfaust]

11. Her cousin stated that the oxygen tanks were empty

Certainly a possibility - and there is no way of checking after the fact.

On the other hand, the O2 tanks I have used on planes have all been quite small. If, as is often done, flow is cranked all the way up, they do not last very long - especially if they are not completely full.

The largest cylinder I have seen on a (non-medivac) plane is an "E" cylinder: when full this holds a nominal 666 liters of oxygen (that's how I get the residents to remember it) which would last about half an hour at full flow. Most I have seen are smaller and last only a few minutes at excessive flows, this could well give the impression to observers that the tank was already empty.

[The Croquist]

12. Obviously you know more about this then me

but I would think that the doctors should have been there before the tanks were empty.