AA continued flight to NY after passenger died due to their negligence

[ecstatic]

Poll question: AA continued flight to NY after passenger died due to their negligence

A few minutes later, Desir said she was having "trouble breathing" and asked for oxygen, but a flight attendant twice refused her request, Oliver said.

He said other passengers aboard Flight 896 became agitated over the situation, and the flight attendant, apparently after phone consultation with the cockpit, tried to administer oxygen from a portable tank and mask, but the tank was empty.

Oliver said he then asked for the plane to "land right away so I can get her to a hospital," and the pilot agreed to divert to Miami, 45 minutes away. But during that time Desir collapsed and died, Oliver said.

Desir was pronounced dead by one of the (alleged) doctors, Joel Shulkin, and the flight continued to John F. Kennedy International Airport, without stopping in Miami. The woman's body was moved to the floor of the first-class section and covered with a blanket, Oliver said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23327116/

My problem with this story is that 1) they denied this woman oxygen, 2) it appears that when they finally took her cries seriously, the equipment on board was faulty! 3) They didn't land in Miami to escort the woman to a real hospital so that this family could get closure (as in, know that everything that could be done was done to save her). Did they even know for sure that the so called doctors on board were really doctors?!

Now let's compare that to another headline from today:

UK passenger jet pilot dies mid-flight

LONDON, England (AP) -- A British airline said Monday that one of its flights was forced to divert to Turkey after the co-pilot died in mid-flight. He died of natural causes, the airline said.

The airline said passengers were never in danger. They were due to be flown to Cyprus on Monday.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/25/pilot.dead.ap/index.html

So what do you think? At the very least, shouldn't the pilot have at least took the time to land in Miami?

[baldguy]

1. SOP is to continue on if there's no threat to the passengers or the aircraft.

But the crew should face a charge of manslaughter at least for their inaction.

[gateley]

2. Yeah, but SOP isn't LAW -- they should have made an exception. My opinion,

and one I'd be discussing with my attorneys if I was a family member.

[Freddie Stubbs]

4. Does the law require the plane to land immediately if there is a death aboard?

:shrug:

[gateley]

7. There are situations where following the LAW might not be the best course

of action. That's all I'm saying - same with SOP.

[Horse with no Name]

10. For jurisdictionaly purposes in case there was foul play

If I am not mistaken.

[lapfog_1]

13. Yup. Precisely.

An emergency should have been declared, the plane landed at the nearest airport and paramedics and a medical examiner called to meet the plane (even if they KNOW she was dead). It's their duty to do this. AA will get roasted for it.

[lapfog_1]

12. FAA regulations require providing assistance.

and no one, not even someone who has his or her AMA card on them, can make a determination of death (not without losing their license).

But the more troubling aspect is the ignoring the pleas for help AND the negligence in not having filled oxygen bottles on the plane.

Airliners are pressurized, but only to an altitude of about 8,000 ft. So taking a trip on an airliner is like driving to the top of an 8,000 ft peak and parking the car for some number of hours. As a scuba diver, we have to especially aware of this if we have been diving within the last 24 to 48 hours before flying home. Also people with asthma, heart disease, and COPD must be aware of the risk of flying. And the airlines need to do a better job of making people aware of the risk AND to provide pure oxygen for people who become ill. Even someone who is completely healthy may become sick with altitude sickness while flying. Rare, but it happens

[idovoodoo]

20. No and it would be an idiotic law.

...
There is more to this story than has been reported, I guarantee.

[lapfog_1]

5. Legally, AA had a duty to protect

They are facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit.

The flight attendant denied the woman oxygen (twice), and when they finally relented to deliver oxygen, TWO tanks were used and both were empty (negligence). Not diverting to the nearest airport (despite the pronouncements of anyone on board) is also going to bite them in the ass.

I expect a $10M to $40M in punitive damages. Maybe a lot more.

The primary reason for flight attendants to be on airplanes is to ensure passenger safety during a flight. They failed (miserably) in their duty to protect.

[Radical Activist]

3. Not diverting to Miami is the least troublin thing about it.

I'm sure the family could sue for millions for the refusal to help and faulty equipment.

[GodlessBiker]

6. "... but the [oxygen] tank was empty." Very nice.

[gateley]

8. Some of these charges are being disputed by AA -- so we'll learn more as

the witnesses come forward.

[lapfog_1]

14. make that TWO oxygen tanks were empty. Negligence - n/t

[Warpy]

9. I know if I were a family member waiting in NY

and she died on the plane, I'd prefer not to have the expense of flying down to Miami to claim the body and then have it transported to NY for burial.

I don't fault them for not landing the plane once she died. I do fault them for ignoring her requests and for not checking their tank prior to takeoff as part of general safety precautions and replacing the empty one. I also fault them for lying about having the tanks in good operating condition after being contradicted by medical people on board as passengers.

From the pattern of this woman's sudden thirst and rapid decline, I'd suspect flash pulmonary edema was the cause of death. Unless they'd had a BIPAP machine and IV Lasix available, there's nothing else that could have been done. Oxygen might have prolonged the inevitable, probably not long enough for the plane to land.

It's a horrible way to go. Had she been on the ground, she might have made it to an emergency room. In the air, she had little chance.

[ecstatic]

15. AA should have paid for the extra trips from Miami

What if the woman appeared dead but really wasn't? That's just my opinion, of course.

[Warpy]

19. There was a doctor on board

as well as at least one nurse. They had her connected to the automatic defibrillator, something that would have shown them her heart rhythm and when her heart stopped beating.

I'm afraid there's no chance that your scenario is correct. She was dead.

[lapfog_1]

17. If there was a doctor on board

and that was his/her diagnosis, oxygenation and forced diuresis would have been a possible treatment, quite likely someone had a bottle of Vitamin C, a known and effective diuretic, which could have been administered.

But the point was not whether her death was inevitable, which it might have been, but that they CHOSE to do little about it AND were negligent in not doing what they could (administering oxygen immediately and having TWO empty oxygen bottles on the plane, bottles clearly there for just such emergencies).

[Warpy]

18. That's why they're screwn when this one gets to court

Not landing in Miami wasn't the problem.

[idovoodoo]

27. Are you a medical doctor as well as a lawyer? I'm impressed!

...

[lapfog_1]

28. nope, I asked my brother in law

an ER doc with 20 years of experience.

[Occam Bandage]

11. I don't mind not diverting to Miami. Their treatment of her before her death, however,

is unconscionable.

[malaise]

16. The issue is not where she died;

it is whether they ignored her request for oxygen until it was too late.
Since her family live in New York, it worked out better for them in terms of funeral arrangements.

[Hekate]

21. Back when airlines gave a damn, I was on a flight that turned around ...

That must have been close to 30 years ago when I still lived in Hawaii. We took off from LAX and an hour or so into the flight a woman experienced heart difficulties -- possibly a heart attack, possibly not -- and they announced to us that they were going to go back to LAX, since it would be faster than proceeding to Honolulu. I can assure you that none of the rest of us had a problem with that. I, for one, felt reassured that the crew cared whether someone lived or died while on their airplane.

This country has gone nuts.

Hekate

[Sanctified]

22. AA is denying that the Oxygen tanks were empty.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out, I am sure that the medical professionals who assisted on the plane will be able to confirm if the oxygen tanks were empty or not.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8V1G5580&show_article=1

[The Stranger]

23. That could be criminally negligent homicide.

I cannot fathom how someone could vote to continue the flight.

[treestar]

24. Sounds like negligence

Do they have a duty to provide medical treatment aboard a plane? It would seem reasonably foreseeable that someone could experience such difficulties.

I was on a British Airways flight and a guy got up too fast and fell down into the aisle. The crew got there immediately with oxygen and were all very professional about it.

Refusing the request seems insane. Why would any airline employee not be trained to err on the safe side?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

25. If she was dead, why divert?

By the time they got near Miami, she was dead. Whether the crew did their job, whether the equipment malfunctioned, all that will be investigated minutely. But there was nothing to be gained by diverting to Miami.

Very unfortunate.

[idovoodoo]

26. If she wanted to go to Miami she would have a bought a ticket to go there...

:shrug: