Lawsuit: Locked Up Defribulator Could Have Saved Son

[TDP]

emm... TDP your numbers are WAY off.

That is possible,but here is just one of many studies I've found to be very informative.

study

[hammerpcp]

"In cities where defibrillation is provided within 5 to 7 minutes, the survival rate from sudden cardiac arrest is as high as 30–45 percent."

"Early CPR and rapid defibrillation combined with early advanced care can result in high long-term survival rates for witnessed cardiac arrest. For instance, in June 1999, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) were mounted 1 minute apart in plain view at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports. In the first 10 months, 14 cardiac arrests occurred, with 12 of the 14 victims in ventricular fibrillation. Nine of the 14 victims (64 percent) were revived with an AED and had no brain damage."

American Heart Association

[dahlio]

emm... TDP your numbers are WAY off.

Indeed, I've had two witnessed code's and both had early cpr and defibrillation, and both were discharged from the hospital. I'll look it up.

[WolfmanHarris]

Both numbers might be right depending on the operational definition. To hospital? To discharge? 12 months post discharge? 5 years? neurologically intact? Survival from SCA has got to be one of the most varied definitions I've ever seen. What they all have in common though is significant increases in success for bystander CPR performed immediately and early defibrillation. The other thing they all have in common is that most people who suffer SCA stay dead.

So regardless of which numbers are correct or which study you look to, yes I believe that access to that AED would have increased the chances. Might not have changed the outcome dead and alive is still an all or nothing proposition.

[Dustdevil]

Not a single suit has been successfully litigated in the United States over AED use. And less than a handful have ever even been given a court hearing at all. There is ZERO evidence in the U.S. to support or justify any legal fears over AED use by any entity, public or private.

On the other hand, there have been successful suits litigated against institutions -- again, both public and private -- that failed to provide an AED in a setting where it was ultimately needed.

The implication is clear. You incur more liability for not having one than you ever could by having one. It all goes back to one of the first things you learn in EMT school. You can't kill dead. Dead is dead. Therefore, there is no liability in failed resuscitation attempts.