The family of a passenger who had a heart attack and passed away while traveling to Miami via American Airlines is suing the airline on the grounds that the onboard defibrillator failed to function in accordance with FAA regulations.
Kevin Ismael Greenidge’s family’s attorneys filed a complaint against American Airlines earlier this week in a New York district court, stating that failure to maintain the defibrillator’s functionality “hastened the tragic death” of Greenidge.
The family is seeking an undefined amount in compensation for gross negligence resulting in death, as well as damages for pain and suffering and a claim under the Montreal Protocol, which places liability on airlines when a passenger is hurt or killed.
According to court records, Kevin Greenidge was a passenger on American Airlines flight AA614 on June 4, 2022, traveling from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to Miami when he reportedly experienced a heart attack shortly after takeoff, went into cardiac arrest, and lost consciousness.
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Failed Battery
The family claimed that the automatic external defibrillator (AED), which flight attendants attempted to use to revive Greenidge, failed because its battery was dead.
The family also charges American Airlines with neglecting to instruct its flight attendants in the fundamentals of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Flight records show that the Boeing 737MAX made a detour to Cancun, Mexico, where it eventually landed about an hour after takeoff, but Greenidge was unable to be saved.
A working FDA-approved AED must be carried by commercial passenger airlines operating in the United States, along with at least one flight attendant, on every aircraft with a payload capacity of more than 7,500 pounds, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
In actuality, this typically implies that an AED should be present on board any passenger flight with a capacity of 30 or more. According to federal rules, the onboard AED must be frequently inspected to make sure it is in good functioning order. A flight cannot take off if the AED isn’t functioning until another AED is located.
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