Lawsuit Highlights Defective AED Design and Maintenance Negligence

A woman suffered a heart attack at work. When co­ workers went to use the AED to restart her heart, the battery was dead. EMTs showed up 10 minutes later and were able to get her heart started with a working AED, but the anoxic event left her brain dead, and she died the next day.

Chris Stevenson and Emily Chimenti sued the company that was contracted to maintain and service the AED, and the manufacturer of the AED. They alleged the dead battery should have been discovered through inspections and the AED was defectively designed so as to allow the battery to rapidly drain while the AED was not in use. Chris and Emily were able to overcome the wrongful death damage cap on loss of love and affection for those who die without dependents. They showed that the decedent’s relationship with her adult children gave rise to a claim for dependency that would negate the cap. The case was successfully settled at mediation benefiting the decedent’s two surviving adult children.

View case results by practice area