Defibrillators: Life-saving AEDs need to be in YOUR workplace

If you can open a lid, you can save a life!

An AED is a portable electronic device that can be used to automatically analyze the heartbeat of a person in cardiac arrest.  If warranted, it can deliver a shock to aid the heart in re-establishing an effective rhythm while emergency medical care is on the way.

The newest generation of AEDs tell you what to do using simple voice prompts that begin as soon as the lid of these small, portable devices are opened.  A voice tells you exactly what to do:  You open the shirt, and it tells you where to place the pads.  The machine begins monitoring the heart.  When the button is pushed, a shock is only delivered if the machine determines it is warranted.

The American Heart Association supports the placement of AEDs in public places, including businesses, because the assistance they provide can mean the difference between life and death.  Information gathered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) shows that 15 percent of all workplace fatalities (more than 400 each year!) are caused by sudden cardiac arrest.  Of those victims, OSHA estimates 40 percent could have been saved if defibrillation had been used within the first five minutes after collapse.

Laws governing the use of AEDs very by state, and each state has requirements for where AEDs are required.  Under federal law, federal buildings and certain commercial airplanes must have AEDs.  In 1998, Lufthansa paid the first judgment, after a Federal Court bench trial, in the amount of 2.7 million dollars, after the Plaintiff successfully showed the failure to have an AED on one of its airplanes.

As chairperson of the AED litigation group of the  American Association for Justice, Craig Goldenfarb champions the widespread use of AEDs to save lives and hopes that we can all help establish a standard of care that encourages AED use in a variety of settings.

Craig Goldenfarb has been able to help many people who have lost loved ones because an AED was either not available ot not used receive compensation for their loss.  For more information, contact the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb in West Palm Beach, Florida at 1-800-GOLDLAW.