A faulty defibrillator aboard an American Airlines flight led to a 14 year old's death, a new lawsuit claims
By
Bianca Giacobone
Mar 23, 2023, 7:48 AM PT
A 14-year-old boy went into cardiac arrest on an American Airlines flight, but couldn't be revived when a doctor tried to use a defibrillator on board, a new lawsuit filed by the boy's mother says.
The suit says the defibrillator was faulty — and places the blame on American Airlines.
Kevin Greenidge was flying from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to Miami last June when he experienced the cardiac issue, according to the suit filed this month in federal court in New York by his mother, Melissa Arzu. She's seeking unspecified damages.
The lawsuit alleges that American Airlines failed to "ensure that the automatic external defibrillator and its mobile battery pack were fully and properly charged," and that the airline's alleged negligence "caused, permitted, and/or hastened the untimely death of" Greenidge.
Thomas Giuffra, a partner at law firm Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo & Plotkin who is representing Arzu, said Kevin was traveling with his uncle to New York when he fell ill. He was returning from a family vacation.
In a statement to Insider, an American Airlines spokesperson said the carrier was reviewing details of the lawsuit. "Our thoughts are with Mr. Greenidge and his loved ones," the airline said.
Defibrillators have been federally required on all passenger aircraft since 2004, and American Airlines became the first US commercial airline to put defibrillators on its planes in 1997 and to train its flight attendants to use them. They are considered "no-go" items, meaning that if they are missing or "inoperative" the plane should not be dispatched, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
