This week, the Appellate Division, Second Department, upheld Suffolk County Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey Arlen Spinner and stated that General Business Law §627-a, which mandates that certain health clubs in the State of New York provide an automated external defibrillator device ("AED"), as well as a person trained in its use, imposes an affirmative duty of care upon the health club facility. An AED delivers a shock to the heart of a cardiac arrest victim that can eliminate an abnormal ventricular fibrillation rhythm, which often causes arrest, and allows a normal heart rhythm to resume. The Appellate Division found that the defendant health care facility could not rely upon the Good Samaritan statutes to insulate itself from liability. Accordingly, the Appellate Division held that General Business Law §627-a creates a duty upon a health club, fitting the criteria set forth by New York statute, to use the AED which it is required to provide on premises. Source: Miglino v. Bally Total Fitness of Greater New York, Inc., et al., 2011 NY Slip Op 09603 (Dec. 27, 2011).
If your health club has over 500 members and does not have an AED on premises, please review http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/cardio/cardio-aed.shtml and file a complaint if applicable.
No comments:
Post a Comment