Woman on oxygen machine dies when company shuts off power

Woman on oxygen machine dies when company shuts off power

May. 19, 2008 07:15 AM
Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A New Zealand woman dependent on an oxygen machine for survival died when the power company shut off the electricity to her home because of an overdue bill, a coroner's court heard Monday.

Folole Muliaga, 44, a nursery school teacher, needed an oxygen machine to help her breathe and died two hours after Mercury Energy cut power to her home, Auckland Coroner Gordon Matenga heard in the inquest.

Muliaga's death on May 29, 2007, outraged New Zealanders and saw Prime Minister Helen Clark denounce the company's actions as heartless and intolerable.

Muliaga's husband, Lopaavea, told the court that he contacted Mercury Energy in early May 2007 to try to arrange paying their overdue power bill in installments but was unsuccessful.

He made a payment in May but the power was disconnected eight days later. At the time, he testified, he thought he only owed $26.67.

Mercury Energy said at the time that $130.12 was owed.

An emotional Lopaavea Muliaga said he was at work when the power was cut and arrived home to find his wife dead and two ambulance officers at the house.

He said by the time of her death his overweight wife needed the oxygen machine 16 hours a day to help her breathe.

In the wake of Folole Muliaga's death, the power company said it would review the way it deals with customers with medical dependencies and those in financial difficulty.

Lawyers for Mercury Energy and its subcontractor have expressed condolences to the Muliaga family, and have said they hoped some answers would come from the inquest.

A police investigation last year found no grounds for filing criminal charges against the utility.

Coroners in New Zealand can order inquests into unusual deaths to assess the circumstances surrounding them so they can make recommendations to prevent future occurrences. The inquest does not assign blame.

Woman on oxygen machine dies when company shuts off power


So lemme get this straight,

This idiot thought the bill would only be 26 dollars and some change?

I think if you have someone dependent on oxygen like that shouldn't you maybe call the electric company and warn them that someone in the house needs oxygen on a minute to minute basis. Just in case.

i guess, heads up everyone.. PAY YOUR BILLS

Haha, yup.

ESPECIALLY

if your on oxygen.

Not paying your bills is punishable by death. The utility had already arranged to have someone go out and shoot her, but then they decided to save money on the hitman and just cut off her oxygen.



But seriously, in the US you can notify the utility that you have life support equipment, and your power will not be cut off for non-payment. Also these kinds of systems should have back-ups for power outages and alarms to let you know that the power is off so that you can make "other arrangements" for your life-saving oxygen.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dragonrider

Not paying your bills is punishable by death.

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nope, but when you have someone on a machine that is giving life, then better make sure shits paid up....

If hes late on his electric bill, I hate to know what else hes late on. Common People Pay Your Bills!


In my state its illegal to turn peoples electricity off in the winter...but that may not have anything to do with this.

Another horror story like this:

Woman in iron lung dies during power outage

For the first time in more than half a century, the Odell residence is quiet.

There are no squeaks and pops from the electric motor that powered an "iron lung" pumping air in and out of Dianne Odell's body.

A thunderstorm knocked out the power to her home, shutting off the massive metal machine that had helped her breathe for nearly 60 years.

Woman in iron lung dies during power outage - Los Angeles Times

Maybe the husband wanted her to die and he got away with murder

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rebgirl420

Another horror story like this:

Woman in iron lung dies during power outage

For the first time in more than half a century, the Odell residence is quiet.

There are no squeaks and pops from the electric motor that powered an "iron lung" pumping air in and out of Dianne Odell's body.

---

They still use those, that lady must of been full of dust and and undigested Stegosaurus jerky.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fishman3811

Maybe the husband wanted her to die and he got away with murder

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thats what I thought also when I first read it.

Science kept her alive, and lack of money killed her.

and who said you don't need money to live....