Powr firm cuts off power after non payment of bills and kills a woman

[Dogberry]

This isnt good, i am guessing heads will roll

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/6703395.stm

NZ police probe power cut death

The oxygen machine was reliant on the electricity supply
A New Zealand woman on an oxygen machine died after an energy firm switched off her power supply because of unpaid bills, her family claims.
Folole Muliaga, a 44-year-old mother of four, died within two hours of the electricity being switched off at her home in the northern city of Auckland.

Police said they were investigating the circumstances of Mrs Muliaga's death.

The power company, Mercury Energy, said it had been unaware any disconnection would put her life at risk.

Relatives of Mrs Muliaga, a schoolteacher, said she had been off work since February with a heart and lung condition.

Because of this, the family claim, she had fallen behind with her energy bills.

'Deeply sympathetic'

When a company representative arrived at the house to disconnect the supply, they said they impressed upon him her dependency on the machine to stay alive.

Mrs Muliaga's son Letitaia, 20, said the employee showed no compassion.



"He said he is here doing his job and he's here to cut the power off," he was quoted by local media as saying.

Another relative, Brendan Sheehan, said that almost immediately Mrs Muliaga started to suffer breathing difficulties and collapsed.

Paramedics were called but she died within two hours of the power being cut, he added.

Mercury Energy said it was "deeply sympathetic" about the death, but disputed that its contractor had been made aware of Mrs Muliaga's condition.

"We were simply unaware that loss of electricity to the household was putting a vulnerable customer at risk," general manager James Moulder said.

[fat mike]

i dont believe they wouldnt have told them-

[86Dude]

Time for some payback. Insert New Zealand hate posts here:

[jwreck]

the same thing happened here a couple of months ago. the power company shut off power in a families home where the had a 6 year old girl quadraplegic on a respirator. the bill had even been paid, but the company wouldn't turn the power back on until the next day. the family called 911 and we took the girl to the hospital so she could be cared for until the power company got around to turning the power back on. i couldn't believe it. wonder how often that happens? in my case no one died, so it never hit the news.

[Mystlet]

One would have to think there would be some sort of program in place to help these people in case of disaster. Even if the power was out for a few days due some environmental issue, these people would need assistance. Wouldn't they step in to assist in a case like that?

And why didn't a neighbor run over with an extension cord or take her in until things could be worked out? Why didn't the family come to her aid?

[Pappy&Me]

Originally Posted by Dogberry

This isnt good, i am guessing heads will roll

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/6703395.stm

Seems to me the sorry stinking family members are the ones who caused her deah if anyone did ! Why didn't they pay her damn light bill ? I bet they will be there for her lawsuit though !

Yep Michael Savage, " liberlism is a Mental Disorder "

[Pappy&Me]

Originally Posted by 86Dude

Time for some payback. Insert New Zealand hate posts here:

LOL, I need all the laughs I can get, thanks .

[Pappy&Me]

Originally Posted by Mystlet

One would have to think there would be some sort of program in place to help these people in case of disaster. Even if the power was out for a few days due some environmental issue, these people would need assistance. Wouldn't they step in to assist in a case like that?

And why didn't a neighbor run over with an extension cord or take her in until things could be worked out? Why didn't the family come to her aid?

Golly logic comes on .

[TGRR]

Originally Posted by Pappy&Me

Seems to me the sorry stinking family members are the ones who caused her deah if anyone did ! Why didn't they pay her damn light bill ? I bet they will be there for her lawsuit though !

Yep Michael Savage, " liberlism is a Mental Disorder "

Micheal Weiner is a joke.

I'm not even a liberal, and that gutless wonder makes me puke.

[Malcolm Wright]

I love New Zealand, but as a rule of thumb, businesses are hopeless here.
This story doesn't surprise me at all. 95 percent of dealings with utility companies here are something straight out of Kafka.



M.

[JoeyNormal]

With this and the SOE spy scandal, I love my country right ****ing now.

[MILF-in-DFW]

How many other companies are expected to provide a product at low or no cost if someone can't or won't pay?

[zipper99]

Couple of points came out on CNN:

1) The are (at least part) Maori. Like most other indigenous people they get the short end of the stick in dealing with authority, so were not likely to get any break.

2) Because of the wife's illness the husband had started short working to look after her, so their income dropped even more.

3) The hospital has said that the oxygen machine was merely a standby if she had breathing problems, she was well enough to be sent home and breathe without it.
She was NOT permanently hooked up to a mask.

4) When the power was cut and she started getting distressed (almost certainly because of the stressful situation) she begged her children (teens) NOT to call an ambulance - reason unknown, but I guess she didn't fancy the hospital again.
As a result she lapsed into unconciousness before medical assistance was summoned, too late.

[Mystlet]

Originally Posted by zipper99

Couple of points came out on CNN:

1) The are (at least part) Maori. Like most other indigenous people they get the short end of the stick in dealing with authority, so were not likely to get any break.

2) Because of the wife's illness the husband had started short working to look after her, so their income dropped even more.

3) The hospital has said that the oxygen machine was merely a standby if she had breathing problems, she was well enough to be sent home and breathe without it.
She was NOT permanently hooked up to a mask.

4) When the power was cut and she started getting distressed (almost certainly because of the stressful situation) she begged her children (teens) NOT to call an ambulance - reason unknown, but I guess she didn't fancy the hospital again.
As a result she lapsed into unconciousness before medical assistance was summoned, too late.

So it could even be that she died of something that had nothing to do with being without her oxygen?

[Malcolm Wright]

Originally Posted by Mystlet

So it could even be that she died of something that had nothing to do with being without her oxygen?

Well it sounds like it had everything to do with her being without her oxygen.

If your condition warrants that you should be near a respirator at all times because you need to use it periodically during the day, and that respirator goes offline, you're going to freak out. Not being able to breathe is one of the most unpleasant sensations out there, and very easily induces panic. Panic and existing acute breathing difficulties are a bad mixture.

The power cut and its disabling of her oxygen apparatus, by all appearances, was the cause of her death.



M

[Mystlet]

Originally Posted by Malcolm Wright

Well it sounds like it had everything to do with her being without her oxygen.

If your condition warrants that you should be near a respirator at all times because you need to use it periodically during the day, and that respirator goes offline, you're going to freak out. Not being able to breathe is one of the most unpleasant sensations out there, and very easily induces panic. Panic and existing acute breathing difficulties are a bad mixture.

The power cut and its disabling of her oxygen apparatus, by all appearances, was the cause of her death.



M

I know all about it, my Mom has emphysema. But she also makes sure she wouldn't be in a position where her power would getshut off & be unable to use her oxygen. She has a portable oxygen unit for when she has to leave the home, and for emergencies like power outages. People have a responsibility to look after a condition too, and it kind of looks like this woman had really let everything fall apart. One never knows, perhaps she did it all intentionally. Living with a chronic lung problem can be very devastating and depressing, especially within the first few months of diagnosis and treatment. Some people don't want to live hooked up to machinery.

Of course, none of that has anything to do with the power company, who did **** up.

[zipper99]

Malcolm - the hospital wasclear.
She had respiratory problems and was being medicated for it. When they sent her home she could breathe unaided as a precaution they gave her a little mobile oxygen pump - try and equate it to the "puffer" that asthma sufferers carry, it's a just in case, NOT a life and death.

I don't doubt that the power cutoff was a cause of death in the sense that she was worried sick about paying the bills, she wasn't working, hubby was on short time, she was ill and stressed and then a dude in uniform turns up to cut them off - I think she had a panic attack and maybe even some kind of infarction. Guess a post mortem will clarify.

[Malcolm Wright]

I think I get it... So her portable supply was actually not electrically powered, but could be carted around free from any power source? In that case, I see what you guys are saying.

M.