NZ : Woman on oxygen dies after power cut

[UglyMowgli]

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A 44-year-old woman who needed an electric oxygen pump to breathe died after an energy company cut the power to her home because of a $122 unpaid bill, her family claimed Wednesday.

Police said they had launched an investigation into Folole Muliaga's death, which happened within two hours of state-owned company Mercury Energy cutting power to her house Tuesday.
Mercury Energy's general manager, James Moulder, said the company was devastated by the woman's death and was conducting its own investigation to determine what happened. Muliaga, a schoolteacher with four children between the ages of 5 and 20, had been off work since February with an illness.
A Mercury Energy representative arrived on Tuesday at her home in the northern city of Auckland to disconnect the electricity, said Brenden Sheehan, Muliaga's nephew-in-law.
Sheehan said both Muliaga and her son told the technician she was dependent on the oxygen machine to stay alive and invited him into the house to see it. "Then he cut the power off," Sheehan told The Associated Press.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070530/...Ss8vi19n0fYhAF

The man should be hanged without prosecution or in the guattanamo bay for life or in a death row!!!!!

[jumpy]

yay! lets hear it for the pennies that were saved!
Heartless bastard, I bet he was a traffic warden in a former life too.

[Nightmare]

Might not be a popular question to ask (but it should), but was there any statement as to why she didn't pay her bill? I don't know about anybody else, but if I were dependant on an electric oxygen pump to breath I'd be paying (or if I couldn't, my family would be) that electric bill the day it arrived in the mail. Hell, I'd have a backup generator installed in my house just in case of power loss!

[Frau_Phillips]

A terrible accident, surely, but if the power company had no record of her being on oxygen, it really isn't their fault. It's simply procedure, I've had my power cut several times due to a missed bill.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Frau_Phillips

A terrible accident, surely, but if the power company had no record of her being on oxygen, it really isn't their fault. It's simply procedure, I've had my power cut several times due to a missed bill.

The power company representative who came to cut off the power was told she needed electricity for the O2. They offered to show him as well. The ***** cut it off anyway. Ah, how is this not their fault???

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Nightmare

Might not be a popular question to ask (but it should), but was there any statement as to why she didn't pay her bill? I don't know about anybody else, but if I were dependant on an electric oxygen pump to breath I'd be paying (or if I couldn't, my family would be) that electric bill the day it arrived in the mail. Hell, I'd have a backup generator installed in my house just in case of power loss!

It is quite common for illnesses to force you to choose between paying your electric bill or paying for the medical treatment you so desperately need.

Also, under long term illness, she probably doesn't have much income, and if she has no savings either, she probably can't pay her electric bill.

-S

[Letum]

Would she have seen a similar fate if there was power failure due to a storm or repair work on the grid? Would she have died if a faulty hair drier blew her mains fuse?

No doubt the electric company where idiots, but we have at least one non-bill related power failure a year here so I would NEVER trust my life to a mains plug.

[Nightmare]

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

It is quite common for illnesses to force you to choose between paying your electric bill or paying for the medical treatment you so desperately need.

Also, under long term illness, she probably doesn't have much income, and if she has no savings either, she probably can't pay her electric bill.

-S

That is very true, however according to a different article on this same story, the electric company had sent several disconnect notices to the residence over a 6-7 week period. Common sense says that if you don't pay your electric bill, they are going to shut off your power. It's not like they came over the minute the bill was late to shut everything down. They gave her ample opportunity to do something.

All I'm saying is, if it's a matter of life or death to keep the power on, then she (or someone from the family) should have called either when they realized they couldn't pay the bill or when they received their first disconnect notice and worked something out with the power company. Every company that I have monthly bills with can and do offer monthly payment plans and deferred payments. Failing that, ask for help from family and friends.

To those that might label me as heartless, I do understand what it’s like to not be able to afford to live and be in debt for 100’s of thousands of dollars in medical bills. My best friend was hit by a speeding car that was running a red light while he was crossing a cross walk. Because the car took off after hitting him (hit-and-run) and that the police were never able to track down the car or the driver, he was left to pay out of pocket for all his medical bills. He ended up having to sell off everything he owned and move in with his father to afford to live and pay his medical bills since his injuries have rendered him unable to work.

[micky1up]

Originally Posted by Nightmare

Might not be a popular question to ask (but it should), but was there any statement as to why she didn't pay her bill? I don't know about anybody else, but if I were dependant on an electric oxygen pump to breath I'd be paying (or if I couldn't, my family would be) that electric bill the day it arrived in the mail. Hell, I'd have a backup generator installed in my house just in case of power loss!

that is of no consequence weather she paid the bill or not a medical dependant should never have the electricity cut off in the uk if you have children they cannot do this unless you have an alternate way of heating the house this man should be jailed for murder and his boss for culpable homoside