Fifth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of American Airlines AED
A U.S. Appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against American Airlines over a malfunctioning AED used on a 14-year-old passenger who died
A U.S. District court has ruled that a malfunctioning automated external defibrillator (AED) on an American Airlines flight was not the cause of a 14-year-old passenger's death. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld that ruling, clarifying airline liability for in-flight medical equipment failures under international law.
Kevin Greenidge, a 14-year-old who weighed 319 pounds and had pre-existing conditions including asthma, Type II diabetes, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure, suffered cardiac arrest shortly after takeoff. The incident occurred on June 4, 2022, aboard American Airlines flight AA-614 from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to Miami. The flight had experienced a multi-hour weather delay before departure.
After takeoff, Kevin began struggling to breathe. His aunt administered an asthma inhaler, but his breathing worsened. He fell unconscious at cruising altitude. Due to his size, his uncle struggled to move him. Passengers and family members eventually moved Kevin to the back of the aircraft. An off-duty registered nurse and a surgical resident among the passengers performed CPR. Flight attendants brought the plane's AED and attached its pads to Kevin's chest.
The device initially detected asystole, meaning no electrical activity in the heart, which cannot be treated with a shock. Medical professionals continued CPR. After eight minutes, the AED detected a shockable rhythm. A flight attendant pressed the 'SHOCK' button, and the AED's logs registered the delivery of a shock. However, eyewitnesses claimed they never saw a shock delivered, and there was no visual confirmation it occurred.
Legal proceedings
The family sued American Airlines under Article 17 of the Montreal Convention, which holds airlines responsible for death or injury resulting from an accident. They alleged the AED's failure constituted an accident that caused Kevin's death. A district court had previously ruled the flight attendant's response was not an accident under the convention. The Fifth Circuit declined to rule on whether the broken AED could be an accident, sending the case back to a district court in Texas for a decision on causation.
US District Judge Mark T. Pittman issued a memorandum opinion. He required proof of two points: whether the AED failure was an accident, and whether it caused Kevin's death. The family relied on expert testimony from a highly experienced pediatrician, Dr. Corwin Warmink. The court dismissed the lawsuit. It found no causal link between the AED's condition and Kevin's death, citing his severe comorbidities and the device's initial inability to detect a shockable rhythm.
Judge Pittman emphasized that airlines must maintain equipment, but liability under Article 17 requires proving equipment failure directly caused death. The family's expert testimony failed to establish that direct causation. "The question is not whether Kevin would have reached a hospital alive," Judge Pittman said. "It is whether a shock would have made his death unlikely." The ruling shows that travelers cannot assume onboard medical equipment guarantees survival. Airlines face no liability under international law unless equipment failure is proven to have directly caused the harm.
The case has returned to the district court in Texas for further proceedings on causation and equipment failure.
