Woman Dies Due to Unpaid Electric Bill; Power Co. Denies Responsibility

Update, via AP:

[q
url="http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/05/31/nz.lifesupport.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories"]A
New Zealand utility company that cut off power to the home of a woman
connected to an electric oxygen pump, leading to her death, has
insisted it was not aware she was dependent on the machine.

The family of Folole Muliaga accused the company of calling them
liars over the Tuesday incident, in which the 44-year-old mother of
four died two hours after a contractor working for the utility,
state-owned Mercury Energy, cut power to the house over an unpaid bill
worth 168.40 New Zealand dollars (U.S.$123). (Full story)

Muliaga's family claim that she and her son told the technician she
needed the oxygen machine to stay alive and invited him into the house
to see it.

But Mercury Energy and its parent company, Mighty River Power,
insisted Thursday they were never told that Muliaga depended on the
electricity supply for her oxygen machine.
[...]
Chief medical officer Dr. Don Mackie told Radio New Zealand that
Muliaga would not have been sent home if she needed the machine to keep
her alive.

"People who are on this are capable of breathing for
themselves ... That is why we are surprised that she deteriorated and
tragically died so soon after the support was withdrawn, and we need to
understand more about that," he said.

Mercury Energy defended its actions in a letter released Thursday.

"At
no time was the issue of Mrs. Muliaga's medical condition or her
reliance on medical equipment made known to the electrical contractor.
He did note that she had a medical tube in her nose but this was not
connected to any equipment," the letter said.

In any event, the
contractor could not have been expected "to be able to make medical
decisions," Mighty River's Chief Executive Doug Heffernan told
reporters, adding that the company was awaiting the results of a police
investigation.

The contracting firm that cut off the electricity
to Muliaga's home, VirCom EMS, said it had been consulting lawyers, and
that the staff member involved had been sent on leave, according to a
report by the NewstalkZB radio network.

[/q]

Medical equipment tends to be fairly high wattage; even an air conditioner can raise an electric bill by $100 per month during the summer. Also, a family member on an oxygen machine suggests both extra expenses and reduced earning capacity-- for someone to die over a $122 utility bill is such a waste.