Let’s face it: American businesses live in perpetual fear of getting hit with a lawsuit. This holds especially true when it comes to injuries or medical complications that happen on their property. So, the thought that someone could have a sudden heart attack on your property and stick you with their medical bills is terrifying.
Thankfully, most companies these days have defibrillators on-site to help prevent such an occurrence. What is defibrillation? Why is defibrillation so important if someone has a heart attack? Do you have to have one on the premises to avoid legal trouble?
Here’s what you need to know.
What Is Defibrillation?
If you’ve ever watched a medical drama, saw the shock pads, and heard someone shout “CLEAR!” at the top of their lungs, then you’ve seen defibrillation in action. A heart defibrillator works to reverse a patient’s cardiac arrest by delivering a powerful electric shock to stimulate the muscle into moving. This shock signal can also interrupt any abnormal heart fluctuations that occur in the moments after a person’s collapse, allowing the heart to start regulating its pace again.
While a cardiac defibrillator is far from the only method used to help a patient in the middle of cardiac arrest, it is by far the most popular and obvious one.
Why Is Defibrillation Important?
Every moment that your heart isn’t beating the way it’s supposed to, blood isn’t circulating where it needs to go. Your body can’t get the oxygen and other nutrients it needs to keep functioning. The longer these parts get starved of oxygen-rich blood by an irregular or nonexistent heartbeat, the more tissue starts dying.
Why is defibrillation important? It’s important because an early shock to a patient experiencing afib can be the difference between returning to life and swift death.
What Is Your Business’s Responsibility?
So, as a business owner, what is your responsibility? Are you required to have a heart defibrillator on-site? While you can get the facts about this and the mounts that support defibrillators at the link, let’s attempt to summarize this complicated legal question.
At a federal level, there are no laws mandating or regulating the presence of a defibrillator in your business. However, at the state level, it turns into a confusing hodge-podge of statutes. In general, if your business is in the healthcare industry, healthcare adjacent, works in the public sector, or works in or with education, there’s an expectation that you should have a defibrillator on hand.
Let’s Review the Facts
Let’s review what we’ve learned. Why is defibrillation important?
Defibrillation is a crucial, life-saving intervention that most businesses should want on their premises to prevent lawsuits and keep their patrons safe. It works by shocking and stimulating the heart muscle, giving it a chance to reset itself while you and your injured or ill client wait on the ambulance to arrive. You don’t have to have one by federal law but should research your local statutes.
If you need more information about your duties to the health and safety of your employees and clientele, check out our blog for more content like this.
