Arzu v. American Airlines: The AED Malfunction Appeal

This episode from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals addresses a lawsuit against American Airlines following the tragic death of a teenager during an international flight. The plaintiff sought to hold the airline liable under the Montreal Convention, arguing that the crew's ineffective medical response and a malfunctioning defibrillator (AED) constituted a compensable "accident." The court affirmed that a poor medical response or a deviation from internal policy does not qualify as an accident under international treaty standards. However, the judges reversed the lower court's ruling regarding the AED failure, finding that a non-functional device would violate FAA regulations and could be seen as an unusual event. Consequently, the court allowed the claims specifically related to the defibrillator malfunction to proceed to trial while dismissing the breach of contract and general negligence theories.