Article: Lawsuit fears spur airlines into protecting heart-attack victims

AIR travellers with heart problems will get a reassuring boost next year when American Airlines becomes the third airline to carry heart- shocking machines - known as defibrillators - on its longer flights.

The airline is ordering 300 of the portable devices, which will be introduced in March 1997. It is training 2,300 flight attendants to use them.

The American Airlines move comes a month after the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) approved the use of defibrillators on domestic flights in the US. It is thought that the airline is attempting to head off possible lawsuits by passengers who received inadequate treatment during medical emergencies. "The safety of passengers is our paramount ...

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