State Supreme Court to Rule on Whether ‘Big Box’ Retailers are Required to Have Defibrillators on Site

In 2008, Mary Ann Verdugo passed away after suffering a heart attack while shopping at a Target store in Pico Rivera, California. Her family sued Target for not having an automatic external defibrillator (AED) on site — a device, they claim, could have saved Ms. Verdugo’s life. The lawsuit has now made its way up the judicial chain and, earlier this month, the California Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the question of whether retail stores like Target should be required to carry AEDs in their stores. Currently, the law only requires retailers to summon medical help for their customers suffering a health emergency.

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