Lifeline Device Hanged Mother, Kids Say

ST. LOUIS (CN) – Lifeline’s medical alert device turned into a death trap for an elderly woman, her children say. Garnett Peters accidentally hanged herself in March 2006 when her Lifeline medical alert device caught on a vanity cabinet handle, her children say in City Court.     Plaintiffs John Peters and Christie Hembree say the cord pulled tight against their mother’s neck, asphyxiating her. They say Phillips Lifeline and Lifeline Systems failed to provide a breakaway clip or cord, failed to provide an elastic cord that would stretch to prevent asphyxiation and failed to provide safety devices that would trigger an alarm if undue pressure was placed on the cord. They are represented by James Martin.

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