Marshall Middle School dies at school: Former HISD nurse says AED issues aren't new

Questions continue to pile up around the death of 14-year-old Landon Payton. He died after a medical emergency at Marshall Middle School last week. 

While HISD hasn't confirmed or denied if an AED (An automated external defibrillator) was used in an attempt to save him, Payton's family attorney says one was. 

"We know they attempted to use an AED device and I know it didn't work," said Christ Tritico, who is also FOX26's legal analyst. 

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Wednesday the Payton family viewed video from inside the school showing Landon's last few moments alive. While Tritico says he appreciates HISD making the video available, the crucial moments when Landon went down weren't captured. 

"It wasn't what we hoped to see - it left a lot of unanswered questions," he said. 

HISD says the district has 1,038 AEDs in schools; 868 of them are working. Leaving 170 machines in-operable. 

They say orders have been placed for the replacement parts, in most cases batteries, for those 170. 

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They say at least one working AED is in every school and there's an average of three working AEDs per school.

The district says they have a contract with SafetyMed who conducts yearly inspections on the AED's, while monthly inspections are left up to the school nurses. 

"The campus nurses perform routine inspections of the AED machines monthly, they have an AED checklist they are responsible for coordinating with their principal and central office to order any missing parts," said 

Inspections Patricia Cook is savvy to being a former HISD nurse. She left her position with HISD in May. 

"I had no issues up until last year," she said.

She says up until last year those monthly inspections were also done by contractors, "We had a company called SafetyMed that would come in and certify the AED, and they would replace the batteries and the pads," she said. 
"Last year we were told in a nurses' meeting that we were responsible for the pads and the batteries." 

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She says in February one of her two AEDs needed a battery replacement. She says she put the order in and didn't hear anything for over a month, so she put in a second request.

"So I submitted that one and said it was pretty important because we're putting someone at risk if we don't have the available equipment," she said. 

But Cook claims she never got that order filled, leaving the AED useless. 

"The last time I checked she said 'because of the budget cut we're not going to order it.'

FOX26 reached out to HISD in response to these allegations. We also requested the contracts between HISD and SafetyMed for the past three years. We are awaiting a response to both of these inquiries. 

Tritico says they are waiting for an autopsy report before taking any next steps. 

"If the AED device were working, and it would have saved his life, then there are things we can do for this family. If the AED device would not have saved his life, then HISD is not responsible. It's just that simple," he said.