One year after a 68-year-old grandmother died after her electricity was shut off, New Jersey enacted a law designed to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
Linda Daniels depended on an oxygen tank to breathe that ran on power in her in her home, NJ.com reported. Her electricity was shut off in the summer of last year after a bill was late. Both her air conditioner and electrified breathing tank shut down as a result, and she soon died.
Days before, Daniels’s family had made a payment of $500 on the late bill to the utility company PSE&G, NJ.com reported. However, it did not prevent the company from shutting off the power, said the family.
PSE&G said in a statement obtained by The New York Times that they were owed about $1,500 and had no knowledge that Daniels depended on life-sustaining equipment that needed electricity. The company also said it made 26 attempts since the beginning of last year, including two home visits, to notify Daniels that her bill was overdue.
An independent investigation found that the tragedy was caused by “both human errors and systemic failures” committed by PSE&G.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed “Linda’s Law” into New Jersey law on July 5. The law requires utility companies to check if residents depend on life-sustaining equipment that needs electricity, NJ.com reported.
Grandma on oxygen died after utility cut her power. N.J. enacts ‘Linda’s Law’ to stop it from happening again. https://t.co/IHyCTwY9EO pic.twitter.com/4CPSOLoKSS
— NJ.com (@njdotcom) July 5, 2019
“No one should fear losing their life because their electricity bill is a few days overdue,” said Murphy, via a press release. “Linda’s Law will protect residents who rely upon electricity to support their medical equipment.”
“On this anniversary of the tragic death of Linda Daniels, thank you to Governor Murphy and the Legislature for passing Linda’s Law,” said New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) President Joseph L. Fiordaliso, via the press release. “The NJBPU has been working closely with the utilities to implement additional regulations that we hope, along with this legislation, will help prevent future tragedies. Our ongoing condolences to her family.”
GOVERNOR MURPHY SIGNS “LINDA’S LAW” https://t.co/OwoXiiD96R pic.twitter.com/vcm8XAR28y
— FiOS1 New Jersey (@FiOS1NewsNJ) July 6, 2019
“It is clear that more needs to be done to ensure that those depending on electricity for their medical device do not experience a shut-off in their home,” said Assemblymembers Yvonne Lopez, Raj Mukherji, Eliana Pintor Marin, Wayne DeAngelo, James Kennedy, and Lisa Swain, via the press release.
“We need to ensure that electric public utilities have a comprehensive system to not only track, but also meet the needs of their medically dependent customers.”
The governor signed the law Friday, a year to the date that Linda Daniels died hours after Public Service Electric and Gas Co. shut off power to her Newark house. The 68-year-old grandmother relied on an electric-powered oxygen tank to breathe. https://t.co/cnCasRiLAA
— Daily Record (@dailyrecord) July 7, 2019
At the time of her death, Daniels had already been placed in hospice care, The New York Times reported. She had a lot health issues at the time, including congestive heart failure. This is what led to her death after the electricity was shut off, according to NJ.com.
Doctors did not expect her to live much longer, so her family had her stay at home, assuming she would be most comfortable there in her final days, according to the Times.
.@GovMurphy signs Linda’s Law, what are your thoughts?https://t.co/fxUwTexOMk
— News12NJ (@News12NJ) July 6, 2019
