New Jersey Woman on Oxygen Dies After Her Power Is Shut Off

New Jersey officials said Monday they were investigating why a utility company shut off power last week at the Newark home of a woman in hospice care who then died after her electric-powered oxygen tank stopped operating.

Family members of the woman, Linda Daniels, said she gasped for air for hours Thursday until she died of congestive heart failure. The company, Public Service Electric and Gas Co., had cut off power to her home that morning because of overdue bills.

The family said they pleaded with the company to restore electricity, telling customer service representatives that Daniels, 68, depended on oxygen equipment in order to breathe. Power was eventually returned to the home Friday.

“She was scared, and she was holding our hands tightly,” said Desiree Washington, Daniels’ daughter. “She was horrified. We were all horrified.”

The case has caught the attention of regulatory officials in New Jersey, where utilities are prohibited from shutting off power to people with medical emergencies. The company said Monday that it was not aware that Daniels had a medical condition, though her relatives said it had been notified.

The state’s Board of Public Utilities said it had opened an investigation.

“BPU is investigating the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Linda Daniels last week at her home in Newark,” a spokesman said. “As part of our investigation, we are in the process of gathering all appropriate information in order to determine how this could have occurred.”

Washington said her mother’s home lost power around 10 a.m. Thursday. When she arrived later that morning, the heat was suffocating. The high temperature Thursday in Newark was 91 degrees.

Family members repeatedly called the utility company, she said.

“We kept calling, and they said to stop calling,” Washington said. “What kind of customer service is that?”

The family also called 911 to have paramedics bring a portable oxygen tank so Daniels could breathe. Even with the aid of the portable tank, Daniels’ health continued to decline and she died shortly before 4:30 p.m.

John Sharpe James, a Newark City Council member who represents the area where Daniels lived, said he was concerned about what had transpired and had asked the utility company for an explanation.

He said he planned to meet with the family Tuesday.

“I will give them time, but ultimately it’s a very sad day and it’s an unfortunate incident,” James said. “We want to ensure it doesn’t happen again, and we cannot have our senior population in jeopardy like that.”

Officials at Public Service Electric and Gas Co. said Monday that they had started an internal investigation into the case. But so far, they have uncovered no indication of a medical condition on Daniels’ account, which was past due $1,500 as of last week.

“This account was severely in arrears, and we made at least 15 attempts to notify the customer since January 2018, including two visits to the residence prior to the disconnection,” the company said in a statement.

Workers would not have shut off power if they were notified of her medical condition, the company said, adding, “We are carefully reviewing everything that happened around this terrible incident.”

Relatives of Daniels said that both her family and hospice nurses had informed Public Service Electric and Gas Co. long before Thursday about her medical condition.

Washington said the family wrote a letter to the utility company two years ago when her mother started using a machine to treat sleep apnea. Her nurses sent the company another letter in April, when Daniels started using an oxygen tank, she said.

“It definitely was known to them,” Washington said.

She also disputed that her mother’s account was past due. She said that the family paid $500 toward her balance, more than the minimum owed, on Tuesday to keep the power on.

Washington said she was angry that the company had cut the power despite the “extreme weather.” She added, “I’m ex-military, but I couldn’t even take a breath.”