Did the Power Company murder this man?

[gsdx]

How could any company do something like this? I mean, it's winter! He lived in Michigan!

(FYI, the company wouldn't be able to do that in Canada. Landlords can't even evict people in winter.)

93-year-old freezes to death at home after utility firm limits power use

Mon Jan 26, 4:33 PM

By The Associated Press

BAY CITY, Mich. - A 93-year-old man froze to death inside his home just days after the municipal power company restricted his use of electricity because of unpaid bills, officials said.

Marvin Schur died "a slow, painful death," said Kanu Virani, Oakland County's deputy chief medical examiner, who performed the autopsy.

Neighbours discovered Schur's body on Jan. 17. They said the indoor temperature was below zero Celsius at the time, the Bay City Times reported Monday.

"Hypothermia shuts the whole system down, slowly," Virani said. "It's not easy to die from hypothermia without first realizing your fingers and toes feel like they're burning."

Schur owed Bay City Electric Light & Power more than $1,000 in unpaid electric bills, Bay City manager Robert Belleman told The Associated Press on Monday.

A city utility worker had installed a "limiter" device to restrict the use of electricity at Schur's home on Jan. 13, Belleman said. The device limits power reaching a home and blows out like a fuse if consumption rises past a set level. Power is not restored until the device is reset.

Full story: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090126/world/frozen_indoors

 

[FPNY]

what a sad story, the greed of some of these company's is incredible. the ceo should be charged with murder.

 

[BearMagus]

How sad. Most power companies, at least down here, have a fund that people like this man can get assistance from. All customers can donate a small amount to the fund every time they pay their bill. If they had such a fund, I wonder if anyone told him about it.

 

[edale54115]

It is a crime the elderly in this country are treated like this! Rates right up there with abortion in my mind. The ceo has blood on his hands.

 

[techboywi]

This is really sad. Here in WI, they cannot shut off power between Nov-April, no matter how much you owe. Yes, this would of been prevented if he paid his bills, but he probably did not have the money, or possibly there were some other issues such as dementia, Alzheimers, etc that prevented that

 

[MidnightPrism]

It's not murder. He didn't pay the bill.

 

[Jory]

No! The bottom line and profit comes first in ANY company; forever and always. NO charity cases allowed. Survival of the fittest. NO SOCIALISM!!!

Unless it makes a good P.R. Story

 

[looseliam]

Was the power company justified in its actions? Yes. Do I agree with them? No. Should they be held liable for his death? Yes.

In Illinois, too, it is illegal to disconnect natural gas and electricity during extreme cold.

 

[Yooper]

It is NOT illegal in Colorado for utilities to shut off power in the winter.

The guy across the street from me had his power shut off a week ago Thursday (Jan. 15th). Last week wasn't a problem, we had highs in the 70's.

I'm a tad worried about him tonight, though, as it is 4°F right now and supposed to get to about -10°F before dawn. It is clear he has no heat, as there is 4 inches of snow on top of his chimney cap.

Adult Protective Services is starting an investigation tomorrow, I hope it is not too late.

(BTW, the Police know about the situation, but as he's a serious...I mean .35 for him is sober serious...alcoholic, he never, never, never answers the door. The local Police have classified the house a 'Vacant' but I saw him last Monday, and another neighbor saw him yesterday. He's there.)

 

[kevbo]

How do we know this wasn't some form of suicide? I mean, a sane person would call the utility company when the box was installed (and I don't believe that no one told him that it was installed...), or when the power goes out.

 

[GL]

Was the power company justified in its actions? Yes. Do I agree with them? No. Should they be held liable for his death? Yes.

In Illinois, too, it is illegal to disconnect natural gas and electricity during extreme cold.

i agree with you. his death is terrible especially as it was a painful one.

 

[belamy]

The whole Society did it.

 

[tommyj]

No shit! All utility companies should be socialized and everyone should receive all services free.

Utility companies are about as close to socialism as any enterprise. Their rates are set by the Boards of Public Utilities. The governemnt guarantees them an ROI. I hardly have ever seen a rate increase request denied by the BPUs. BUT, in return for such government largess, they should have some sort of fund to prevent this tragedy.

 

[Apollo]

Sorry, but the man should have paid his bill. Sad he died, but seriously his own fault.

 

[kevbo]

Sorry, but the man should have paid his bill. Sad he died, but seriously his own fault.

It's not just that he didn't pay the bill, he didn't call to make payment arrangements or ask for direction to agencies that help people pay bills.

 

[cityboi]

The man was 93 years old. It was reported today that he did have a wad of paper currency clipped to his electric bill. He probably could not go out due to the cold or snow and ice. He may also have been suffering from dementia at his age. Utility companies should have an age record of their customers so they can asses this type of situation and refer to a social worker. Many people much younger than him cannot handle the complexities of ageing and are in need of help.

 

[Lukeee]

If a man in a similar situation had gone to a restaurant every day and left without paying the bill then been banned and died a week later from starvation would you blame the restaurant staff ?

That is the way I see it.

It is a shame he died & work needs to be done to help people in those situations but I don't blame the company.

 

[Apollo]

It's not just that he didn't pay the bill, he didn't call to make payment arrangements or ask for direction to agencies that help people pay bills.

If he had called the company, they would usually give you an extension on payment, prob go through some alt. payment options etc.

And really, the electric company will CALL your house looking for their money, so he really just had to pick up the phone.

 

[Apollo]

If a man had gone to a restaurant every day, then was ignored as he died on its floor from food poisoning, I'd blame the restaurant.

That's the way I see it.

If a man goes to a restaurant everyday and dies on the floor from food poisoning even though he had ample warning that the fish was bad. I'd wouldn't blame the restaurant.

That's the way I see it.

 

[LilBit]

The story is actually false - check with Bay city newspapers. Thought it was when I read about limiter. No power company uses those in that way. I'm glad it's bogus cause shit that would suck if it really happened.
Verified thru obits as well in bay city...the story is definitely false.

Obituaries don't always come out right away. IIRC, my grandmother's came out a week after her death. And, considering the fact that this man had no family, maybe nobody wrote an obit for him. Or maybe the numerous articles were considered sufficient notification of his death.

You seem a little too eager to dismiss this story as false with no real data to back up your claims.