Calif. Supreme Court: Defibrillators not required in large retail stores

The California Supreme Court has ruled that large retailers aren’t required to have defibrillators on hand to help treat customers and workers who suffer sudden cardiac arrest.

The ruling Monday signals the end of a Los Angeles-area family’s wrongful death lawsuit alleging Target was liable for a customer’s sudden cardiac arrest death because it didn’t have one of the life-saving devices as part of its first-aid plan.

For two decades, an increasing number of public places in the U.S. have been required to have automated external defibrillators on hand, including government buildings, airports and many other public places.

But the Supreme Court said that it’s an undue burden to require Target to obtain defibrillators and train staff to use them on the random chance that a customer suffers cardiac arrest.