A 44-year-old woman connected to an oxygen machine at her home died when the power company cut her electricity because she failed to pay her bill, health24.com reported Tuesday.
A coroner’s report released Tuesday attributed the New Zealand woman’s death to the cessation of her oxygen machine and the related stress.
Folole Muliaga, who lived in Mangere, a suburb of Auckland, failed to pay her $168.40 electricity bill in May 2007, Meridian Energy claimed.
Muliaga leaves behind four children and a husband, who plans to pursue legal action.
The coroner said the energy company should have had more regard for the family’s welfare, especially after the husband told them his wife, who was the family’s breadwinner, was sick.
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