answered question

answers (19)

stray
6
Votes
BEST ANSWER  decided by votes   |  stray  |  June 26, 2009 07:44 PM
They were trying to perform CPR on a bed? With a doctor in the room? What kind of Dr. Nick Riviera health-care professional was this guy? One of the first rules for CPR is get the person on a hard, flat surface. Heck, I learned that when I was thirteen and in Boy Scouts.

Performing CPR on a person lying in bed means the mattress takes most of the force of the compressions, instead of the chest, which is what you're after with chest compressions.

I don't know about a cover-up, though. When someone's flat on their back, not breathing, people tend to be panicked, so I'll give the caller a pass on that.

Voted as best: hortyman, beast1oh1
Comment
ssharon
ssharon  |  June 29, 2009 01:43 AM
I agree 100% about the CPR in bed issue. That is exactly what I was thinking when I listened to the 911 call. Having done CPR a few times the right way and having seen other people do CPR the wrong way (on a bed) with bad results I can say that something was going on that we don't know about.
evanw
1
Vote
evanw  |  June 26, 2009 06:29 PM
I didn't think so, it sounded like a scared man desperately trying not to divulge the fact that it was Michael Jackson.

I'm sure that all of his personnel are under the strictest guidelines for external communication, especially regarding health issues.
tags: jackson, michael

voted helpful: darknessfalls

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jasoncalac...
jasoncalacanis  |  June 26, 2009 06:30 PM
did you hear that the doctor may have given him a shot of demerol? Sounds like he didn't want to mention that on the call. they won't disclose what happened... which to me is suspicious.
evanw
evanw  |  June 26, 2009 06:34 PM
Unfortunately, the toxicology report won't be available for weeks (or longer): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/26/michael-jackson-autopsy-s_n_221325.html
philipy
philipy  |  June 26, 2009 06:42 PM
There are laws about what the emergency services can reveal about patients.

If you got sick would you want them blabbing about everything to everyone?

Apparently they cannot legally even tell you the identity of their patient until the relevant procedures (maybe by the coroner) have been completed.
andru
0
Votes
andru  |  June 26, 2009 06:30 PM
This person sounds way too calm. WAY too calm. However, I have no idea who is even on the phone with 911...but geez. A man isn't breathing and he just talks all matter of factly.
Comment
philipy
philipy  |  June 26, 2009 07:02 PM
Ever listen to the pilots and air traffic control talking when the airliner came down in the Hudson?

Way calm.

That's what professionals do in emergencies.
andru
andru  |  June 26, 2009 07:24 PM
Do we know who made the phone call?
philipy
philipy  |  June 26, 2009 07:52 PM
I don't know who it was. It may have been mentioned somewhere though.

But I listened to the call carefully after writing my comment. I'd say that he doesn't sound too calm at all. He sounds like an average Joe staff member trying to do his best in a difficult situation. If he was a professional trained for emergencies (say a former police officer working as a bodyguard) he'd have sounded a lot different I think.
canadamom
0
Votes
canadamom  |  June 26, 2009 06:30 PM
I would like to the transcript of it. It sounds confusing. Not sure about a cover up but definitely questionable.
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pcnerd37
0
Votes
pcnerd37  |  June 26, 2009 06:31 PM
It sounds like something is going on but I am not sure what. Things are so vague that it just doesn't seem right. It is definitely edited. The guy that calls in doesn't seem to be in as much of a panic as I would imagine too. This may be real but it sounds like some kind of prank from a radio show or something.
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ivey
0
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ivey  |  June 26, 2009 06:37 PM
It's just you.
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lvloose
3
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lvloose  |  June 26, 2009 06:39 PM
If the doctor is there trying life saving measures.. why doesnt he just say he's dead? After so many minutes of CPR by a physician.. wouldnt any reasonable physician call his death?
I agree Jason.. very suspicious.
source(s):
live exp

voted helpful: gno, metalsand, chinue57

Comment
jasoncalac...
jasoncalacanis  |  June 26, 2009 07:03 PM
Exactly. The doctor doesn't say a) he took a demerol shot (if he did, we don't know for sure yet) and b) doesn't say he is doing CPR. If you're in trouble like that you give all the information to the 911 operator...

a possible scenario is:

a) dr. give Jackson a shot of demerol
b) shot is too much or Jackson heart simply can't take it any more after years of abuse
c) Jackson slips away
d) dr. starts CPR and starts to panic that his shot killed Jackson
e) dr calls 911, but doesn't want details of demerol shot exposed--thus the evasive 911 call.

this is just a theory obviously... but they did impound the dr's car and the dr. is missing.
evanw
evanw  |  June 26, 2009 07:08 PM
Despite his position, I'm going to go ahead and guess that the doctor didn't have the authority to publicly declare Michael dead. ("Publicly", as in we're listening to the recording right now, of course). The doctor also wasn't actually on the phone, which could easily account for the fact that CPR wasn't immediately mentioned.

Keep in mind that doctors attempted to resuscitate him for more than an hour once he arrived at the UCLA medical center.
philipy
philipy  |  June 26, 2009 07:10 PM
There are people who are legally allowed to pronounce death and people who are not. Also it is often not done until the family has had a chance to get there first.

"Reasonable physicians" make sure they don't get sued for not following procedures. Sometimes that leads them to do things that are not very common sensical. But no one ever accused the US health and legal systems of excessive common sense.
troubledwi...
troubledwine  |  June 26, 2009 07:33 PM
The only coverup, if you can call it that, was when CNN and the LA Times started the whole "in a coma" thing and I theorize, as mentioned here by others, it was for legal reasons that the city of Los Angeles and the Hospital did not want to face lawsuits from the Jackson family for having a city paramedic declare him dead to the public before an ER doctor and a county coroner could do so officially which also carries legal ramifications to his estate and finances.

Also I'm going to guess that a "personal on-staff private physician" isn't quite the same type of Dr. you and I are familiar with. Elvis had one too, and the antics that went on with that crew were out of this world bizarre.
ivan4u
ivan4u  |  June 26, 2009 07:35 PM
You're assuming he was an MD and if so, there's the possibility that he was there without any tools / medicine (by the way, I didn't catch the "shot of demerol" part). Additionally, if he called it, there'd be no sense of urgency and he could be held responsible as it was pointed out that he was being worked on for an hour after arriving at the hospital.
troubledwi...
2
Votes
troubledwine  |  June 26, 2009 06:39 PM
Doesn't sound suspicious at all. Sounds like a staffer who is not used to this level of responsibility was ordered to call 911 and was doing the best he could. After that you just have to stand around and wait and 3-7 minutes in a situation like that feels like hours and 911 won't get off the phone with you.

I'm guessing whoever released this tape edited out the address and phone #

voted helpful: evanw, hcp56

Comment
roma
1
Vote
roma  |  June 26, 2009 06:55 PM
Sounds legit. Getting help for some superstar, under strict orders, i'd say he did pretty well. You can hear in his voice, he really wanted to stay "hurry, it's Michael Jackson". R.I.P Either way he has gone.

voted helpful: evanw

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buddawiggi
0
Votes
buddawiggi  |  June 26, 2009 07:22 PM
Michael Jackson lived much of his life in secret most of the things we think we know about him are speculation so the Michael Jackson show continues, as I'm sure it will for weeks or years.

I just hope that everything is legit so the man can rest in peace with whatever measure of dignity he deserves.

Speculation about his death at this point seems appropriate and instinctual so giving into my curiosity and for a moment disregarding my "you should know better" voice, What would you think they are trying to cover up? The manner of his death? Covering up a murder? a suicide?
Comment
gno
gno  |  June 26, 2009 08:02 PM
@buddawiggi: I think the key phrase in your answer was "with whatever measure of dignity he deserves".

Jackson set up his life to be a circus - literally. So it only seems fitting that his death is the same way.
gno
10
Votes
gno  |  June 26, 2009 07:59 PM
I think the whole thing stinks like 10 day-old fish!

The phonecall itself seemed mostly appropriate - the caller on the line seemed shaken but trying to keep control of the situation. And what we heard garbled from the doc could've either been panic (ie "Just get 'em here now, now!") or it could've been a little more calculating (ie "No, they don't need to know that right now!").

The line that screams, "Whaaaa?" to me is the following:

DISPATCH: ...Um, did anybody witness what happened?

CALLER: No, only the doctor, sir. The doctor's been the only one here.

The shaken caller is probably inadvertantly blurting out a truth here that is very interesting - only the doctor witnessed what happened. The doctor was the only one there when the trauma began. If the doctor had just found him that way, then the caller would've answered, "No, we just found him...", or something to that effect.

To me, that stinks of medical treatment gone wrong.

EDUCATED THEORY: The doctor was in treating him with painkillers (since it has been acknowledged by Jackson's family that he was heavily using), Jackson responds badly (either by overdose or drug interaction), and the doctor panics and starts administering Lidocaine to bring the heart back (1). That fails, and he begins CPR. When it's clear that CPR is not immediately working, he summons a staffer to call 911. Once paramedics arrive, find Jackson flatlined and stone-dead, the doctor insists (against EMT protests!) that they keep working on him and take him to the hospital (1) (hoping the hospital can share in the blame??).

And of course, the capper to this is that the doctor then went missing (even though he had been living at the home), leaving his car behind to be towed.(2) He just recently contacted police and agreed to come in for questioning sometime later today.

So my answer is yes. I believe the doc was doing his best to cover up his own mistake. But so far, it seems he's the only one trying to hide something.
Voted as best: bunnyphuphu
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russb
0
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russb  |  June 26, 2009 08:08 PM
a little weird that the doctor was with him at the time "it happened"
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albanian
0
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albanian  |  June 26, 2009 09:08 PM
Yes, it's all a conspiracy. You could have read about it in my answer to the "Is Michael Jackson dead or alive?" question. No one will be satisfied with the official story, so eventually lots of people will agree with me. They will find countless trivial little holes that make them suspicious; plus, they want a better story to tell each other.
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me1001
0
Votes
me1001  |  June 27, 2009 10:39 AM
@andru:

'A man isn't breathing and he just talks all matter of factly.'

-not just a man, pardøn, thats mikaeel jackson lying lifeless there.

understand?

about a cover-up:
9-1-1 dispatcher: 'did anyone see witness what happened?'

caller: 'no, just the doctor.'

1. how is that he could respond so quickly if he wasn't even there?

2. and wait, see 'what' happen?

are we to believe that the caller knew he was getting 'shot up'?
that's not part of the plan, is it?

this was a pre-conceived response.
just like pre-conceived headlines: demerol.

shouldn't the response have been, 'seen what happen? we don't know what happened.'

but, blame the doctor, that's easy.

the caller knows what really happened.
alhamdullilah~ mikaeel.
source(s):
http://islam.com/
Comment
chinue57
0
Votes
chinue57  |  June 27, 2009 08:05 PM
There is going to be alot of things coming out in the next few days that is going to shock everyone. The family knows nothing about this Doctor, 2) he was having financial problems before he signed on with MJ. 3) He left the house leaving his car before the paramedics got there 4) He refuses to tell the family what happen. Sounds like a cover-up to me.
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ayla_zed
0
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ayla_zed  |  June 28, 2009 01:09 AM
Yes, It did sound like Mr. Jackson was dead and the doctor decided to have someone make the 911 call and ask for help, rather than ask for the police or come and investigate a suspicious death.

It seems like the Doctor knew he was at fault and panicked and now disappeared. I wonder if the Doctor was Mr. Jackson's private drug supplier, and had retired from his practice just to be Mr. Jackson's live in dealer.

I am also wondering how so many of his friends and family can come forward now and say they knew he was addicted, and yet no one ever did an intervention? They are all so well-known and powerful, they could have gone to court and had him taken in to custody for evaluation.

He was in the "care" of an irresponsible Doctor, who very likely is responsible for is death, who knows it, and who had a stooge come in and make the call as a cover up for his own bad behavior.
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greatman
0
Votes
greatman  |  June 28, 2009 01:39 AM
That last call may be a cover up action.
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innovative...
0
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innovativethinker  |  June 28, 2009 04:35 AM
That's an interesting situation- I think the doctor wanted to avoid getting other medical professionals involved. Apparently the doctor who was living with Michael was a cardiologist and had given Michael demerol earlier in the day. If Michael had been unresponsive for an extended period of time, why wasn't the call made sooner? I think the doctor figured after Michael wasn't responding that he had an ethical obligation to get 9-11 on the line.
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heartofgol...
0
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heartofgold1  |  June 28, 2009 06:26 AM
No, it is not just you. Tons of people including me think this is strange. Good question.
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