A 93-year-old man froze to death inside his home

[Texsox]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,483244,00.html

 

 

 

BAY CITY, Michigan — A 93-year-old man froze to death inside his home, an autopsy has determined, just days after the city limited his flow of electricity for not paying his bills.

 

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

 

Neighbors discovered Schur's body on Jan. 17. The indoor temperature was below 32 degrees at the time, the neighbors told The Bay City Times for a story Monday.

 

Schur had no children, and his wife passed away several years ago.

 

The man had almost $1,100 in unpaid electric bills, said neighbor George Pauwels Jr., who discovered Schur's body.

 

The utility installed a "limiter" device outside Schur's home on Jan. 13, said Bay City Manager Robert Belleman. The device limits electricity flow to the home and blows out like a fuse if more than allowed is drained. Belleman said he doesn't know if anyone talked to Schur to explain how to reset the device to restore power.

 

 

[Texsox]

Some more info from other reports I heard.

 

Basically the cut off is attached to his meter, outside. If the load surpasses the preset limit, I believe they said 10 Amps in this case, a circuit breaker opens and you have to go outside to your meter and turn it back on. The theory is you will keep turning stuff off until you stay within the range. This way the electricity stays on but you might not be able to watch TV or run the dishwasher.

 

What seems to have happened here is it tripped and the man had no idea what happened. He may have thought they turned it off because he was delinquent.

 

The company has used this device for ten years, this is the first death.

[Balta1701]

When I first read about this, it struck me as a hard case to evaluate. Yeah, the city's device wound up shutting off the power in his house, and yeah, he didn't have family to check on him, but that can't be all of the story. How does he continue to have a house yet have $1100 in unpaid electric bills? Was that the only bill he had unpaid? Did he still belong in that house if he was unable to pay the bills for its maintenance or to figure out how to deal with problems for it?

[ChiSox_Sonix]

The man knew what he was doing. I'm not trying to be callous or inconsiderate but the law is the law. If he wasnt paying for his electrical service why should he be receiving it? It's unfortunate but it is not the electrical companies fault.

[Balta1701]

The man knew what he was doing.

He was 93 years old. Are you sure?

[ChiSox_Sonix]

He was 93 years old. Are you sure?

 

 

If he wasnt he shouldnt have been living by himself

[Balta1701]

If he wasnt he shouldnt have been living by himself

That was the point I was trying to make. But if all his family is gone, who exactly is the one who is supposed to be making that decision for him?

[ChiSox_Sonix]

That was the point I was trying to make. But if all his family is gone, who exactly is the one who is supposed to be making that decision for him?

 

 

I dont know but isnt this why we have social services type of programs? And we dont know he didnt have his wits about him. Also, not having children doesnt mean he didnt have nephews/nieces in the area. We just dont know.

 

Also, did the electrical company inform him of what they did? If not, they should have, but it still doesnt make them 100% culpable. Furthermore, wouldnt you think if your power got shut off and it was cold he would have called someone?

[Texsox]

If he wasnt he shouldnt have been living by himself

When your electricity goes off, do you think they attached a limiting device on your meter? I doubt I would have checked.

 

It seems, at a minimum, they should have to contact him and show him how to reset the device. The pictures of his home show snow piled up, I'm not certain he would have been able to reach the device.

 

It seems it happened in New Zealand, only worse, For $168 and it stopped a person's oxygen device

Mrs Muliaga died on Tuesday just hours after a mercury Energy contractor cut power to her home where she was using an electrically operated oxygen machine, because she was late in paying a $168.40 bill.

 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article....jectid=10443049

[Balta1701]

I dont know but isnt this why we have social services type of programs? And we dont know he didnt have his wits about him. Also, not having children doesnt mean he didnt have nephews/nieces in the area. We just dont know.

 

Also, did the electrical company inform him of what they did? If not, they should have, but it still doesnt make them 100% culpable. Furthermore, wouldnt you think if your power got shut off and it was cold he would have called someone?

These 2 points argue against each other.

[Texsox]

It could not be confirmed, but it seems he did not have telephone service. Neighbors did report he would grocery shop on his own. I saw news coverage this morning and the outside of the house appeared neat and orderly and in good repair.

[Balta1701]

Kind of appears that he may have still had an idea what was going on.

Then if that is the case, I turn to my other point and ask...why exactly was he $1100 behind on his electric bills? How was he able to still keep his house, keep it well kept, shop for groceries, and yet could not pay that bill? Were there other bills he was falling behind on? Did he have a mortgage on the house? If so how was he able to still pay that? Were there no other financial shenanigoats he could undertake in order to free up some $ to pay the electric bill? Especially since no one was really counting on him for an inheritance.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

When your electricity goes off, do you think they attached a limiting device on your meter? I doubt I would have checked.

 

Also, did the electrical company inform him of what they did? If not, they should have, but it still doesnt make them 100% culpable. Furthermore, wouldnt you think if your power got shut off and it was cold he would have called someone?

 

It seems, at a minimum, they should have to contact him and show him how to reset the device. The pictures of his home show snow piled up, I'm not certain he would have been able to reach the device.

 

Agreed

 

 

These 2 points argue against each other.

 

I see your point...but

 

vvvvvvv

 

It could not be confirmed, but it seems he did not have telephone service. Neighbors did report he would grocery shop on his own. I saw news coverage this morning and the outside of the house appeared neat and orderly and in good repair.

 

 

Kind of makes it appear that he did realize what was going on around him

[Texsox]

My best guess from a GMA report and a couple newspaper reports, but some conjecture

 

He was struggling to make ends meet, possible medical bills

Was not aware they limited his electric (possibly expecting to be the cut off)

Was waiting for his SS check to make a payment

Had no idea help was available

Thought he could "gut it out"

 

Still for a WWII vet to die in his own home, frozen to death, seems senseless and avoidable. I agree we can't just give people electricity for free, but the utility companies should know who they are cutting off when the weather is this bad.

 

Other sad stuff

 

No one to check on him daily. Neighbors reported seeing him regularly.

[Texsox]

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Still for a WWII vet to die in his own home, frozen to death, seems senseless and avoidable. I agree we can't just give people electricity for free, but the utility companies should know who they are cutting off when the weather is this bad.

 

It is not plausible to believe an electric company would/should know the living/housing situations of all of its clients unless the town had like 100 people in it

 

 

[Texsox]

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jan2009/bayc-j28.shtml

 

 

 

Robert Belleman, Bay City’s city manager, said that Schur had accrued over $1,000 in unpaid electricity bills over the preceding months. No effort was made to visit Schur prior to the suspension.

 

Neighbors became alarmed when they noticed that Schur’s windows had become covered with ice. When neighbors found Schur’s body, temperatures in his house were below freezing, and water in his sink was frozen. The oven door was propped open, which suggests that Schur made a futile attempt to heat his home using the appliance.

 

Kanu Virani, a medical examiner who performed the autopsy, said that Schur died of hypothermia, which she described as a “slow, painful death.” “He was wearing a double layer of clothes, trying to stay warm,” Virani said.

 

Schur had no children and was a widower, but a neighbor named Jim, a retired city worker, told the World Socialist Web Site that he was well liked, frequently waving to passersby from his picture window that faces east onto Chilson Street, the working class residential lane where he had lived for years.

 

Marvin Schur, or “Mutts” as he was known, was a retired worker, having labored as a pattern cutter for years at Baker-Perkins, a Saginaw factory that makes specialized machinery for the food industry. He was born April 30, 1915, and was a life-long resident of the area, serving as a medic with the US Army during WW II.

 

 

 

The "limiter" placed on Shur's electric meter The “limiter” is a punitive device designed to compel homeowners to pay their bills. It is equipped with a switch-like circuit breaker that completely shuts off the power supply should the household surpass the established voltage level. This is what happened to Schur.

 

 

 

City officials say homeowners can go outside and reset the devices to allow limited electricity to flow again. But they acknowledged that there was no personal contact with Schur to instruct him how to reset the device. Neighbors also noted that Schur was hard of hearing and suffered from some form of dementia.

 

Nevertheless, if after 10 days a household has still not paid its electricity bills, Bay City cuts off the electric supply completely.

 

 

[Texsox]

It is not plausible to believe an electric company would/should know the living/housing situations of all of its clients unless the town had like 100 people in it

They are required, at least in Texas, to track which homes have life support equipment. I believe it would be easy enough to track any other special needs like elderly, handicapped, etc. and have a second contact person to inform if they are going to limit or terminate service.

[Steff]

It is not plausible to believe an electric company would/should know the living/housing situations of all of its clients unless the town had like 100 people in it

 

 

The bill wasn't getting paid so they obviously knew there was a problem. It's below f***ing zero outside. There is no need to cut of ANYONE'S heat in this weather.

[RockRaines]

Pay your bills, or dont get power. Its pretty simple and goes for everyone regardless of age. If i had that much in overdue bills, should I be crying because its cold or should I smack myself in the face for not paying my bills?

 

BTW, what does him being a Vet have ANYTHING to do with it?

Edited January 28, 2009 by RockRaines

[Steff]

They are required, at least in Texas, to track which homes have life support equipment. I believe it would be easy enough to track any other special needs like elderly, handicapped, etc. and have a second contact person to inform if they are going to limit or terminate service.

 

It doesn't matter if it's a home with special needs or not. In this day your 35 year old neighbor with a wife and 2 kids could be struggling to pay the bills and be having a hard time making ends meet. There is NO justification for turning off heat in this weather.

[southsider2k5]

When your electricity goes off, do you think they attached a limiting device on your meter? I doubt I would have checked.

 

It seems, at a minimum, they should have to contact him and show him how to reset the device. The pictures of his home show snow piled up, I'm not certain he would have been able to reach the device.

 

It seems it happened in New Zealand, only worse, For $168 and it stopped a person's oxygen device

 

 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article....jectid=10443049

 

I don't know how they do it there, but Kanakee Valley Power in Indiana has these devices. When they place one onto someone system, they place a large bright orange sticker on their door that has a full explanation of what happened, and how the device works.

[RockRaines]

It doesn't matter if it's a home with special needs or not. In this day your 35 year old neighbor with a wife and 2 kids could be struggling to pay the bills and be having a hard time making ends meet. There is NO justification for turning off heat in this weather.

There are literally thousands of people in the Chicagoland area that face the same issue. Should the utility companies just give everyone a pass on paying for a service because its cold outside? Its a service you pay for, if you cant pay, you dont get the service. Its fairly straightforward.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

The bill wasn't getting paid so they obviously knew there was a problem. It's below f***ing zero outside. There is no need to cut of ANYONE'S heat in this weather.

 

If they never did that in the future, i guarantee people would take advantage of that

[Texsox]

Pay your bills, or dont get power. Its pretty simple and goes for everyone regardless of age. If i had that much in overdue bills, should I be crying because its cold or should I smack myself in the face for not paying my bills?

 

BTW, what does him being a Vet have ANYTHING to do with it?

 

Allowing poor people to die is one way of dealing with the problem. I guess that pot allows for imaginative answers to old age and poverty.

 

And what job does a 93 year old man work?

 

And being a vet matters because he has contributed to this country in a way that some poeple will never understand or appreciate. We owe it to those individuals who but their ass on the line for our freedom a little more respect than telling them to smack themselves in the face when they are 93 and struggling to survive.