CPR Effort Partly Blamed in Death of Elderly Man

Emergency workers who were trying to save an 80-year-old man’s life after a heart attack accidentally contributed to his death, the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s office said Thursday.

Joseph W. Brockmann died after emergency medical workers crushed his ribs and tore his heart while trying to revive him with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, according to an autopsy by Assistant Medical Examiner Ronald L. O’Halloran.

Two Ventura firefighters had administered CPR on Brockmann after the car he was driving crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with another car on East Main Street in Ventura, fire officials said.

Brockmann continued to receive CPR at Ventura County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead nearly two hours after the Tuesday morning accident.

“Somebody tried to save his life, and during the process there was a tear in his heart,” O’Halloran said.

O’Halloran said Brockmann, who had been suffering from heart disease, had a heart attack before or during the accident and that he probably would have died from the accident. Brockmann, who also suffered broken ribs during the CPR efforts, had Paget’s disease, which makes bones brittle.

CPR, an emergency procedure that involves applying pressure to the chest to keep blood pumping to the lungs and brain, is used as a last-ditch measure to revive heart attack victims.

Medical and emergency officials say it often results in broken ribs and bones but rarely is the primary cause of death.

Referring to the heart attack, O’Halloran said, “His chances of surviving were almost zero.”

“It was listed as a natural death; the underlying cause of death was a heart attack,” O’Halloran said. Brockmann was wearing his seat belt when the accident occurred, Ventura police Lt. Don Arth said. Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the accident, he said.

Coroner’s officials would not release the name of the emergency workers who administered the CPR to Brockmann.

Doug Carriger, Ventura Fire Department operations chief, said the two firefighters who administered aid to Brockmann at the accident scene were convinced it was the only way to save the man’s life. Brockmann’s heart had stopped and he was not breathing, he said.

“When CPR was initiated, the man was clinically dead,” Carriger said. The two firefighters followed proper procedures under the direction of a paramedic who had been dispatched by Courtesy Ambulance Service, Carriger said.

CPR continued while Brockmann was taken to the hospital and was resumed by emergency room workers at Ventura County Medical Center, Carriger said.

Barbara Brodfuehrer, administrator of the county Emergency Medical Services, which oversees training for ambulance crews and firefighters, said all Ventura firefighters receive extensive training to administer CPR.

CPR is commonly used by paramedics and firefighters to save accident victims’ lives, but they know it carries some measure of risk, she said.

Brockmann’s son said the family did not blame emergency medical workers for the death.

“It’s emergency work, and it’s a desperate measure for a desperate situation,” said Brockmann’s son, Joseph Brockmann Jr. “I want to emphasize that there is no anger, and I want to find the fireman who did it and make sure he understands that.”

The elder Brockmann had worked with the New York Telephone Co. before moving to Ventura nearly 10 years ago, Brockmann’s son said.

Joseph Brockmann Sr. had prepared for emergencies by placing a list of emergency phone numbers next to his bed, with the request “Use No Heroic Measures” written at the top.

“As much as it hurts to have him gone, it’s not the tragedy people may make it out to be,” Brockmann Jr. said. “The coroner felt if he would have lived, he would have been in real bad shape.”