Michael Jackson would be alive today if Conrad Murray had called for help earlier, says Joe Jackson’s lawyer.
“Michael could have been saved,” Brian Oxman told TheWrap. “When they got him to UCLA he had a pulse and a heartbeat.”
On behalf of the singer’s father, Oxman sent a 13-page written notice to Murray, Michael Jackson’s personal physician, and his lawyers on March 26 stating that he plans to pursue a wrongful death civil suit against the doctor before June 25, the first anniversary of the singer’s death.
Oxman told TheWrap on Monday that Michael Jackson’s heart had not died when medics arrived on the scene, but that the singer was “almost gone.“ According to Oxman, Jackson’s state of pulseless electrical activity, a state in which the still-active heart should beating or producing a pulse but is not, ceased at 12:34 p.m.
That, however, wasn’t the last time Jackson’s body showed signs of life, Oxman said.
“When he arrived at UCLA at 1:26 p.m., they used aggressive resuscitation and they got a pulse and a heartbeat but it didn’t last,” Oxman said. As reported by TheWrap, Joe Jackson was granted the right on Feb. 19 to see Michael’s UCLA Medical Center records from the day he died.
At the time, Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff ruled that the records were not made public but are available to Oxman and medical experts acting on behalf of the senior Jackson to examine. Oxman would only say that the wrongful death suit is based on “all the records, including the autopsy that I have seen.”
“There was an unreasonable delay in medics getting to the house,” says Oxman of the events of June 25 at Jackson’s rented Los Angeles home “It was anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour-and-a-half — depending on what story from Conrad Murray you believe.”
On Feb. 8, Murray pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter.
At that hearing, the court banned Murray from handling, prescribing or administering Propofol or any other heavy sedative medication in any of the regions where he has a medical license, including California and Texas. The powerful sedative Propofol, normally only usefd in a hospital setting, has been deemed the primary cause of Jackson’s death.
If found guilty, the doctor could face up to four years in prison. A preliminary scheduling takes place April 5.
“This is not about money,” said Oxman. “Joe Jackson wants justice for his son and he wants people to know point by point, moment by moment the reckless conduct that Conrad Murray engaged in.”
Attempts by TheWrap to contact Dr. Murray’s attorneys were not immediately successful.
