LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The doctor charged in Michael Jackson's
death had requested lifesaving gear and a nurse from the concert
promoter organizing the singer's London shows, documents obtained
by The Associated Press show. But neither request was apparently
in place when Jackson died last June 25 after Dr. Conrad Murray
administered a mixture of sedatives, including the anesthetic
propofol, in an attempt to get the chronic insomniac to sleep.
Propofol is extremely powerful and is usually administered only
in medical settings with emergency equipment on hand. Patients
are normally constantly monitored.
Murray was alone when he gave the drugs to Jackson. After he
realized the sedated star was not breathing, he performed CPR
but was unable to revive him. He performed CPR on the singer
while he was in bed instead of moving him to the floor, an action
that was criticized after Jackson's death.
The doctor has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter
charge in Jackson's death. His proposed contract with AEG, which
included a monthly fee of $150,000, was not finalized before
the singer's death. Murray never received payment for his services.
The request for a heart resuscitation machine and another person
with medical training are revealed in e-mails and a contract
drafted by promoter AEG Live and sent to Murray.
The documents are included in a complaint filed by Jackson's
father, Joe, to the California Medical Board against AEG Live,
accusing the promoter of Jackson's comeback "This Is It"
tour of engaging in the "unlawful practice of corporate
medicine." It also accuses the company of forcing Murray
to provide Jackson with dangerous medical services.
Michael Roth, an AEG spokesman, said the company had not seen
the complaint and could not comment on it or the contract.
Murray's lawyer Ed Chernoff declined to comment.
"AEG hired, directed, controlled and demanded Dr. Conrad
Murray, a medical doctor, to medicate Michael Jackson, provide
Jackson with dangerous medical services, and to give Michael
Jackson controlled substances and other drugs without providing
cardiopulmonary resuscitation equipment or nursing assistance
as it had promised in writing it would provide," the complaint
states.
Murray's request for the CPR equipment was first made to a concert
tour business manager, an e-mail message shows. The complaint
states Murray also requested a nurse, and the doctor's proposed
contract called for AEG to hire a "qualified assistant
medical person."
The request was later mentioned in Murray's proposed contract.
The language stated AEG "shall provide Dr. Murray for his
use during the term with medical equipment requested by Dr.
Murray to assist him in performing the services as approved
by (AEG)."
The equipment is described as a "portable cardio pulmonary
resuscitation unit ('CPR Machine'), saline, catheters, needles,
a gurney and other mutually approved medical equipment necessary
for the Services."
The complaint states Murray signed the document a day before
Michael Jackson's death.
Murray had known Jackson and treated him and his children occasionally
in recent years, the doctor's attorney has said and the complaint
states.
The AEG agreement would have covered Murray's work while Jackson
was preparing for the London shows and throughout the concerts
last summer.
An e-mail sent to Murray during the negotiations explained a
delay in the contract's drafting because it was a "rare
event" for a physician to be hired to care for a singer
on tour.
E-mails also show the contract was still being reworked two
days before Jackson's death, which happened a week before he
was to travel to London for the "This Is It" shows.
A spokeswoman for the California Medical Board said complaints
filed to the agency are confidential unless it takes any action.
The board receives 8,000 complaints a year, according to its
website.
Joe Jackson's attorney, Brian Oxman, confirmed he filed a complaint
with the California Medical Board but declined to discuss it.
In his complaint, Joe Jackson - who has repeatedly criticized
AEG Live since shortly after his son's death - accuses the promoter
of agreeing to pay Murray vastly more than he was making so
that it could exert control over his medical decisions.
Joe Jackson's filing cites a 2008 income declaration by Murray
in a child support proceeding in which the cardiologist stated
he earned only $3,300 per month.
The Jackson family patriarch is also contemplating a wrongful
death lawsuit against Murray.
Source:
The Associated Press