Leonardo Krys
Encyclopedia
Leonardo Krys was a travel agent whose 1991 heart attack aboard a Lufthansa flight prompted U.S. based airlines to install Automated External Defibrillators
, or AED, on their planes.
Krys and his wife argued that Lufthansa's crew acted negligently in responding to the symptoms displayed by Mr. Krys and thus aggravated the damage to his heart. They won won a lawsuit against Lufthansa in Miami federal court which the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld. Later the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the airline's appeal arguing that the incident should have been classified as an accident, per the Warsaw Convention, capping his payout.
The result of this suit prompted the airlines to review their safety manuals, including portable defibrillators and training the crew on how to use them.
He owned a travel agency at the time of the heart attack, but the health crisis spurred a midlife career switch to acting. He acted in Telemundo
telenovelas, local theater, an episode of America's Most Wanted
(as an Israeli searching for his son's killer), several independent films and in Latin pop star La India
's video, Traicion, as a priest.
One of Krys' son, Sebastian, is a four-time American Grammy winner and eight-time Latin Grammy Awards
producer and mixer (as of 2011)
Leonardo Krys died of a heart attack in Miami, on March 14, 2009.
Automated external defibrillator
An automated external defibrillator or AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of...
, or AED, on their planes.
Heart attack
On November 30, 1991, Krys boarded a Lufthansa 747 in Miami, headed to Frankfurt, Germany. About an hour out, he suffered the symptoms of a cardiac infarction. The crew did not make an unscheduled landing and landed in Germany after a 10 hours flight. Upon landing, the plane was met by an ambulance which transported Krys to a hospital. At the hospital, the doctors concluded that Krys had indeed suffered a heart attack.Krys and his wife argued that Lufthansa's crew acted negligently in responding to the symptoms displayed by Mr. Krys and thus aggravated the damage to his heart. They won won a lawsuit against Lufthansa in Miami federal court which the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld. Later the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the airline's appeal arguing that the incident should have been classified as an accident, per the Warsaw Convention, capping his payout.
The result of this suit prompted the airlines to review their safety manuals, including portable defibrillators and training the crew on how to use them.
Life
Leo (as he was known by his friend and family) was born in Argentina, and moved with his family to Miami, USA in the late 1970s, due to the local economical and political situation.He owned a travel agency at the time of the heart attack, but the health crisis spurred a midlife career switch to acting. He acted in Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
telenovelas, local theater, an episode of America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
(as an Israeli searching for his son's killer), several independent films and in Latin pop star La India
La India
La India , known also as "La Princesa de la Salsa" , is a singer of salsa. She has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy awards.-Early years:...
's video, Traicion, as a priest.
One of Krys' son, Sebastian, is a four-time American Grammy winner and eight-time Latin Grammy Awards
Latin Grammy Awards
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Unlike the regular Grammy Award which primarily honors music produced in the United States, the Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the...
producer and mixer (as of 2011)
Leonardo Krys died of a heart attack in Miami, on March 14, 2009.