Florida Doctor, killed by neck massager in freak accident

Pretty odd story given that they won't disclose what kind of massager was being used.
 
She worked in an emergency room and was an associate professor, she should have known better than to mix necklaces and neck massagers. Hmmmmm. The necklace didn't break? What kind of necklace would that be??
 
Ok, I was driving home last night, thinking about this case, and this point hit me:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...massager_in_freak_accident.html#ixzz19zoq25O7
Florida woman, Michelle Ferrari-Gegerson, killed by neck massager in freak accident: police
By Michael Sheridan
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, January 3rd 2011, 9:52 AM


"The massager got entangled with a necklace, and it probably caused her to black out very quickly," said Jim Leljedal of the Broward County Sheriff's Department.

Ferrari-Gegerson’s husband, Kenneth, came home and found her unconscious with the neck massager next to her body. He called for help, but the 37-year-old was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. Authorities have not revealed which brand of neck massager was used.

So, the husband wasn't home, but the neck massager got entangled with her necklace enough to cause her to pass out, very quickly allegedly. OK, then how in the heck did it unentangle itself from the necklace and fall to beside her body????? In my simple little mind, if it was tight enough to cause her to black out and DIE, how could it have fallen off??????? AND the necklace didn't break. Hmmmmm. What were her hands doing? Tied up with Christmas bows? HMMMMMMMMM.
 
maybe auto erotic asphyxia and the cord was purposely around her neck and the massager was never on her neck?
 
From what I read about this somewhere, the necklace was like a thick, dense leather piece. And, I would imagine that in her struggle to get it off and panicking, that it's feasible that it would fall to the floor. There definitely could be something to it other than an incredible accident, but this is what my understanding of it was. I thought I also read that the husband was in the next room with the child, but not positive about this. I guess the truth will hopefully come out if there is foul play!
 
Pretty odd story given that they won't disclose what kind of massager was being used.

yeah. Possibly some pain medication involved too, if she was using a massager? Some of those are a bit top-heavy and awkward to handle behind you. I have one that's shaped like ET, and even though it probably weighs only 2 pounds, feels like a lot more when trying to use it.
 
I invision one of those imitation hands type massagers. I'd think she would be able to yank the cord and unplug it or something.
 
The Broward Sheriff’s Office, ending its investigation into the Christmas Eve death of Dr. Michelle Ferrari-Gegerson, has determined that she died in a freak accident involving a neck massager.

Ferrari-Gegerson, 37, a Miami radiologist, was using the ShoulderFlex Deep Kneading Shiatsu massager in a bedroom of her Parkland home about 9 p.m. Dec. 24, 2010.

That’s when things went horribly wrong: The device became ensnared in a leather cord necklace she was wearing and strangled her, according to a BSO report released Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/31/2384610/neck-massager-killed-jackson-doctor.html#ixzz1WgrjKQtO
 
Is this a plug in device? Would she not stand up and pull it out of plug if it was. I am sure it would still be around her neck, and she could still very much have died. They say no signs of struggle, the necklace was a straighline on her neck. I hope her family finds peace.
 
I'm no doctor but what I gather from reading the article (above) is that the tightening of the necklace due to the massager put immediate pressure upon the carotid artery in the neck (method used in the choking game...), enough pressure to cause her to pass out and therefore unable to unplug/shut off the device. Very sad.
 
From the linked report, it sounds like the combination of the necklace and the massager compressed her carotids, which would have made her pass out, rendering her unable to try to get out of the device or turn it off. They said her husband might file a wrongful death suit. I wonder if the company is covered legally since they had a warning on the product not to wear jewelry while using it?
 
At first glance the story appears to be a tragic, freak accident, but now I'm not sure what to think. A doctor (the victim), well-educated, had used the device many times. It had a warning not to wear necklaces while using, which seems to be basic common sense. Also, I thought I read the husband was in the next room when it happened, and she had millions in life-insurance policies...
 
She worked in an emergency room and was an associate professor, she should have known better than to mix necklaces and neck massagers. Hmmmmm. The necklace didn't break? What kind of necklace would that be??


My hobby is to make jewelry and other stuff, with various materials. I belong to a few forums where we discuss our projects and show what we've made, etc. When this story came out we had a thread discussing it and you wouldn't believe the number of people who said they made their necklaces as strong as possible so they wouldn't break and could see how this would happen. Others said they always try to include at least one weak link like a jump ring so if someone got tangled it would break away. Honestly, if whoever made that necklace didn't have the forethought to include a weak link I could see how it could have happened very easily. I don't make many necklaces but if I make any in the futre I certainly will make sure there it can break away if needed. Unfortunately for this lady whoever made her necklace didn't do the same.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
98
Guests online
782
Total visitors
880

Forum statistics

Threads
589,927
Messages
17,927,767
Members
228,002
Latest member
zipperoni
Back
Top