MONTREAL — A Quebec coroner says a 12-year-old boy who died after a schoolyard fight would have had a better chance of survival if there had been a defibrillator nearby.

Yanick Charpentier died after an argument with a girl during morning recess at his Montreal-area school in November 2007.

Charpentier suffered from a heart defect and was struck during the altercation, but experts testified that neither his condition nor the punch individually caused his death.

Coroner Andree Kronstrom says Charpentier's death was caused by a combination of factors including the emotions, the physical exertion, the fight and his medical condition.

Kronstrom says in her findings that Charpentier might have had a better chance at survival if the school or the police force had been
equipped with a portable defibrillator.

She recommends that police carry the devices in their vehicles and that authorities be properly educated about the use of defibrillators and CPR techniques.

SOURCE: CTV Canada