When a Missouri family reached out to Presley & Presley Trial Lawyers after a catastrophic carbon monoxide exposure claimed multiple lives, they needed more than a lawyer. They needed someone who understood how to hold responsible parties accountable for invisible dangers that should never have been allowed to exist. The result was a $30 million judgment — one of the largest carbon monoxide judgments in Missouri history.
We handle these cases because we know what they require.
What Is Carbon Monoxide — and Why Is It So Dangerous?
Carbon monoxide, or CO, is a colorless, odorless gas produced by fuel-burning equipment. You cannot see it, smell it, or taste it. By the time symptoms appear, serious harm may already be underway. Severe carbon monoxide exposure can be lethal.
Sources of dangerous CO accumulation include furnaces, water heaters, generators, gas stoves, fireplaces, vehicles, boats, and commercial heating systems. When these systems malfunction, are improperly maintained, or ventilation fails; carbon monoxide builds silently — in homes, hotels, apartment buildings, rental properties, and anywhere people have no reason to suspect danger. When inhaled, carbon monoxide binds tightly to hemoglobin in the bloodstream, blocking red blood cells from carrying vital oxygen. This rapidly deprives the brain, heart, and other critical organs of the oxygen they need to function, effectively suffocating the body's tissues from the inside out.
That invisibility is what makes these cases both devastating and legally complex.
Recognizing Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
One reason carbon monoxide exposure causes such serious harm is that early symptoms are easily mistaken for the flu or simple exhaustion — headache, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, confusion, or shortness of breath. Victims often don’t know what’s happening until they’re incapacitated.
Severe exposure can cause traumatic brain injury, permanent neurological damage, cognitive impairment, heart complications, and death. Perhaps most troubling: survivors who appear stable in the immediate aftermath may develop serious neurological and cognitive complications months or even years later. That delayed injury pattern is one reason it is critical not to resolve a carbon monoxide claim prematurely as the effects may not be fully understood right away.
Where CO Cases Arise
Carbon monoxide exposure cases frequently involve hotels and resorts, apartment complexes and rental properties, private homes, boats and marine equipment, garages and enclosed structures, and defective or improperly maintained appliances and HVAC systems.
The common thread is usually a failure — of maintenance, inspection, ventilation, or detection systems. Carbon monoxide detectors exist precisely because the gas is undetectable by human senses. When a detector is absent, disabled, or malfunctioning, someone made a decision that put lives at risk.
Why Carbon Monoxide Cases Require Experienced Counsel
These are not simple cases. A serious carbon monoxide claim typically requires detailed engineering analysis, medical and neurological expert testimony, review of maintenance and inspection records, and a thorough understanding of the long-term consequences of exposure — consequences that may not be fully apparent for months after the incident.
At Presley & Presley, co-founder Kirk Presley has tried and resolved carbon monoxide cases at the highest level, including securing a $30 million judgment in a multi-fatality Missouri case. We know what these cases demand and what they’re worth.
Who We Represent
At Presley and Presley Trial Lawyers, we are a boutique catastrophic injury firm based in Kansas City. We handle cases throughout Missouri and Kansas, and we accept catastrophic carbon monoxide cases nationwide when the harm warrants serious litigation. We have in-depth experience handling these types of cases and understand the legal complexities of what they entail.
If you or your family has suffered significant harm from carbon monoxide exposure — whether in a home, hotel, rental property, or commercial space — contact us before accepting any resolution or signing anything.
Carbon monoxide cases have a narrow window for investigation. Evidence disappears. Records get lost. The sooner experienced counsel is involved, the better the outcome.
Contact Presley & Presley Trial Lawyers
Call us at 816-931-4611 or contact us online for a free consultation. We handle catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases on a contingency basis — no fee unless we recover for you.
