Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when this odorless gas accumulates to dangerous levels from faulty heating systems, blocked ventilation, defective appliances, or improperly maintained equipment. Common sources include malfunctioning furnaces, water heaters, generators, and gas appliances that aren’t properly vented or serviced.
When property owners, employers, or manufacturers fail to install working CO detectors, maintain equipment properly, or ensure adequate ventilation, victims can suffer severe neurological damage, organ failure, or death. Corporate cost-cutting measures, inadequate maintenance protocols, or deliberate safety violations can also result in serious health problems for victims.
You can sue one or more parties, and it is advisable to hire an attorney to lead your case—call Presley and Presley Trial Lawyers today for a free consultation.
Key Takeaways involving Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
- Corporate negligence causes many cases of carbon monoxide poisoning: Carbon monoxide poisoning often results from faulty equipment maintenance, inadequate ventilation systems, violations of safety regulations, defective products, and other types of negligence occurring at the corporate level.
- The health effects of carbon monoxide poisoning can be severe and lasting: Symptoms may range from immediate issues like headaches and nausea to permanent neurological damage, cognitive impairment, and even death.
- Compensation in your case should cover all damages: You might be paid for current and future medical expenses, lost income, diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, and wrongful death.
- The statute of limitations for your case must be a concern: Time limits differ by state and circumstances, and the surest way to avoid missing your case’s filing deadline is to retain your attorney as soon as possible.
- An experienced carbon monoxide attorney is your resource to rely on: Carbon monoxide poisoning attorneys understand the unique medical and technical aspects of these cases, including how to identify liable parties, calculate long-term damages, and negotiate effectively even against powerful corporate defendants.
What Causes Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?
Carbon monoxide is hazardous when it accumulates in enclosed spaces, displacing oxygen in the bloodstream of those who breathe it in. The carbon monoxide prevents cells from receiving the life-sustaining oxygen they need.
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs across multiple settings due to various forms of negligence, including in:
Commercial and Industrial Settings
Manufacturing facilities become toxic enclosures when industrial equipment malfunctions or ventilation systems fail. Companies that defer maintenance on gas-powered equipment, install faulty machinery, or engage in other forms of negligence create dangerous conditions for workers and visitors.
Some common commercial sources of carbon monoxide exposure include:
- Forklift operations in warehouses with poor ventilation
- Gas-powered generators in construction zones
- Faulty heating systems in office buildings
- Commercial kitchens with inadequate ventilation
- Hotels with improperly maintained gas appliances
- Transportation fleets with exhaust system failures
Restaurant and hospitality businesses present unique risks through their extensive use of gas-powered equipment. The fast-paced nature of these operations, combined with financially motivated corner-cutting, can lead to overlooked maintenance issues and inadequate responses to potential carbon monoxide accumulation.
Residential Environments
Carbon monoxide exposure in homes, hotels, motels, and rental properties often results from landlord negligence, contractor errors, and faulty equipment. A home can become a hazard due to:
- Faulty furnaces, water heaters, and gas appliances
- Blocked chimneys and vents from debris, animal nests, or structural damage
- Gas-powered generators operated improperly during power outages, particularly in garages, basements, or near windows
- Defective or missing carbon monoxide detectors in rental properties
- Inadequate ventilation in newly constructed or renovated homes
Rental property companies, hoteliers, and landlords often cut corners on carbon monoxide detection and ventilation maintenance, creating hazardous conditions for tenants who have little control over their safety environment. Even homeowners can be endangered when contractors, product manufacturers, and other liable parties fail to prevent or address carbon monoxide-related hazards.
Other High-Risk Settings
Recreational vehicle parks, marinas, and camping facilities are uniquely prone to high levels of carbon monoxide. The presence of multiple portable generators, boat engines, and RV heating systems operating in enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces makes these potential hotspots for toxic exposure.
Educational institutions and healthcare facilities can become hazardous when maintenance staff neglect heating and ventilation systems, putting vulnerable populations at risk.
The common thread across all these settings is preventable negligence—whether through deferred maintenance, inadequate ventilation design, failure to install proper detection systems, or ignoring known safety hazards.
Are You Suffering or Grieving Because of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning? Here’s Who Might Be Liable.
Establishing liability in carbon monoxide poisoning cases requires demonstrating that responsible parties knew or should have known about the danger and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent exposure. Defendants cannot simply claim ignorance when industry standards and safety regulations clearly mandate measures to prevent carbon monoxide.
Multiple parties can be liable for carbon monoxide exposure. The law recognizes that certain parties have special duties to protect others from foreseeable harm, and those parties include:
- Property owners who may fail to maintain safe premises and adequate ventilation for tenants, employees, and others who occupy their space
- Employers who violate workplace safety standards or ignore OSHA regulations
- Equipment manufacturers whose products create unreasonable carbon monoxide risks (defective appliances and machines, including generators and furnaces, are prime hazards for carbon monoxide emissions)
- Maintenance companies that negligently service or install equipment, or fail to detect dangerous conditions, on the premises they are responsible for
- Landlords who ignore tenant safety obligations in rental properties
- General contractors who create hazardous conditions on buildings or construction sites they are liable for
Property owners bear primary responsibility for maintaining safe premises, including ensuring proper ventilation and installing functioning carbon monoxide detectors. Employers and product manufacturers also have a duty of care to protect those who work for them or purchase their products.
Warning Signs of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning inflicts devastating health consequences that can persist for years and even permanently alter a victim’s life. The insidious, odorless, and colorless nature of this gas makes it particularly dangerous because victims often don’t realize they’re being poisoned until severe symptoms emerge.
The Most Concerning Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon monoxide exposure initially produces physical symptoms that closely mimic common illnesses, leading to frequent misdiagnosis and delayed treatment. This confusion can allow continued exposure while the slow wheels of the medical system turn towards diagnostic dead ends.
Some common physical symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include:
- Severe headaches
- Nausea and vomiting
- Dizziness
- Loss of coordination
- Extreme fatigue
- General weakness
- Chest pain and shortness of breath
Long-term neurological damage can be the most serious consequence of carbon monoxide exposure. Brain cells are particularly vulnerable to oxygen deprivation, and the victim might experience confusion, dizziness, and other manifestations of neurological degradation. Survivors might even suffer stroke-like symptoms and cardiovascular collapse, which can be permanently disabling and potentially fatal.
Cardiovascular complications arise because carbon monoxide interferes with the heart’s oxygen supply, potentially causing irregular heartbeats, chest pain, and increased risk of heart attack. Even previously healthy individuals may develop permanent cardiac problems requiring ongoing medical care.
These kinds of symptoms may fundamentally change the victim’s life, interfering with their ability to exercise, relate to loved ones and friends, handle their personal responsibilities, and even enjoy the activities, events, and milestones they usually would.
How Your Attorney Will Calculate the Cost of Your Carbon Monoxide Lawsuit
Suing is typically how victims of carbon monoxide poisoning hold liable parties accountable and get the justice they deserve. Damages are the centerpiece of any civil lawsuit, and they are the types of harm your personal injury lawyer will use to value your case.
To calculate your case value, your carbon monoxide poisoning lawyer will consider the economic and non-economic harm the exposure has caused.
Types of Recoverable Damages in Carbon Monoxide Lawsuits
The wide-ranging nature of carbon monoxide injuries and the debilitating nature of symptoms often require extensive medical care and a significant financial recovery for the victim. Some of the damages that may justify such a substantial financial recovery are:
- Medical expenses, as more than 100,000 victims of carbon monoxide poisoning require emergency department treatment each year (and even more need substantial medical care, even if they don’t go to the emergency room)
- Lost income and possibly diminished earning capacity, reflecting the lingering symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning that can lessen your professional abilities
- Pain and suffering reflecting the emotional, psychological, and even physical toll that accompanies toxic exposure
- The family impact of poisoning, as the person immediately exposed to carbon monoxide is often not the only person who suffers
Because carbon monoxide poisoning can be fatal, wrongful death damages must be addressed. Funeral costs, pain and suffering, lost financial support, and loss of consortium are among the damages we often see in wrongful death cases.
How Our Attorneys Create Compelling Carbon Monoxide Exposure Lawsuits
Carbon monoxide poisoning cases present unique challenges that our attorneys have risen above many times. Our experienced carbon monoxide poisoning lawyers deploy sophisticated and proven strategies, and our approach to your case will likely include:
- Securing physical evidence: We even obtain court orders if necessary to prevent tampering with faulty equipment, ventilation systems, or other crucial physical evidence.
- Analyzing corporate records: Our attorneys subpoena internal company documents, emails, and communications that reveal knowledge of dangerous conditions or cost-cutting decisions.
- Reconstructing the exposure: Attorneys often work with specialists to determine exactly how, when, and why the carbon monoxide exposure occurred.
- Document physical symptoms: We arrange comprehensive neuropsychological testing, obtain medical records, and document the victim’s exposure-related health problems.
- Calculating damages: We identify and quantify all losses such as healthcare costs, lost income, reduced career advancement potential, relationship impacts, and diminished quality of life.
- Confronting unjust insurance denials: When insurance companies are liable for carbon monoxide exposures, we fight for a fair settlement for our client.
- Orchestrating expert testimony: Our network of experts plays instrumental roles in many of our cases, supporting our arguments with technical knowledge, exhibits, and other resources.
- Maximizing your financial recovery: We will identify all potential defendants and liable insurers and pursue the financial recovery you deserve, whether that is through an insurance settlement, a settlement reached after filing a lawsuit, or a court judgment.
Our carbon monoxide exposure attorneys shield clients from invasive defense and insurance tactics. Presley and Presley Trial Lawyers' representation does not stop when the settlement agreement is signed or the judgment is rendered. We ensure that defendants fulfill all settlement obligations to our clients.
Frequently Asked Questions - Suing after Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning is not something you plan for, and we are sure you have many questions, like:
How long do I have to file a lawsuit after carbon monoxide poisoning?
Statute of limitations deadlines for carbon monoxide poisoning lawsuits vary significantly by state and depend on when victims discovered the connection between their injuries and exposure. Most states provide two to three years from the time of discovery to file a lawsuit.
Can I sue if carbon monoxide poisoning happened at work?
While workers’ compensation insurance is often the exclusive remedy for workplace injuries, exposed workers can sue in some circumstances.
Third-party lawsuit opportunities can include:
- Equipment manufacturers who produced defective products
- Maintenance contractors who created dangerous conditions
- Property owners, when the workplace is in a leased facility
- Other companies whose negligence contributed to the exposure
Workers’ compensation may not adequately compensate for severe carbon monoxide poisoning, making third-party claims vital for full recovery.
What if a carbon monoxide detector was present but didn’t work?
Non-functioning detectors actually strengthen liability claims by demonstrating that responsible parties knew about carbon monoxide risks but failed to maintain essential safety equipment. Broken detectors often indicate broader safety failures.
How much compensation can I expect from my case?
Compensation amounts vary depending on the severity of the injury, the victim’s personal and professional circumstances, and the nature and obviousness of the defendant’s negligence. Due to the severity of typical injuries, carbon monoxide cases often result in substantial awards.
Call Today About Hiring Your Carbon Monoxide Attorney
Those liable for carbon monoxide poisoning have every incentive to eliminate evidence of negligence, including to avoid financial liability. This fact alone should compel you to speak with one of our carbon monoxide poisoning attorneys right away.
Your health, your future, and your family’s financial security are worth fighting for, and fighting for victims of toxic exposure is what we do. Call Presley and Presley Trial Lawyers today at (816) 931-4611 or contact us online to complete your free consultation.