Based in Kansas City. Representing individuals and families throughout Missouri.
A serious carbon monoxide exposure can leave a person hospitalized, unable to work, or facing permanent injury. When carbon monoxide causes serious injuries or takes a life, families need answers about what happened and who was responsible.
Presley & Presley Trial Lawyers represents individuals and families who have been harmed by carbon monoxide poisoning. If you or a loved one required hospitalization, suffered a significant injury, or if you have lost a family member as a result of carbon monoxide exposure, contact our firm to discuss the case. You do not need every medical record or a final prognosis to start that conversation.
Request a free consultation with Presley & Presley Trial Lawyers.
Our Experience in Missouri Carbon Monoxide Cases
Carbon monoxide (CO) litigation can be complex. It requires connecting the source of the exposure to the injury and identifying the parties legally responsible. That can mean examining equipment and ventilation, reviewing maintenance records, and addressing competing medical explanations for a person's condition.
Our experience includes a $30 million judgment arising from a Missouri carbon monoxide case in which an improperly vented wood stove and gas furnace caused multiple deaths and left two people severely injured. It is one of the largest carbon monoxide recoveries in Missouri. We have also handled numerous other carbon monoxide cases, including a confidential settlement for wrongful death claims for a Missouri family when a boiler in a confined closet caused combustion gases to leak into the home. In another matter, problems involving a boiler flue following maintenance allowed combustion gases to enter a Missouri school, exposing occupants inside. These cases illustrate why the investigation must examine how fuel-burning equipment was installed, vented, and maintained; how building conditions affected combustion and exhaust; and how carbon monoxide traveled from its source to the people who were injured.
Based in Kansas City, we handle Missouri cases involving unsafe property conditions, faulty equipment, and installation or maintenance failures.
Why Families Choose Presley & Presley for Serious Carbon Monoxide Cases?
Presley & Presley is a boutique trial firm focused on serious injury and wrongful death cases. We deliberately handle a limited number of significant matters so our lawyers can be directly involved in the investigation, strategy, and preparation of each case.
Carbon monoxide cases can require more than proving that an exposure occurred. They may involve complex questions about heating and ventilation systems, combustion, equipment installation and maintenance, medical causation, and the long-term effects of oxygen deprivation. Our experience handling carbon monoxide cases gives us a practical understanding of how these issues come together in litigation.
Our attorneys bring decades of courtroom and trial experience. When a case involves catastrophic injury or death, we prepare it with the understanding that the people and companies responsible may not accept responsibility voluntarily and that the case may ultimately have to be proven in court.
Clients work directly with the lawyers handling their case. For families dealing with a death or life-changing injury, we believe that personal and compassionate involvement matters.
Serious Injuries After Carbon Monoxide Exposure
Carbon monoxide can interfere with the body's ability to deliver and use oxygen, damaging the brain, heart, and other organs. Severe poisoning may involve loss of consciousness, coma, or death. Survivors can face lasting neurological and cognitive problems involving memory, concentration, processing, coordination, judgment, or the ability to live and work independently.
For a seriously injured person, the case must account for more than just the emergency hospital bill. Depending on the injury, medical and neuropsychological evaluation may be important in documenting cognitive or neurological changes after the exposure. Rehabilitation, future care, lost earning capacity, and assistance with daily activities may become central to calculating losses.
Who May Be Responsible for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?
When carbon monoxide poisoning happens, it’s very important to find out who is responsible. This can depend on what caused the exposure, who controlled the dangerous condition, and which duties applied. In some cases, more than one person or company may have contributed to the harm.
- Property owners and landlords may be responsible for unsafe conditions involving heating equipment, ventilation, or other building systems, depending on their duties and knowledge of the hazard.
- Property management companies may have responsibility for inspections, repairs, or responding to reported hazards.
- HVAC contractors, installers, and maintenance companies may be liable when negligent work contributes to the exposure.
- Manufacturers and other responsible product sellers may face claims involving defective equipment or inadequate warnings.
- Other businesses may be responsible when their equipment or operations expose people to dangerous exhaust.
Carbon Monoxide Exposure at Work
Carbon monoxide poisoning can also happen in the workplace. While workplace poisoning may involve workers' compensation, sometimes there can be a separate claim against a responsible third party, such as an equipment manufacturer or maintenance contractor. Missouri law generally limits tort claims against an employer for injuries covered by workers' compensation, so third-party responsibility can be an important part of reviewing a serious workplace exposure.
Missouri and Kansas City Carbon Monoxide Safety Requirements
Carbon monoxide detector requirements in Missouri depend on the property and jurisdiction. State regulations require detectors in certain covered settings, including:
- Lodging establishments such as hotels, motels, or resorts using equipment or appliances that pose a carbon monoxide risk, including specified garage and fireplace settings, under 19 CSR 20-3.050.
- Licensed child care facilities, such as in home day care, group daycare centers or childcare centers under 5 CSR 25-400.086, and group child care homes and centers under 5 CSR 25-500.087.
- Covered group homes serving four to nine people under 9 CSR 45-5.130.
Kansas City's lodging ordinance also contains CO detector requirements for facilities with specified risks. We examine the rule or code in effect at the time of the exposure, the property's classification, and any applicable installation and maintenance requirements.
A safety violation may support a claim, but responsibility and causation still require analysis. Unsafe equipment or negligent installation or maintenance may also support liability even when no detector requirement applies.
Where Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Happens and What Causes It?
Carbon monoxide poisoning can happen almost anywhere a fuel-burning appliance, engine, or heating system is present. It is not limited to older residential homes or a single type of property. Serious exposures have occurred in:
- Houses, apartments, condos, and rental units, often from furnaces, water heaters, boilers, or fireplaces.
- Short-term and vacation rentals, including Airbnb and Vrbo properties, where guests may have no way to know how equipment has been installed or maintained.
- Hotels, motels, resorts, and other lodging, where pool heaters, boilers, and attached garages are common sources.
- Schools, daycares, churches, and community buildings, where a single heating failure can expose many people at once.
- Hospitals, nursing homes, group homes, and other care facilities, where residents may be less able to recognize symptoms or escape.
- Businesses, warehouses, and workplaces, including exposures from engine exhaust, generators, and industrial equipment.
- Vehicles, boats, and recreational vehicles, where exhaust can enter enclosed spaces.
In each of these settings, the source is usually a fuel-burning appliance or engine: a furnace, boiler, water heater, pool heater, fireplace, generator, or vehicle exhaust. The key questions are what produced the carbon monoxide and how it reached the people exposed. The condition of the equipment, the path of the exhaust, and the maintenance history help explain how the poisoning occurred.
Where the exposure happened shapes who may be responsible and which safety requirements applied. A homeowner, a landlord, a short-term rental host, a hotel operator, a school district, and a care facility each owe different duties to the people inside their property. Identifying the location is one of the first steps in determining who should be held accountable.
How We Investigate a Serious Carbon Monoxide Case?
Preserving the Source and the Records
In many cases, equipment may be repaired, removed, or replaced soon after an incident. So early legal involvement can help address preservation before critical evidence is lost. Relevant material may include the appliance itself, photographs, fire department or gas department readings, inspection reports, maintenance records, and prior complaints.
Tracing How Carbon Monoxide Reached the Victim
Finding the source of carbon monoxide exposure, such as a fuel-burning appliance, is only the beginning. The investigation must examine how CO was produced, where the exhaust traveled, and how it reached the people exposed. Expert equipment examination and engineering or environmental analysis may help establish the failure and whether reasonable precautions would have prevented the harm.
Connecting the Exposure to the Injury
We evaluate the evidence alongside medical records, treatment history, and the person's condition before and after the incident. Medical expertise may be needed to address causation and the extent of the injury. The goal is to document what happened to this person, rather than rely on a general list of CO symptoms.
Documenting the Lasting Consequences
For a person with a permanent injury, the evidence may need to address future medical care, rehabilitation, assistance at home, and the ability to return to work. A complete evaluation considers both the immediate hospitalization and the longer-term effect on the person's life.
Compensation in Missouri Carbon Monoxide Claims
Depending on the evidence and applicable law, an injured person may seek compensation for:
- Past and future medical expenses and rehabilitation.
- Lost income and diminished earning capacity.
- Necessary care and assistance resulting from the injury.
- Pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.
In a Missouri wrongful death claim, recoverable losses may include funeral expenses, financial support, and the value of the companionship, services, guidance, and other benefits the family has lost. The law also permits certain damages the deceased suffered between injury and death. The value of a carbon monoxide case can depend on a number of factors, including the severity of injury, liability evidence, available coverage, and applicable law. A careful review must account for the person's individual losses as well as any future needs.
After a Serious Carbon Monoxide Exposure
If a CO exposure may be occurring, immediately get outside to fresh air, call 911, and seek emergency medical care. Do not return to the property until emergency responders say it is safe. Your health and well-being come first.
Once the immediate danger has been addressed, keep discharge papers and other records already available to you. Note where and when the exposure happened, who else was affected, and which agencies responded. Do not delay treatment or enter an unsafe property to gather evidence. Our firm can discuss what records and evidence may need to be preserved.
Questions About Missouri Carbon Monoxide Cases
Should we contact a lawyer while a loved one is still hospitalized?
Yes. You can ask for a legal review while treatment continues. An early conversation can help identify evidence preservation needs and potential claims. Hospitalization does not automatically establish liability, and a final determination of permanent injury is not required before contacting us.
Does the carbon monoxide blood test determine the seriousness of the case?
Carboxyhemoglobin testing is important evidence of exposure levels, but the timing of the blood test is very important. Depending on amount of time between the exposure and the test, the level may not necessarily reflect the severity of injury. Medical findings and exposure evidence must be considered together.
What if the equipment has already been repaired or replaced?
Other evidence may still be available, including photographs, service records, emergency response reports, and witness accounts. Contact an attorney promptly so the remaining evidence and any preservation issues can be evaluated.
How long do we have to file a Missouri carbon monoxide lawsuit?
Missouri personal injury claims generally fall under a five-year limitations period, while wrongful death claims generally have a three-year period. The applicable deadline, accrual date, and any exceptions require review of the specific facts. Do not assume you can wait until treatment ends or an injury is declared permanent.
Do you represent clients outside Kansas City?
Yes. Our office is in Kansas City, and we represent people and families throughout Missouri. The location of the exposure and the responsible parties helps determine where a claim may be brought and which law applies.
Discuss a Serious Carbon Monoxide Case With Our Firm
If carbon monoxide poisoning caused hospitalization, significant injury, or the death of a loved one, Presley & Presley Trial Lawyers can review the circumstances and discuss your legal options. Tell us where the exposure happened, what treatment was required, and how the person has been affected. We will explain what further information is needed to evaluate the case.
Contact Presley & Presley Trial Lawyers for a consultation.
Contact Presley & Presley Trial Lawyers immediately after Carbon monoxide poisoning to discuss your legal rights