A carbon monoxide poisoning claim is a claim for injuries or death caused by breathing carbon monoxide gas released by a faulty or badly vented fuel-burning appliance, engine or generator. The claim is made against whoever was responsible for that equipment: a landlord, a hotel, an HVAC contractor, a manufacturer or an employer’s contractor.
Blank Kim Injury Law represents people and families harmed by carbon monoxide across Northern Virginia, in rental homes, apartments, hotels, workplaces and vehicles. Our attorneys work from our Fairfax office on Chain Bridge Road, open 24/7. Attorney Robert Kim speaks Korean, and our paralegal team speaks Spanish.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide takes the place of oxygen in the blood, starving the brain, heart and other organs. Early symptoms are easy to mistake for a cold, the flu or food poisoning:
- Headache, dizziness and weakness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Confusion and trouble thinking clearly
- Shortness of breath and chest pain
- Blurred vision
- Loss of consciousness
A strong clue is that several people, or pets, in the same home get sick at once, and feel better after leaving. If you suspect carbon monoxide, get everyone outside into fresh air and call 911. Emergency departments can test the level of carbon monoxide in the blood, and that test is most accurate soon after exposure.
Lasting effects of carbon monoxide exposure
Many people recover fully, but serious or prolonged exposure can cause lasting harm. Some survivors develop new problems days or weeks after they seem to have recovered, a pattern doctors call delayed neurological sequelae. Long-term effects can include:
- Memory loss and difficulty concentrating
- Personality changes, depression and anxiety
- Movement problems and tremors
- Heart damage
- For pregnant women, risks to the unborn child
These injuries are a form of brain injury, and they are often invisible on routine scans. Neuropsychological testing, treating physician records and consistent follow-up care are how they are documented. Some patients are treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which delivers oxygen under pressure to help clear carbon monoxide from the body.
Where carbon monoxide poisoning comes from
Any appliance or engine that burns fuel produces carbon monoxide. It becomes dangerous when that gas cannot escape to the outside. The sources we see most often include:
- Furnaces and boilers with cracked heat exchangers, blocked flues or poor maintenance
- Gas water heaters and dryers with disconnected or improperly installed vents
- Portable generators run in garages, basements or too close to windows during power outages
- Vehicles left running in attached garages, and exhaust leaks in cars and trucks
- Hotel pool heaters and boiler rooms that vent into guest rooms
- Gas stoves, space heaters and fireplaces used without proper ventilation
- Propane heaters and equipment on job sites and in enclosed spaces (see propane explosion and leak claims)
Generator and heater poisonings tend to follow winter storms and long power outages, when families run equipment indoors or too close to the house to stay warm. Apartment buildings add another risk: a single faulty boiler or garage ventilation system can expose many households at once.
Who is responsible for carbon monoxide poisoning
Landlords
Virginia law places maintenance duties on residential landlords, including keeping heating and fuel-burning equipment in safe working order, and building codes require carbon monoxide alarms in many homes with fuel-burning appliances or attached garages. A landlord who ignored complaints about a furnace or did not provide required alarms can be responsible. The specific requirements depend on the type of building and when it was built, so we review them in each case.
Hotels and businesses
Hotel guests and customers are visitors on the property for business reasons. Virginia law requires owners to use reasonable care to keep the premises reasonably safe and to warn of hidden dangers they knew or should have known about. Carbon monoxide is the definition of a hidden danger. See our page on hotel injury claims.
Contractors, utilities and manufacturers
An HVAC company that installed a vent incorrectly or missed a cracked heat exchanger during service can be liable. So can the maker of a defective furnace, generator or detector. Virginia does not recognize strict product liability; these claims proceed in negligence and breach of warranty, including the implied warranty of merchantability under Va. Code § 8.2-314. Read more about product liability claims.
Carbon monoxide exposure at work
Warehouse workers near fuel-powered forklifts, mechanics, restaurant kitchen staff, parking garage attendants and construction crews using gas-powered saws or heaters indoors face regular exposure. If you were poisoned at work, Virginia workers’ compensation generally covers medical care and part of your lost wages, and it is generally the only remedy against your own employer under Va. Code § 65.2-307.
A separate claim against a negligent third party, such as the maker of the equipment or a contractor who serviced it, is allowed under Va. Code § 65.2-309. Report the exposure to your employer within 30 days. Read more on our workers’ compensation page and our page on warehouse worker injuries.
How a carbon monoxide case is proved
Carbon monoxide leaves little trace once the windows are opened, so the evidence has to be captured early:
- Readings taken by the fire department or gas utility when they responded
- Blood test results from the emergency department
- The appliance, vent pipes and detector, preserved as they were found
- Service and inspection records for the equipment
- Complaints, work orders and texts to a landlord or manager
- Medical records showing symptoms and follow-up testing
We work with HVAC and combustion engineers who can serve as expert witnesses, along with the treating doctors who document the injury. Do not let the landlord or a contractor remove or repair the appliance before it has been examined.
Filing deadlines and fatal exposures
Virginia generally allows two years from the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit under Va. Code § 8.01-243(A). When carbon monoxide takes a life, the personal representative can bring a wrongful death claim under Va. Code § 8.01-50, generally within two years of the death under § 8.01-244(B).
Defendants sometimes argue that the victim caused their own poisoning, for example by running a generator indoors. Virginia’s contributory negligence rule makes those arguments dangerous, and the answer depends on what warnings were given and who controlled the equipment.
