No matter the time of year, different parts of the nation are hit with major storms. Be the monster snowstorms in the winter, hurricanes in the summer and fall, tornadoes starting the spring, and flooding the year around, catastrophic storms take out power and wreak havoc wherever they strike. Understandably, people facing the aftermath of these storms, and a lack of power, turn to portable generators to maintain some semblance of life until utility companies restore services.
While portable generators are godsends on some level when it comes to dealing with the aftermath of a vicious storm, they’ve also been identified as culprits in making people ill and even taking lives. Unfortunately, even when manufacturer’s instructions are filed, one case after another is reported in which people have become terribly ill or died because of carbon monoxide poisoning associated with the use of portable generators.
A Summer Storm and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Snares Headlines
The shocking experience of Michelle Seifer, a finance manager and mother of five, illustrates the inherent dangers of portable generators. Seifer lost power to her home following a large summertime storm. She engaged a portable generator, running the equipment in a fully open garage attached to her home. Technically, placing the portable generator in a fully open garage satisfied the cautionary warnings issued by the manufacturer of the equipment.
Seifer began experiencing what she thought were flu-like symptoms. Two days after she started functioning the portable generator, her carbon monoxide detector in her residence was activated.
Utility company personnel came to Seifer’s home to test carbon monoxide levels. The test revealed that Seifer was being poisoned by ever-increasing levels of carbon monoxide accumulating in her residence.
Seifer went to the hospital where she learned that the carbon monoxide levels in her system were dangerously high. Treating physicians advised Seifer that at the carbon monoxide level, she’d reached in her system if she were to fall asleep, she would never wake up again.
Seifer was admitted to the hospital and underwent two days of intensive oxygen therapy. Although oxygen and carbon monoxide levels in her system returned to normal within a couple of days, the poisoning already put her on a challenging course. As a result of the carbon monoxide poisoning, Seifer experienced various negative and even somewhat debilitating side effects. She suffered from vertigo, dizziness, and confusion. She missed days of work during this time period as a result of the aftereffects of the carbon monoxide poisoning.
“Silently Suffocating to Death”
Exposure to carbon monoxide gas can result in what appropriately can be called “silently suffocating to death.” Depending on the level of carbon monoxide in a residence or other location, even a 5-minute exposure can result in death. At lower levels, exposure to the gas can also result in death or can cause serious illness that persists for an extended period of time.
Portable generators have the potential to be particularly hazardous. What most people do not realize is that one typical portable generator of the type used in a home emits as much carbon monoxide as 450 automobiles.
Legal Rights After Exposure to Carbon Monoxide
If you or a loved one has been poisoned as a result of exposure to carbon monoxide gas produced by a portable generator, and by all accounts you’ve used the equipment appropriately, you may be entitled to compensation for injuries, damages, or losses sustained as a result of that exposure. If you’ve lost a family member as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, you may be in a position to make what is known as a wrongful death claim.
No matter the situation, you best protect your important legal rights by consulting with a carbon monoxide poisoning injury lawyer at our firm. A nationwide law practice, we represent people across the country harmed because of carbon monoxide poisoning (as well as families of those who’ve been killed by exposure to the gas).
You can schedule a no-obligation, no-cost consultation, and case evaluation with a carbon monoxide poisoning injury lawyer by calling (800) 349-000 any time of the day or night. The Doan Law Firm makes an attorney fee promise to our clients. We never charge a fee unless we win the case for our client.