Carbon Monoxide Poisoning » carbon monoxide poisoning

Blocked Tailpipe Led To Carbon Monoxide Deaths Of Three In Maine

Gordon Johnson — Wed, 16 May 2012 03:42:31 +0000

Three people died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a Jeep in Maine because the vehicle’s tailpipe was blocked by mud in a blog, according to the Kennebec Journal. It’s a hell of a way to die for a group of friends that was just doing off-road driving for some weekend relaxation.

http://www.kjonline.com/news/trio-may-tried-to-avoid-deadly-fumes_2012-05-14.html

The bodies of Reginald Gay, 41, his wife Samantha Davis-Gay, 33, and Luke Thompson, 22, were found Saturday night in a Jeep Wrangler in Windsor, Maine.

“Investigators believe the three died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning after the Jeep became stuck in a bog and continual revving created excessive exhaust,” the Kennebec Journal wrote.

Authorities said that the Jeep’s exhaust system normally would vent from a tailpipe, but when the vehicle got stuck in the blog the pipe was buried in the mud, blocked by it, according to the Kennebec Journal. That meant that the exhaust fumes filtered into the vehicle instead, killing its passengers.

The article pointed out that the incident was reminiscent of cases when victims die of carbon monoxide poisoning after their car’s tailpipe gets blocked by snow. For example, people stuck in a snowstorm may leave their car engine running to keep warm, but then die because their tailpipe was plugged up by snow.

According to the newspaper, authorities believe that the three victims may have opened the Jeep’s windows at some point because of the smell of the exhaust that the hard-top vehicle was giving off. It’s unlikely they knew about the carbon monoxide, since it is odorless and colorless — which is what makes it so dangerous.

In fact, the story noted that in December 2010, three people suffered carbon monoxide poisoning, but survived, when their car got stock in mud in Kennebec County.

A captain with the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Department told the newspaper that if the three victims had opened the back window of the Jeep, it “would have created an air exchange” and then no one would have perished.

Alcohol was found in the Jeep, but authorities wouldn’t comment on whether the victims had been drinking.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
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Five Treated For Carbon Monoxide Poisoning At Florida Apartment Building

Gordon Johnson — Tue, 15 May 2012 05:21:59 +0000

Five people suffered carbon monoxide poisoning Sunday at an apartment complex in DeLand, Fla., according to Central Florida News 13.

http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2012/5/14/_5_treated_for_carbo.html

Local firefighters came to the scene at roughly 3 p.m. when a carbon monoxide alarm sounded at the Taylor Place Apartment on South Woodland Boulevard, News 13 reported. There were five people outside the complex, and they were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning at the scene.

The carbon monoxide came from a gas cooking stove that apparently wasn’t vented properly, according to News 13.

Responders had a gas monitor, and determined that there were very high levels of carbon monoxide in one of the apartments. Firefighters promptly shut off the gas going to the apartment and ventilated the building, News 13 reported.

Three Die In Jeep Of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning In Maine

Gordon Johnson — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:16:19 +0000

Three people, apparent victims of carbon monoxide poisoning, were found dead Saturday in a Jeep that got stuck in a Maine bog, according to The Portland Press Herald.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Three-die-of-carbon-monoxide-poisoning.html

The victims, two males and a female, were discovered in their Jeep in Windsor, Maine. Authorities had not identified them, pending notice to their next of kin.

The trio was seen on Friday night at roughly 7 p.m., and then went to do some off-road riding in the bog, The Portland Press Herald reported.

Their bodies were found in the Jeep, whose top was on, about 24 hours later, at 7 p.m. Saturday, according to the newspaper.

The Kennebec County Sheriff’s Department suspects that carbon monoxide poisoning caused the deaths.

Connecticut Mandated Carbon Monoxide Detectors In Homes Under Renovation

Gordon Johnson — Thu, 10 May 2012 05:28:22 +0000

Connecticut Wednesday passed a bill that mandates carbon monoxide detectors be installed temporarily at homes undergoing alterations if they have a fireplace, fuel-burning appliance or attached garage, according to the Associated Press.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/481404268ff645c3b71da0226381e48a/CT–Smoke-Detectors/

The bill, which also requires that smoke detectors be installed in homes undergoing additions or other work, has been passed by both chambers of the Nutmeg State’s Legislature. The state Senate approved the bill Wednesday, AP reported.

The legislation was prompted by a Christmas Day tragedy in Stamford, where a couple and their three granddaughters died in a fire at a home that was undergoing work.

The new law lets the Commissioner of Construction Services launch initiatives to make citizens aware of the dangers of not having carbon monoxide or smoke detectors installed in homes, AP said.

Wyoming Woman, With TBI After Carbon Monoxide Leak, Sues Landlord

Gordon Johnson — Thu, 10 May 2012 05:13:13 +0000

A Wyoming woman has filed a federal lawsuit against the owner of an apartment complex, claiming she suffered traumatic brain injury following a carbon monoxide leak last year, according to the Casper Star-Tribune.

http://trib.com/news/local/casper/casper-woman-sues-apartment-owner-operator-for-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/article_1245d238-2834-5697-a8cb-a9801477ba6e.html

Amber Nicole Lompe alleges that she sustained permanent injuries from carbon monoxide poisoning in her apartment at Sunridge Apartments in Casper. She was living at that complex on Feb. 1, 2011, when carbon monoxide leaked into her room while she was sleeping. The lethal gas apparently came from a furnace and ventilation system, the Star-Tribune reported.

The lawsuit named the apartments’ operator, Apartment Management Consultants, and owner, Sunridge Partners Inc., as defendants, alleging that they were negligent.

The suit charges that Lompre’s apartment had carbon monoxide levels as high as 500 parts per million, and that she had an unsafe level in her blood, according to the Star-Tribune. The average level in a home is 5 parts per million.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants had been aware that the furnace needed to be either repaired or replaced, since it was had leaked carbon monoxide before.

And in a case of closing the barn door after the cow is out, on Feb. 11, 2011 the defendants gave Lompre a working carbon monoxide detector. Anticipating that she would sue, the defendants also just happened to destroy the furnace, the Star-Tribune reported.

Carbon Monoxide Leak At Arena Sends 50 To Hospital

Gordon Johnson — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:02:57 +0000

Roughly 50 people were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning following a hockey game in an arena in Canada, according to CTV News.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120507/carbon-monoxide-poisoning-bc-arena-120507/

The incident happened Saturday in Kamloops, British Columbia, and the carbon monoxide apparently came from a boiler. It was shut off and repairs are being made to it, CTV News reported.

The Canadian Coast Guard had played the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and after that sporting event attendees at the game starting coming to a local hospital complaining of symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. They were still turning up at the hospital Monday morning.

The hospital said it had treated about 50 people, according to CTV News, and three remained in emergency.

Wisconsin Woman Died Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning In Trailer Fire ppe

Gordon Johnson — Thu, 03 May 2012 04:54:23 +0000

A Chippewa Falls, Wis., woman died following a trailer home fire last week was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, according to a report released Wednesday by the local fire department.

The victim was Kathleen Lindsey, who apparently was overcome by carbon monoxide while trying to escape her burning trailer home at 3 a.m. last Friday, according to the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram.

http://www.leadertelegram.com/news/daily_updates/article_bb7e36ae-9482-11e1-8427-0019bb2963f4.html

Lindsey was discovered unconscious at her trailer home in Indianhead Trailer Court, located in south Chippewa Falls. She was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls, and was pronounced dead there, the Leader-Telegram reported.

Unfortunately, there weren’t any smoke alarms in Lindsey’s trailer.

According to the fire department report, the fire started in the living room, possibly caused by a cigarette, while Lindsey was asleep in a bedroom, the Leader-Telegram reported.

The fire likely used up all the oxygen in the trailer before the smoke and heat got to the bedroom and woke up Lindsey, the fire department said. She woke up and left her bedroom, but apparently didn’t make it any farther than a hallway inside the trailer’s rear entry door.

An autopsy found that the carbon monoxide level in Lindsey’s blood was 77.9 percent, according to the Leader-Telegram. Levels higher than 30 percent are lethal. Authorities believe that the woman was rendered unconscious by the high level of carbon monoxide in her trailer, and never made it out the read door.

Five Die Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning In Washington, D.C., Suburb

Gordon Johnson — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:58:43 +0000

Five Salvadoran immigrants died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning Tuesday in a home in Oxon Hill, Md., according to The Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/five-killed-in-oxon-hill-home-by-apparent-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/2012/04/24/gIQArPHefT_story.html

The son of one of the five victims discovered their bodies in the brick house they dwelled in, which is located in a suburb of Washington, D.C. The bodies were strewn around the house on Shelby Drive.

Authorities in Prince George’s County are blaming a a carbon monoxide leak, from a rusted exhaust pipe that separated from a natural gas furnace, for the deaths, according to The Post. Police told the paper that the pipe, which is supposed to ventilate the carbon monoxide that results from the combustion of gas in the furnace, deteriorated as it aged.

Firefighters detected carbon monoxide levels of 140 parts per million at the front door of the home, The Post reported. That compares to the zero to 5 parts per million that is considered normal and the the 30 parts per million that can kill. Inside the house, the carbon monoxide level went as high a s560 parts per million, according to The Post.

The victims were identified as Oscar Chavez, 57, Sonia Maribel Leiva, 54, Nora Leiva, 57, Francisco Javier Gomez Segovia, 33, and Nelson Enrique Landaverde Alas, 44. The Post reported. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

The group included a married couple, the sister of the wife, and two male family friends.

West Virginia Hotel Faces Third Lawsuit Over Fatal Carbon Monoxide Leak

Gordon Johnson — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 05:08:09 +0000

A third lawsuit has been filed over a carbon monoxide leak at a Charleston, W.Va., hotel that killed one guest and injured other lodgers.

The newest suit was filed April 10 by Shirley and Tony Linn, who live in Patterson, La., according to The State Law Journal. The lawsuit charges that Shirley was permanently injured after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites.

http://www.statejournal.com/story/17514669/three-lawsuits-filed-in-south-charleston-carbon-monoxide-leak

There was also a suit filed earlier this month by Bain and Dawn Edmondson. That action alleges that Bain sustained personal injuries from the Jan. 30-31 carbon monoxide leak at the Holiday Inn.

The first lawsuit filed in the incident, lodged on March 14, was by Louise Moran. She is the widow of William Moran, who was killed at the hotel. He and Edmondson were sharing a room at the hotel in South Charleston. They were in town to do work on a hangar at Yeager Airport.

The three lawsuits name as defendants: Pikes Inc.; Holiday Inn Express Hotel; general manager Manisha Patel; Premier Pools and employees Steve and Karen Combs; Holiday Hospitality Franchising Inc.; Intercontinental Hotels Group Resources Inc.; and Intercontinental Hotel Group PLLC.

The lawsuits allege that Premier, while replacing the hotel’s pool heater, disconnected a vent pipe. Carbon monoxide then seeped from the pool area to hotel rooms, according to the suit.

Carbon Monoxide Sends Seven To Pennsylvania Hospital

Gordon Johnson — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:14:51 +0000

Seven people in Westtown, Pa., were taken to the hospital Saturday night after being exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide at a home, according to the Mainline Media News.

http://mainlinemedianews.com/articles/2012/04/15/main_line_suburban_life/news/doc4f8abafe5e95c227565971.txt

The incident happened at a house on Carroll Block Way. According to Goshen Fire Chief Grant Everhart, somebody had been using a gasoline-powered saw in the home’s basement. At least one person got sick, prompting the family to call in the EMTs. The rest of the family then also began to exhibit signs of carbon monoxide poisoning, Main Line Media News reported.

Then two EMTs as well as a police officer also began to feel ill from the carbon monoxide in the home.

In all, two EMTs, a police officer and four family members were taken to the hospital. One of them was airlifted to the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.

Firefighters used fans to blow the potential lethal carbon monoxide gas out of the home, then checked the levels of the gas, according to Main Line Media News. So the family was free to return to its house once it got home from the hospital.