http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/carbon_monoxide_poisoning Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:17:29 -0800 pixel-app en http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/12471 Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/12471
Coleman, a division of Jarden Corporation, is one of the most popular brands of outdoor and camping equipment. The first suit against the company was filed on behalf of a 5-year-old boy who lost his parents and his sister to CO poisoning while they were sleeping this past May. The other was filed by a woman whose husband and father both died from carbon monoxide poisoning on a hunting trip in September. In both cases, the Coleman heater had been employed. (Coleman has discontinued production of the allegedly faulty model, but roughly 1 million of those heaters, or similarly designed ones, remain in use.)

Seattle attorney Jeffery Campiche, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, cited “Coleman's callous disregard of the carbon monoxide deaths.” “Humans cannot detect carbon monoxide,” he notes. “It is colorless, odorless and flavorless. If Coleman cared about the lives of the people who buy their products, they would recall their deadly heaters and snap on an ODS (oxygen depletion sensor). That simple fix would cost Coleman little and require minimal effort. Instead, their dangerous heaters have brought heartbreak to wives, husbands, parents, brothers, sisters, and children left to deal with unnecessary tragedy.”

Added plaintiffs’ attorney Michael Blue, “The dangers of CO poisoning have been well known for centuries. Oxygen Depletion Sensor technology has been in use for 50 years. If Coleman spent even a fraction of their marketing budget on making these heaters safe, lives would be saved.” Blue also claimed that “safe, alternative designs were available to Coleman that would have shut off the heaters before they produced fatal levels of carbon monoxide.”

Coleman has been facing an increasing amount of scrutiny over the propane heaters. In the small town of Packwood, Washington, seven people have died due to CO poisoning, including five last year, and each of the victims had used a Coleman heater. Families of the Packwood victims have sent a letter to the Consumer Safety Protection Commission asking for a mandatory recall of the products.

Coleman has already reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed on behalf of two victims from Packwood, although terms of that settlement are not known.]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/12514 Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/12514
The families of five people who were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning while camping in southwestern Washington's Lewis County this year say the bright orange labels weren't enough to prevent the deaths. In two federal lawsuits filed Thursday, they argued that the labels aren't clear about what "well-ventilated" means and that simple manufacturing changes could have saved the lives of their loved ones and at least 75 other people who have died using Coleman heaters around the country.

In one case, Mari Daniel, of Puyallup, is suing for wrongful death after her husband and father were killed during a hunting trip Sept. 15. They were using a Coleman 5045 PowerMate heater to warm the 28-foot trailer they were sleeping in; they had windows open while the heater was on, Campiche said. A third member of the hunting party survived.

In the other case, the guardian of 5-year-old Cody Ongpituk is suing because his father, mother and 13-year-old sister died in May after using the same model heater in the panel truck where they sometimes slept. The Ongpituks, of Seattle, were staying in Lewis County to sell their Thai food during a Memorial Day festival.

Coleman, based in Wichita, Kan., is a subsidiary of Jarden Corp. They declined to comment on the lawsuits.

Coleman no longer sells the model at issue in the lawsuits, but an estimated 1 million similarly designed Coleman heaters remain in use worldwide. The heaters have been manufactured since 1984; a precursor to the PowerMate model was called "Focus."

In West Palm Beach, Fla., a jury awarded $10 million to the family of an electrician and his stepson who died in 1999 when a Coleman Focus heater filled their camping tent with carbon monoxide.

Another couple died while camping in Lewis County in 2000 when their tent filled with carbon monoxide. Coleman settled that case for an undisclosed sum.

The two lawsuits seek damages for pain and suffering and lost wages, as well as punitive damages against Coleman.]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/carbon_monoxide_poisoning Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/carbon_monoxide_poisoning Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and toxic gas. Carbon monoxide is impossible to see, taste or smell the toxic fumes, and can kill can kill you before you are aware it is in your home or vehicle. The effects of carbon monoxide exposure can vary greatly from person to person depending on age, overall health and the concentration and length of exposure. Over 40,000 people a year seek medical attention for carbon monoxide poisoning in the United States. In the U.S., an estimated 200 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning associated with home fuel-burning heating equipment.  Each year, more than 500 Americans die from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Recently Coleman heaters have been linked to Carbon dioxide deaths.

Acute Symptoms
The earliest symptoms, particularly from low level exposures, are often non-specific and are easily confused with other illnesses, typically flu-like viral syndromes, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, and migraine or other headaches. Often this makes the diagnosis of carbon monoxide poisoning difficult. If suspected the diagnosis can be confirmed by measurement of blood carboxyhemoglobin.

The main signs of poisoning develop in the organ systems most dependent on oxygen use: the central nervous system and the heart. The clinical manifestations include tachycardia and hypertension, and central nervous system symptoms such as headache, dizziness, confusion, convulsions, and unconsciousness. Carbon dixoxide poisoning may also produce myocardial ischemia, atrial fibrillation, pneumonia, pulmonary edema, hyperglycemia, muscle necrosis, acute renal failure, skin lesions, visual and auditory problems, and respiratory arrest.
 
One of the main concerns following carbon dioxide poisoning is the severe neurological manifestations that may occur days or even weeks after an acute poisoning. Common problems encountered are difficulty with higher intellectual functions and short-term memory, dementia, irritability, gait disturbance, speech disturbances, parkinson-like syndromes, cortical blindness, and depression (depression can occur in those accidentally exposed).

Chronic Symptoms
Long term, and repeat exposures present a greater risk to persons with coronary heart disease and in pregnant patients. Chronic exposure may increase the incidence of cardiovascular symptoms in some workers i.e. motor vehicle examiners, firefighters, and welders. Patients often complain of persistent headaches, lightheadedness, depression, confusion, and nausea. Upon removal from exposure the symptoms usually resolve.

Unvented kerosene and gas space heaters; leaking chimneys and furnaces; back-drafting from furnaces, gas water heaters, wood stoves, and fireplaces; gas stoves; generators and other gasoline powered equipment; automobile exhaust from attached garages; and tobacco smoke are all sources of carbon monoxide.

If you or a loved one suffered a wrongful death as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning from a defective Coleman heater, contact Parker & Waichman, LLP for a free and confidential consultation about your potential case. Call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636) or fill out the short form to the right.]]>