Eddie Farah Warns of the Dangers of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
For the most part, it appears that Florida dodged a bullet with Tropical Storm Isaac. However, in the days leading up to the storm’s anticipated landfall, personal injury attorney Eddie Farah noticed that the Miami-Dade Health Department was warning the public about an invisible, potentially deadly, hazard that had nothing to do with wind, rain, or flooding.
The warning concerned the improper use of generators and the threat of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Many people simply don’t know that running a gas-powered appliance or a charcoal or gas grill in an enclosed area can make them sick, or even kill them.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked into disaster-related CO poisonings and deaths between 1991 and 2009 in the U.S. and found that generators accounted for 83 percent of fatal cases and 54 percent of nonfatal cases.
If you think carbon monoxide isn’t a serious threat, take a look at another recent CDC study that reported unintentional carbon monoxide poisonings result in some 20,000 emergency department visits, 2,000 hospitalizations, and nearly 450 deaths per year.
Generators aren’t the only source of harmful CO exposures. Improperly installed or defective heaters and furnaces, defective gas-powered appliances, and even proximity to a garage where a car is left running, can lead to a deadly CO poisoning.
Tragically, a Jacksonville woman died last year when a neighbor left a car running and carbon monoxide seeped into her bedroom through a shared wall with the garage. A carbon monoxide detector could have saved her life.
Eddie Farah urges everybody to have working carbon monoxide detectors in their homes. They save lives. If you or a loved should fall victim to a harmful CO exposure that was not your fault, the Jacksonville carbon monoxide poisoning lawyers at the law firm of Farah & Farah can help you pursue compensation for your injuries. Call us at (800) 533-3555 for a free consultation today.
