San Antonio Hotel/Motel Carbon Monoxide Injury Lawyer
Guests of San Antonio hotels and motels who inhale carbon monoxide can suffer harmful side effects and severe injuries and illnesses, some of which are long-term. Hotel owners and managers are responsible for ensuring that carbon monoxide gas does not leak, exposing guests to it. They also have to be sure that all equipment works properly. Finally, owners and managers must ensure that they properly maintain carbon monoxide detectors that will sound an alert when the gas is presentAssisting Guests of San Antonio Hotels and Motels with Claims for Various Carbon-Monoxide-Related Injuries and Illnesses
If you or a person you care about has suffered an injury or illness due to carbon monoxide exposure at a hotel or motel, you have legal options that are available to you. The knowledgeable San Antonio hotel/motel carbon monoxide injury lawyers at Wyatt Law Firm can assist you with filing a claim against all potentially responsible persons or entities. We can negotiate a favorable settlement offer, and if necessary, file a lawsuit and litigate your case in court. Please call us today to learn more about how we can assist you throughout your carbon monoxide poisoning claim.Complications that Arise from Carbon Monoxide Exposure at a Hotel/Motel
Long-term exposure to carbon monoxide can have devastating side effects and symptoms. Carbon monoxide is so dangerous because it can attach to a person’s red blood cells. They carry oxygen to a person’s brain and other organs. The other scary thing about carbon monoxide poisoning is that it is not always discernible since the gas is tasteless, odorless, and colorless. In fact, a person may not even know that they are suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning/exposure until it becomes too late. In some instances, long-term exposure can even result in a fatality. Many complications may arise due to long-term or ongoing exposure to carbon monoxide gas particularly at a hotel or motel. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide gas causes nearly 500 fatalities every year. When a person suffers exposure to the gas on a long-term basis, they can suffer nausea, confusion, depression, disorientation, headaches, and seizures. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms and suspect that they might result from long-term carbon monoxide exposure, seek prompt medical care.Common Causes of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Hotels/Motels
Carbon monoxide poisoning in hotels can come from a variety of sources. Some of the most common include:- Improper water heater venting in hotel/motel mechanical rooms (that causes people in nearby guest rooms to suffer carbon monoxide exposure)
- Hotel indoor pools that use gas heating systems that can expose swimmers to carbon monoxide
- Carbon monoxide detectors that hotel staff fail to maintain properly and fail to alert the hotel/motel management
- Hotels where carbon monoxide detectors are absent
- Heaters and heating systems that emit carbon monoxide gas due to poor maintenance
Responsibility for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
To recover damages as part of a hotel/motel carbon monoxide personal injury case, the victim must satisfy all of the legal elements of their claim. Specifically, the victim must show that the hotel/motel owner, operator, manager, repair technician, or someone else behaved unreasonably under the circumstances. This typically means that the responsible individual did something that a reasonable person would not have done or failed to do something that a reasonable person would have done under the same or similar circumstances.
One way to prove that negligent hotel personnel caused the accident is to demonstrate (usually through expert testimony) that guests made various complaints, yet management did nothing to correct the situation. Furthermore, the at-fault person’s negligence must have resulted in injuries or other complications.
Filing a Claim for Damages
Victims of carbon-monoxide-related injuries and illnesses can file a claim with the insurance company for the hotel/motel owner, occupier, or manager. Specifically, a victim’s lawyer will need to try and get the insurance company to accept fault for the case. If that happens, the lawyer can send a settlement demand package to the assigned insurance company adjuster to persuade that adjuster to offer favorable monetary compensation. Insurance companies fight hard against carbon monoxide claims. They will try and demonstrate that the complications you’re alleging resulted from some other injury, illness, or circumstance. After all, the insurance company will do everything to save itself money. Nevertheless, filing the necessary claim documents might be sufficient to convince the insurance company adjuster to offer you the compensation you need for your injuries. The first step to filing a San Antonio hotel/motel carbon monoxide claim is to submit a demand package to the insurance company and make a monetary settlement demand. As part of the demand package, your lawyer will include essential pieces of evidence. For example, your lawyer can include copies of investigation reports, test results from tests that an expert conducted at the scene, photographs of injuries, witness reports, medical records, medical bills, and lost wage documents. Once the insurance company reviews all of these documents, the adjuster might make the first attempt at settlement. However, this initial settlement offer will likely be far below the actual value of your case and the insurance company adjuster will probably have more room to settle. However, an insurance company adjuster will not gratuitously offer additional monetary compensation. In fact, in some cases, the victim’s lawyer may need to threaten the insurance company with a lawsuit. Litigation begins when a victim’s lawyer files suit in the court system. The parties can engage in discovery, including depositions, to learn more about the opposing side’s version of events. In addition, the parties may need to attend one or more settlement conferences that the court established under a litigation scheduling order. If the case still does not resolve after the discovery process finishes, the parties might agree to take the case to trial. At trial, a jury is normally the fact-finder, and it is the jury members who will resolve all of the legal issues in the case including the amount of compensation to award the plaintiff victim. Litigants can also consider various forms of alternative dispute resolution, such as arbitration (which is binding on all parties) and mediation, where a mediator tries to bring the parties together to resolve the case through settlement. Suppose you or a person you care about has suffered carbon monoxide poisoning injuries while staying at a hotel or motel in San Antonio. In that case, it is necessary to have knowledgeable legal counsel on board in your case. The skilled attorneys at Wyatt Law Firm understand the severity of injuries that result from extended carbon monoxide exposure. Our legal team can determine if you may file a claim and if so, can file the claim on your behalf and litigate it in court.Potential Damages Available in Hotel/Motel Carbon Monoxide Personal Injury Cases
Victims can suffer debilitating illnesses and injuries from prolonged carbon monoxide poisoning. These individuals may need significant medical treatment, including surgeries and other operations, and may take a long time to get well. These victims deserve to receive compensation, not only for their medical expenses but also for the aftermath of their injuries including all of their inconvenience, pain, and suffering.
Not all personal injury cases are the same, and damages vary from person to person and from case to case. Jurors at trial will usually consider certain factors when they decide what damages to award an accident victim and how much. The types and amounts of damages that a victim can recover due to carbon monoxide poisoning will depend mainly on the injuries they suffer. The severity of the injury or illness and whether or not the injury/illness constitutes a permanent disability is another important factor.
A victim’s lawyer will often turn to the property owner or manager’s insurance company for insurance coverage and monetary compensation. A victim of carbon monoxide poisoning can first seek compensation for related medical bills and other out-of-pocket expenses. To receive compensation for medical costs, the medical care must relate to the alleged injuries. In addition, if the victim had to miss work time to seek medical treatment and recover from their injuries, the accident victim can bring a claim for loss of earnings. These damages are known as economic damages because an accident victim can calculate them more or less exactly.
On the other hand, victims of carbon monoxide poisoning might be in a position to recover non-economic damages. These damages are intangible and compensate victims for their inconvenience, pain and suffering, loss of prior life enjoyment, and loss of the ability to use a body part in the case of a permanent disability.
Some victims, depending upon the circumstances of the incident that led to their illness or injury, might also receive punitive damages. A jury will typically award punitive damages when the at-fault person or entity behaved in an egregious or especially reckless manner under the circumstances. The primary purpose of awarding these damages is to punish the at-fault defendant. The award also discourages others from committing similar wrongful acts as the defendant engaged in the case.
Finally, some carbon monoxide injuries are so severe that victims succumb to their injuries and unfortunately pass away. When that happens, surviving family members, and in some cases, the personal representative of the deceased individual’s estate can file a wrongful death claim.
The legal elements of proof that a wrongful death claimant must satisfy are essentially the same as in a run-of-the-mill personal injury case. Specifically, the wrongful death claimant will need to demonstrate that carelessness or negligence of a hotel owner, manager, or operator proximately resulted in the deceased individual’s untimely death. In other words, the death would not have occurred ‘but for’ the at-fault defendant’s negligence, carelessness, or recklessness.
As part of a wrongful death claim, claimants can pursue and recover damages. However, those damages are slightly different from those in a normal personal injury case. A wrongful death claimant can pursue compensation for loss of future earnings, loss of future care and companionship, burial and funeral expenses, and the costs of medical treatment from the time of the accident up until the victim’s death.
A knowledgeable San Antonio hotel/motel carbon monoxide injury lawyer at Wyatt Law Firm can assist you with proving the legal elements of your claim and safeguarding your right to recover various damages. Your attorney will answer all of your questions about damages and prepare you for the types that you might be eligible to recover in your case.
Contact an Experienced San Antonio Hotel/Motel Carbon Monoxide Injury Lawyer About Your Legal Matter Today
Client Testimonial
Excellent knowledge from all staff aspects. Paula knows how to work in her clients corner and she brings so much experience and energy to make sure her clients are treated fair. She helped fight with Tricare on my husbands behalf and she will not stop fighting until the client is happy. My husband won his case with her and her staff. I highly recommend if you need someone to listen and go fight for you let this Lady do the work. Gabby is a great asset and kept my husband very informed during the whole process. They deserve more than 5 stars.
March 2021
-Misty M.
Wyatt Law Firm, PLLC 21 Lynn Batts Lane, Suite 10 San Antonio, Texas 78218