Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Lawyer Jim Higgins Explains the “Silent Killer”

They call carbon monoxide the silent killer because it gives you no warning. By the time you feel sick, the damage may already be happening inside your body.

At The Higgins Firm, we’ve handled carbon monoxide cases involving hotels, apartment buildings, single-family homes, and indoor pool ventilation systems. These cases are complex, but families deserve to understand what happened and who is responsible.

How Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Happens

Carbon monoxide is produced whenever fuel burns. Natural gas, propane, gasoline, oil, wood, and charcoal all release it.

In properly ventilated spaces, the gas dissipates harmlessly. When ventilation fails, carbon monoxide builds up to dangerous levels.

Common sources of carbon monoxide exposure include:

• Furnaces and heating systems. Cracked heat exchangers, blocked flues, and malfunctioning boilers are leading causes of residential carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Water heaters. Gas-fired water heaters with faulty venting can fill enclosed spaces with carbon monoxide.
• Indoor pools and spas. Pool heaters in poorly ventilated indoor enclosures create carbon monoxide hazards that have caused mass poisoning events at hotels and recreation centers.
• Generators. Portable generators running in garages, basements, or near open windows are responsible for a significant number of carbon monoxide deaths each year.
• Fireplaces and wood stoves. Blocked chimneys or damaged flues trap carbon monoxide inside homes.
• Vehicles in enclosed spaces. Running a car in a closed garage, even briefly, can produce lethal carbon monoxide concentrations.

The danger is the same in every scenario: people breathe in the gas without knowing it. They feel headaches, nausea, and dizziness. They assume they’re getting sick.

By the time someone realizes what’s happening, the exposure may have caused serious harm.

Why Carbon Monoxide Is So Dangerous

When you breathe carbon monoxide, it enters your bloodstream and binds to hemoglobin roughly 200 times more effectively than oxygen does.

This creates carboxyhemoglobin, which starves your organs and brain of the oxygen they need to function.

The effects escalate with exposure time and concentration:

• Low-level exposure: Headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, and dizziness. These symptoms mimic the flu, which is why carbon monoxide poisoning is frequently misdiagnosed.
• Moderate exposure: Confusion, impaired judgment, chest pain, blurred vision, and difficulty walking.
• High-level exposure: Loss of consciousness, seizures, cardiac arrest, and death.

Children, elderly adults, and people with heart or respiratory conditions are at higher risk because their bodies are less able to compensate for reduced oxygen.

The Long-Term Damage Most People Don’t Expect

Surviving carbon monoxide poisoning doesn’t mean the danger is over. Many survivors develop delayed neurological sequelae, meaning brain damage that appears days or weeks after the initial exposure seemed to resolve.

Long-term effects can include:

• Memory loss. Difficulty retaining new information or recalling events, which can be permanent.
• Personality changes. Irritability, mood swings, depression, and behavioral changes that family members notice first.
• Cognitive impairment. Trouble concentrating, processing information, or making decisions.
• Motor function problems. Difficulty with coordination, balance, and fine motor skills.
• Chronic headaches and fatigue. Persistent symptoms that interfere with daily life and the ability to work.

These injuries are real and documented, but they’re invisible. Brain scans and neuropsychological testing can confirm the damage, but it takes doctors who understand carbon monoxide injuries to order the right tests and interpret the results.

Who Is Liable for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?

Carbon monoxide poisoning sends tens of thousands of Americans to the emergency room each year and kills more than 400, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Potentially liable parties include:

• Property owners and landlords who failed to maintain heating systems, water heaters, or ventilation equipment
• Hotels and resorts that exposed guests to carbon monoxide from pool heaters, boilers, or attached restaurant equipment
• Property management companies responsible for building maintenance in apartments and condominiums
• HVAC contractors who performed negligent installation, maintenance, or repair work
• Manufacturers of defective furnaces, water heaters, generators, or carbon monoxide detectors that failed to function
• Employers who exposed workers to carbon monoxide in enclosed workspaces

Tennessee law requires property owners and businesses to maintain safe conditions. When a carbon monoxide leak results from a failure to inspect, repair, or ventilate fuel-burning equipment, that failure is negligence.

How Carbon Monoxide Cases Are Different From Other Injury Cases

Carbon monoxide cases require a level of investigation and medical understanding that sets them apart from typical personal injury claims.

• Identifying the source. Investigators must determine exactly where the carbon monoxide came from, whether it was a cracked heat exchanger, a blocked flue, a malfunctioning pool heater, or another source. This often requires HVAC engineers and combustion analysis.
• Proving the exposure level. Blood tests measuring carboxyhemoglobin levels are time-sensitive. If not taken promptly, the evidence of exposure diminishes as the body clears the gas.
• Documenting long-term damage. Neuropsychological testing, brain imaging, and ongoing medical evaluations are necessary to establish the full scope of injuries, especially delayed-onset neurological damage.
• Connecting the exposure to the injuries. Defense attorneys will argue that cognitive problems, memory loss, or personality changes are caused by something else. Strong medical evidence and testimony from the right physicians are essential.

What to Do If You Suspect Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

• Get everyone out immediately. Leave the building and call 911. Do not go back inside.
• Seek emergency medical treatment. Go to the emergency room and tell them you suspect carbon monoxide exposure. Request a carboxyhemoglobin blood test immediately. This test must be done as soon as possible because levels drop after you begin breathing clean air.
• Do not re-enter the building until fire officials confirm it’s safe.
• Document everything. Save hospital records, fire department reports, and any communications from the property owner, landlord, or hotel about the incident.
• Install detectors. Every home should have carbon monoxide detectors on each level and near sleeping areas. They cost around $25 and can save your life.

Getting Legal Help for Carbon Monoxide Injuries

Carbon monoxide poisoning cases are not simple slip-and-fall claims. They require attorneys who understand the science behind the exposure, the medicine behind the injuries, and the investigation needed to identify who is responsible.

If you or a loved one suffered carbon monoxide poisoning due to unsafe conditions, faulty equipment, or negligence, contact The Higgins Firm for a free consultation.