Vacations and short getaways to big cities can be a fun way to spend time with your family. Fort Worth, Texas, is a popular destination that welcomes more than 8 million tourists each year. Bigger cities mean a variety of different dangers for families and tourists. One of these risks is exposure to carbon monoxide while staying in a hotel or motel.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and highly toxic gas that can cause dizziness, nausea, chest pain, and other flu-like symptoms. When a person is exposed to large enough amounts, carbon monoxide can cause irreparable brain damage and even death.
Under Texas laws and regulations, hotels and motels are not required to install carbon monoxide detectors in individual rooms. The only way to know if there has been a carbon monoxide leak is if a detector has been placed in the room. Without these detectors, families and individuals are at risk of carbon monoxide exposure from heaters (such as those used to heat large pools) and other gas-powered appliances.
If you or a loved one been exposed to carbon monoxide on a trip to Fort Worth, Texas, read below to find out more about how the lack carbon monoxide detector regulations leads to carbon monoxide exposure in Fort Worth, hotels and motels.
In Texas, only homes and day-care centers must be equipped with carbon monoxide detectors. The state of Texas must also inform the public about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and how they can prevent it, but there are no laws pertaining to hotels and motels. Hotels and motels in cities like Fort Worth, Texas, do not have any laws or regulations telling them how to best protect their guests.
According to the CDC, more than 20,000 people visit the emergency room each year due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Because carbon monoxide is virtually undetectable without a device installed, guests are at risk to exposure. Sleeping guests have no way of knowing that they’re breathing in toxic fumes. Young children, the elderly, and people with breathing problems or conditions like anemia and chronic heart disease are at greater risk for carbon monoxide poisoning.
Without carbon monoxide detector regulations, carbon monoxide exposure in Fort Worth hotels will always be a threat. When guests have no way of knowing whether or not they are being exposed to the dangerous gas, they are put at major risk of hospitalization, injury, and death.
Other states require hotels and motels to install carbon monoxide detectors in guest rooms and suites. New Jersey, for example, requires that every dwelling area have one or more detection unit unless it’s been determined that there is no carbon monoxide hazard present. Oregon requires a carbon monoxide alarm in newly constructed or remodeled hotels, motels, and any other place where humans sleep. In Vermont, any dwelling where humans sleep, including hotels and motels, must have at least one carbon monoxide detector.
In these states, the safety of guests and families are at the forefront of these laws. The attorneys in these states have fought tirelessly to protect their citizens. Allow the lawyers at Carabin Shaw to do the same for you.
If you or a loved one have been exposed to carbon monoxide exposure in Fort Worth, Texas, the Fort Worth accident attorneys at Carabin Shaw will help you get the compensation you deserve. If you have lost income from hospitalization time due to carbon monoxide poisoning, the carbon monoxide poisoning lawyers in Fort Worth can help you put your case together to regain financial stability. Instead of spending time worrying about your case, navigating the court system on your own, or, suffering in silence, call us today to see how we can help.
Our attorneys can help you gather the relevant information to build your case. We will assist you in gathering the necessary medical history and documents, statements from witnesses that may aid in your hearing, and more. With access to third-party, private investigators who can look into the hotels or motels or other parties involved in your case, our attorneys can and will use the resources necessary to help you. The Fort Worth injury lawyers at Carabin Shaw have a long history of handling cases such as these, so we know what to do and how best to do it.
Let the attorneys at Carabin Shaw of Fort Worth, Texas, fight tirelessly for you and your family. The initial consultation is free. If the state of Texas’s lax carbon monoxide regulations led to carbon monoxide exposure in Fort Worth for you or your family, call us today, toll-free at 800-862-1260.