Carbon Monoxide Exposure Risk for Hotel Guests in Austin

To accommodate the 25.61 million guests who visit Austin, Texas, every year, the downtown area alone has close to 11,000 hotel rooms with another 1,000 under construction. This plan broadens the beloved city’s reach and offers visitors a convenient place to return to when they are done exploring for the day.

The problem, though, is that many of these hotels do not adhere to the safety standards travelers might expect. Because Texas law does not require hotels and motels to install carbon monoxide detectors in guest rooms, people who visit are in danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. If you or someone you care about has been adversely affected by carbon monoxide exposure risk for hotel guests in Austin, the attorneys at Carabin Shaw are here to protect your rights and pursue your case.

If you are staying in Austin, you should be aware of the causes, symptoms, and risks associated with carbon monoxide— both as a preventative measure and to determine how a lawyer can help you if you experience carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless, and tasteless gas formed by incomplete carbon combustion. It exists in the fumes produced by burning fuel in cars, generators, stoves, grills, fireplaces, and furnaces. At low levels, CO can be unpleasantly sickening. In the worst cases, it is deadly. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), about 50,000 people visit hospitals every year for CO poisoning, and at least 430 people die from prolonged exposure.

The CDC warns that everyone is at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning when CO builds in an enclosed space. The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are reminiscent of the flu:

• Dizziness,
• Nausea,
• Headaches,
• Chest pain,
• Muscle weakness,
• Confusion,
• Unconsciousness,
• And if left untreated, death.

To make things worse, victims who have consumed alcohol or gone to sleep may die from inhaling too much carbon monoxide before they even exhibit symptoms.

If you or someone you love has experienced these symptoms while staying at a hotel in Austin, Texas, the Austin accident attorneys at Carabin Shaw can seek compensation on your behalf.

Across the country, cases of carbon monoxide poisoning in hotels occur too often. In a 2012 report for USA Today, Lindell Weaver, a professor of medicine at the University of Utah, asserts that carbon monoxide is especially dangerous in hotels and motels because it can harm dozens of people at once. The travesty of these cases is twofold, firstly because carbon monoxide poisoning is entirely preventable, and secondly because, six years on from this report, hotel guests still die from exposure.

One such case occurred in 2017 at a hotel in Niles, Michigan. While guests were relaxing in the indoor pool area, carbon monoxide levels increased well beyond the US standard for carbon monoxide exposure. Fourteen people went to the hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning, nine of whom were children. Five of these children, between the ages of 12 and 14 years old, were found unconscious. One of them, Bryan Douglas-Watts, was pronounced dead on arrival.

According to CNN, the police and fire departments in Niles attributed the incident to a faulty pool heater. Because the hotel did not have carbon monoxide detectors or a safe pool heater, children and their families suffered disastrous consequences.

No one is immune to a situation like this; hotel guests in Austin risk exposure to carbon monoxide daily no matter how good they think the accommodations are. If you or your family have experienced anything similar to the tragedy in Niles, the Austin injury lawyers at Carabin Shaw can help you file a lawsuit and receive redress for your suffering.

If you find yourself worried about the risks of carbon monoxide exposure for hotel guests in Austin, we are here to answer your questions. The attorneys at the law firm of Carabin Shaw know that traveling should be a safe, enriching experience. For visitors who have been robbed of that safety, please remember that you are not alone.

At Carabin Shaw, we promise to aggressively represent you and advocate for justice. We guarantee that your initial consultation will be free, and we will not charge you unless we win your case.

To speak with an attorney in Austin, Texas, please call 512.832.1101 or toll-free at 1.800.862.1260.