A diesel generator emitting high doses of carbon monoxide has claimed one life while sending three others to the hospital. The accident happened at the victims’ Sudbury home that they were renting.
According police, one of the victims woke up early Friday to discover that she couldn’t breathe. She contacted 911. Firefighters and police officers arrived around 3:30am. They turned the generator off right away and took the remaining residents, who were unresponsive, from the house.
The woman who called 911, 42-year-old Aida Leone, was treated at a Framingham hospital and then later released. Two other tenants, 20-year-old Elvis Dasilva and 50-year-old Juraci Almeida, were transported to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston where they were admitted with life-threatening illnesses. A fourth victim died at the hospital.
The rented house did not have electrical service. Firefighters say that there did not appear to be any working carbon monoxide detectors at the house. A Massachusetts law, known as Nicole’s Law, requires that homes contain functioning CO detectors that work.
Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can be hard to detect. CO poisoning can prove fatal. Claiming hundreds of lives each year, it is the leading cause of poison-related fatalities in the US. Signs of CO poisoning include weakness, dizziness, pulsing headache, fatigue, breathing problems, confusion, nausea, and sleepiness.
Generator fumes blamed in man’s death, Boston.com, May 1, 2010
Man killed in carbon monoxide poisoning, Boston.com, May 1, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon Monoxide Detectors, Mass.gov
If someone you love died or you became seriously ill as a result of exposure to excessive levels of carbon monoxide or other toxic substances, you may have grounds for filing a Boston injury lawsuit. Possible liable parties can include property owners, landlords, builders, manufacturers, service professionals, and other liable parties. Depending on the circumstances surrounding your case, your complaint may be one claiming injuries from Massachusetts products liability, premises liability, personal injury, or wrongful death.