Archive for February, 2009
A Preventable Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Incident In Greer, South Carolina
Posted by: Matthew E. Mazur, Jr., Esq. in Carbon Monoxide Incidents on February 19th, 2009
This morning I found a news article about a carbon monoxide incident that occurred at a Aiken Chemical Co. at 12 Shelter Drive in Greer, South Carolina. Apparently, about a dozen workers were overcome by carbon monoxide while working at the facility. Several of these people were unconscious and all were transported to local hospitals for treatment. For complete details of the incident go to www.wyff4.com/news/18743480/detail.html.
The key fact of this whole incident is that it was preventable. The Department of Health and Environmental control determined that the cause of the carbon monoxide poisoning was from forklifts being used in a poorly ventilated building. Incidents like this make me mad! As it is clear commonsense was not being used in the operation of the facility. If any combustion engine, be it a gas or propane powered forklift is going to be used indoors there needs to be proper ventilation or they should not be used at all. If they are going to be used indoors, there should be some carbon monoxide monitoring going on to prevent this type of incident from occurring.
According to the news report, at least one of these individuals was in serious condition and the rest all had various altered levels of consciousness. This clearly indicates that this was not a mild exposure to carbon monoxide, but a very serious exposure. Despite the fact that 11 of the 12 victims were expected to be released from the hospital last night, this incident is very serious. Those individuals should be monitored by their healthcare providers. At a minimum, they should all have received some level of oxygen treatment, as close in time to their exposure as possible.
For the individual that was in the most serious condition, I hope that she received some level of hypobaric oxygen treatment, as it is a proven treatment for individuals who have suffered significant acute carbon monoxide poisoning. The problem with hypobaric oxygen treatment is that there is an approximate a six hour window of opportunity after exposure to receive the treatment and for it to be helpful. Unfortunately, most people either don’t know they have been exposed to carbon monoxide to receive timely treatment or their healthcare providers cannot get them to a hypobaric center in that timeframe.
It would be very interesting to know what their carboxyhemoglobin levels were when treated at the hospital. Carboxyhemoglobin is hemoglobin (part of your blood) that has carbon monoxide attached to it instead of oxygen. The levels of Carboxyhemoglobin in a person’s blood give an indication of the severity of their exposure. It would be in each of these individuals best interest to get a copy of their emergency room records and determine what their Carboxyhemoglobin level was at the time of treatment. More likely than not, it was higher during their exposure.
Another useful piece of information these individuals should find out is whether or not the fire department took any carbon monoxide readings at the scene of the incident and what they were. This will also help them get an idea of the severity of their exposure.
If these individuals were clients of mine, I would probably recommend to each of them to keep a journal of how they are feeling after their exposure. The Journal should be detailed and specific. They should note in the journal if they are feeling tired, having headaches, feeling angry, feeling depressed etc. In situations where the exposure was minor the symptoms should go away in a few days to weeks. In situations where the exposure was significant, there is a possibility that the symptoms may not go away. In those situations it will be vitally important for these individuals to know what is going on in their life so that their healthcare providers can help them deal with any long term symptoms such as headaches, depression, fatigue, etc. Their spouses should keep a journal as well. In many Carbon Monoxide Poisoning cases, it is the spouse that sees the changes before the victim.
It is important to have follow-up medical care and treatment after being poisoned by carbon monoxide. I hope that each of these individuals fully recovers from this tragic and preventable incident.
Matthew E. Mazur, Jr., Esq.
———————————
Learn more about Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Hello world!
Posted by: Matthew E. Mazur, Jr., Esq. in General Comments on February 7th, 2009
Welcome to the Carbon Monoxide Help Blog. This blog will provide information about Carbon Monoxide incidents around the country and world. It will also discuss Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Litigation and Medical Treatment.
Matthew E. Mazur, Jr., Esq.
———————————
Learn more about Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
They called it “vandalism.” I call it attempted murder!
Posted by: Matthew E. Mazur, Jr., Esq. in Carbon Monoxide Incidents, General Comments on February 21st, 2009
I came across an article this morning titled “Vandalism causes illness in two homes in Galva.” I was shocked to read that the reporter and police were using the word “vandalism” to describes what happened. According to the story, two homes in Galva Illinois had plastic bags stuffed into their furnace exhaust pipes, which allowed a slow build up of carbon monoxide in the homes. Both homes had furnaces that exhaust through a wall instead of a chimney. To see the full story visit http://www.galesburg.com/news/x1802694772/Vandalism-causes-illness-in-two-homes-in-Galva
The first homeowner was an elderly woman who had no idea this was going on until her furnace stopped working. She did not have any carbon monoxide detectors in her home. She had been feeling ill for several weeks before the furnace stopped working. Frankly, she is luck to be alive. The second home owner had a carbon monoxide detector and it warned them that carbon monoxide was building up in their home. In Illinois, state law mandates that all residences have at least one carbon monoxide detector within 15 feet of each bedroom. As is clear from this story this law saves lives.
Calling these two incidents “vandalism” I think trivializes the act that was committed. Carbon Monoxide is deadly, anyone who would stuff plastic bags in an exhaust pipe, did so for a purpose. In my mind this is attempted murder and whoever did this should be charged accordingly. “Vandalism” is spray painting something on a home, not this. I hope that the police in Galva arrest whoever did this to these two homes.
Mathew E. Mazur, Jr, Esq.
——————————–
To find out more about Carbon Monoxide Poisoning visit www.carbonmonoxidehelp.com
Carbon Monoxide Attorney, Carbon Monoxide Help, Carbon Monoxide Lawyer, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Preventable Carbon Monoxide Incident
No Comments