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Texas Fatal
Fire and Smoke Inhalation Lawsuits by Texas Smoke Inhalation
and Fatal Fire Lawyer Jason S. Coomer
Smoke
inhalation is the number one cause of death related to fatal
fires. An estimated 50%-80% of fire deaths are the
result of smoke inhalation injuries rather than
serious burns,
fatal falls, or
buildings collapsing.
Incidents of fatal smoke inhalation are numerous as it is estimated that in the United States, each year
over 30,000 people are killed or seriously injured by fire
and smoke inhalation.
If you have been seriously injured or
lost a loved one from smoke inhalation, Texas Smoke
Inhalation Lawyer Jason Coomer provides
free online evaluations of fire death claims and smoke
inhalation claims. Feel free to submit
an inquiry through our contact form or
send
an e-mail for a Free Online Evaluation of your
potential fire smoke inhalation claim by an Austin Texas fire and smoke
inhalation Attorney.
Working Smoke
Detectors Provide Early Warnings of House Fires and Protect
Families From Smoke Inhalation That Can Cause
Serious Injuries and Death
A working smoke detector provides an
early warning of a house fire and can prevent serious
injuries and death. This is why a working smoke alarm
on every level of a home and in each bed room is an
important safety feature to have in your home. The United
States Fire Administration provides information on smoke
alarms including the following brochure on
What You Need to Know about Smoke Alarms as well as
information on defective smoke detectors that you should be
aware of and avoid.
As of December 2007, the United States
Fire Administration had recalls notices on Digital Security
Controls FSA and FSB Series Smoke Detectors, First Alert
Onelink Battery-Powered Smoke and Combination Smoke/Carbon
Monoxide (CO) Alarms, and BRK Brand Hard-Wired Battery
Back-Up Smoke Alarms, Models 4120B and 4120SB. For more
information on these smoke alarms, contact the United States
Fire Administration or the manufacturers of these products.
Defective smoke detectors and smoke
alarms are especially problematic for fires that occur at
night, when people are sleeping, when people are disabled,
or when the fire is hidden. This is because a failure to
warn of a fire can allow the fire to spread. Once the fire
has spread smoke can accumulate taking away oxygen and
creating toxic fumes that can cause people and pets to pass
out from smoke inhalation.
Smoke Inhalation Can Cause Serious Injuries
and Death (Fatal Smoke Inhalation and Hypoxic Brain
Injury Lawsuits)
Smoke inhalation from a
house fire,
gas explosion,
building fire, or a carbon monoxide leak can cause difficulty
breathing, carbon monoxide poisoning, and other toxic
effects that can result in serious injuries or even death.
Smoke inhalation occurs when a person breathes in smoke or
the products of combustion during a fire. The fire not
only uses the surrounding oxygen in the air taking the
oxygen that humans need to breathe, but through burning or
combustion (the rapid breakdown of a substance by heat)
creates smoke which is a mixture of heated particles and
gases that are created by burning.
It is impossible to predict the exact
composition of smoke produced by a
residential fire or
industrial fire as every accident fire is different.
The products being burned, the temperature of the fire, and
the amount of oxygen available to the fire all make a
difference in the type of smoke produced. This is especially
true when furniture, appliances, and other items made up of
plastic or other chemicals is burned. The resulting
smoke can be filled with irritants or toxins and result in
serious respiratory problems or even death.
Smoke inhalation can damage the body by
simple asphyxiation (lack of oxygen), chemical irritation,
chemical asphyxiation, or a combination of these.
Combustion can use up the oxygen near the fire and lead to
death when there is no oxygen for a person to breathe.
Smoke itself can also contain products that do not cause
direct harm to a person, but they take up the space that is
needed for oxygen. Carbon dioxide acts in this way.
Combustion can also result in the
formation of chemicals that cause direct injury when they
contact the skin and mucous membranes. These substances
disrupt the normal lining of the respiratory tract. This
disruption can potentially cause swelling, airway collapse,
and respiratory distress. Examples of chemical irritants
found in smoke include sulfur dioxide, ammonia, hydrogen
chloride, and chlorine.
A fire also can produce compounds that do
damage by interfering with the body's oxygen use at a
cellular level. Carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, and
hydrogen sulfide are all examples of chemicals produced in
fires that interfere with the use of oxygen by the cell
during the production of energy. If either the delivery of
oxygen or the use of oxygen is inhibited, cells will die.
Symptoms and Treatment of Smoke Inhalation (Damages
and Injuries in Smoke Inhalation and Carbon Monoxide
Lawsuits)
Smoke inhalation can cause health
problems that result in coughing, shortness of breath,
hoarseness, headaches, changes in mental status, changes in
skin coloration, and passing out.
The first step in treating a person
suffering from smoke inhalation is to remove the person from
the smoke-filled environment to a location with clean air.
The second step is to start CPR and make sure that they are
getting oxygen. Oxygen may be applied with a nose
tube, mask, or through a tube down the throat. If the
patient has signs and symptoms of upper airway problems
(hoarseness), they will most likely be intubated. The doctor
places a tube down the throat to keep the airway from
closing due to swelling.
If the patient has respiratory distress or mental status
changes, they may also be intubated to let the staff help
with breathing, to suction off mucus, and keep the patient
from choking on secretions. If the smoke inhalation is
bad enough, a bronchoscopy may have to be done to directly
look at the degree of damage done to the airways and to
allow for suctioning of secretions and debris.
If the patient has carbon monoxide poisoning, the use of a
hyperbaric chamber for hyberaric oxygenation may be
considered. This treatment use compressed oxygen to
help the person's blood gases return to normal. A
complete blood count may also be done to determine if there
are enough red blood cells to carry oxygen, enough white
blood cells to fight infection, and enough platelets to
ensure clotting can occur. Carboxyhemoglobin and
methemoglobin levels are also typically measured in all
smoke inhalation victims with respiratory distress, altered
mental status, low blood pressure, seizures, fainting, and
blood pH changes.
Faulty wiring, defective appliances,
negligent storage, faulty construction, negligent
maintenance, lack of fire detection devices and/or
prevention equipment, as well as careless and negligent
actions cause many fires that wrongfully kill people,
severely burn & injure others, and destroy property. Home
fires (apartment fire, duplex fire, and house fire) can be
especially devastating as they often occur at night when
people are sleeping allowing the fire to get into walls and
create smoke that can incapacitate families before they can
get out causing serious injury or death as well as destroy a
life time worth of possessions.
Texas Home Fire Lawsuits (Aluminum Wiring and
Electrical Wiring Lawsuits)
When purchasing, renting, or deciding to
live in an older home it is important to know when it was
built and if it was built with aluminum wiring in it. This
is because many homes built in the 1960s and 1970s were
built with aluminum wiring that can over heat and cause a
fire. Additionally, over time the aluminum wiring in these
homes typically deteriorate making the risk of an accidental
electrical fire increase.
If you own or are thinking of buying or
renting an older home it is important to know if you have
aluminum wiring. If your home will have aluminum wiring, it
is also a good idea to review the Consumer Product Safety
Commissions Recommendation for Aluminum Wiring in Homes and
to make sure that your home has working smoke detectors.
This knowledge can help avoid a fatal home fire or fire
tragedy.
Austin Texas Home Fire Claims (Aluminum
Wiring & Defective Smoke Detectors: Increased Risk of Fatal
Home Fire)
Both aluminum wiring and defective smoke
detectors increase the risk of a fatal home fire that could
cause devastating loss of life, serious burns, catastrophic
injuries, and significant property damage. It is always best
to lower these risk as much as possible for your health and
safety as well as that of your family.
Austin Texas Home Fire lawyer handles
fatal fire claims and other accidental fire claims that
cause serious injuries, significant loss of property, or
death. Recovering from a home fire, can be difficult. Not
only is there the loss of life or serious injuries to deal
with, but the actual clean up and rebuilding. From the fire
damage to smoke and fire suppression damage, residential
fire claim typically require significant resources to clean
up and rebuild the home. As such, it can be extremely
difficult to deal not only with the loss of life, injuries,
and damages, but to also deal with the builder, insurance
company, or other large company that may be responsible for
the home fire.
It is often beneficial to hire a home
fire lawyer or fatal fire lawyer to assist in seeking
compensation for home fire. A good residential fire lawyer
will investigate the cause of the fire and work with fire
cause and origin experts to determine the cause and origin
of the fire. This investigation is extremely important as it
is the person seeking compensation that has the burden to
prove what caused the fire including faulty installation of
electrical wiring, appliances, gas lines, or gas meters or
defective parts including aluminum wiring, defective gas
meters, defective gas lines, defective gas control valves,
or defective flexible gas connectors. It is also important
to determine if there were working smoke detectors or flame
detectors in the home.
Texas Fire and Smoke Inhalation Lawyers
This Austin Texas smoke inhalation lawyer
represents fire and smoke inhalation clients
throughout Texas. He also works with other smoke
inhalation and fire lawyers throughout Texas and the United
States including Houston Smoke Inhalation Lawyers, Dallas
Smoke Inhalation Lawyers, and San Antonio Smoke Inhalation
Lawyers.
The Law Offices of Jason S. Coomer, P.L.L.C. helps
individuals seriously injured by fire and smoke inhalation and
the families of those killed by smoke inhalation. If you
or a member of your family has suffered severe smoke
inhalation as a result of a fire
Texas fire and smoke inhalation lawyer, Jason Coomer, may be able to assist you
with a fire and smoke inhalation claim.
If you need a Texas fire and smoke inhalation lawyer to represent you
with a fire or smoke inhalation claim,
contact
Texas Smoke Inhalation lawyer Jason Coomer.
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