Houston’s Apartment Carbon Monoxide Tragedies and Premises Liability | Top Texas Attorneys

It’s a story that occurs all too often in Houston, Texas. Apartment residents living in older or poorly maintained units face carbon monoxide exposure—but since this dangerous gas is odorless and hard to detect, they don't know that they’ve been exposed until tragedy strikes, resulting in an untimely death.

In the wake of an apartment carbon monoxide tragedy, you must speak to an attorney as soon as possible. Advocating for justice in the wake of a disaster not only reclaims your rights but also incentivises other landlords to act more responsibly, saving lives.

How Carbon Monoxide Exposure Happens in Apartments

While an experienced Houston carbon monoxide poisoning attorney can help you better understand the specific circumstances of your loss, the city’s humid climate and dangerous conditions in aging multi-family apartment buildings mean that there are certain circumstances where appliances may be more likely to fail, resulting in tragedy:

• Landlords fail to service or replace aging systems
• Ventilation systems are missing, blocked, or damaged
• Carbon monoxide detectors are not installed, or have expired without being replaced
• Repairs are performed by unlicensed personnel

Your attorney can investigate these circumstances to see whether your loved one's landlord fulfilled their duty of taking “reasonable steps” to ensure safe living conditions for all tenants, as required by Texas law. If these conditions have not been met, resulting in a loved one’s untimely death, the landlord may be subject to an apartment carbon monoxide leak lawsuit.

Premises Liability and Landlord Responsibility

According to Texas’s premises liability law, property owners must ensure that they are acting to maintain reasonably safe environments for tenants and their guests. These are common sources of negligence your lawyer may consider when building their case:

• Improper maintenance: Gas appliances must meet state safety standards. Apartment owners who skip replacement or postpone maintenance create unacceptable risks for tenants.
• Failure to install detectors: Texas law requires CO alarms in many rental properties, which must be properly installed and replaced when they expire.
• Inadequate inspections: Landlords should conduct routine checks for ventilation blockages, gas leaks, and appliance deterioration that may create unsafe environments for tenants.

Failure to uphold these safety standards can result in your inability to file a Texas premises liability carbon monoxide case.

What Victims Can Do After a CO Exposure Incident

If a landlord’s negligence has led to the death of someone you loved, it’s important to act quickly to document the tragedy. Your legal representative will help you secure essential documentation to build your case, but here are a few initial steps you should take as soon as possible:

• Contact a lawyer as soon as possible
• Get immediate medical evaluation and document any evidence of CO exposure
• Gain access to the apartment and photograph appliances, vents, and any unsafe areas that may have caused exposure
• Avoid signing any waiver or settlement without consulting with your legal representative

Working with a qualified legal team with a track record of success in CO cases will ensure you’re positioned to fight back against landlord negligence and get justice for your tragic loss.

Fight Back! Carabin Shaw is Your Ally in Justice | Contact Us Now to Book Your FREE Case Evaluation

The Houston premises liability lawyers at Carabin Shaw have extensive experience handling cases just like yours and can get you the justice you deserve. To understand how we’ve advocated for clients just like you, read our law firm’s client reviews.

Deciding which law firm to partner with deserves serious consideration. That’s why we make sure to help you understand your legal options before we begin working together with a free case review. Once you decide to work with us, you won’t pay a cent until we win—we offer our services on a contingency-fee basis.

If you have suffered a tragic loss, it’s time to fight for justice. Call us 24/7 at 1-800-862-1260, where our qualified and compassionate staff of English AND Spanish-speaking professionals are always available to speak with you. Don’t face the fight for justice alone. Carabin Shaw is here to help you win.

For more information:

• Texas State Law Library
• Texas Statutes 75
• Texas Lp-Gas Examination Study Guide

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