A Guide To Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Claims
By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 26th July 2024. Carbon monoxide poisoning can occur in a broad array of different circumstances. Essentially, any appliance that does not burn its fuel properly, either through a fault or improper installation can produce carbon monoxide. Our guide examines the eligibility criteria for carbon monoxide poisoning claims at work, in the home or in public. We also examine claiming carbon monoxide poisoning compensation on behalf of a child or a deceased individual, explaining the relevant laws in each of these situations.
A key question you are no doubt asking is how compensation is calculated in a case of carbon monoxide poisoning. We’ll examine the two heads of loss compensation can be paid out under, with example figures to aid your understanding.
Towards the end of our guide, you’ll see information on the No Win No Fee contract offered by our expert solicitors, and how you can benefit when making a claim under these terms.
To learn more about how you could make a claim for carbon monoxide poisoning, talk to our advisors today using the contact information provided here:
- Call us today on 0800 073 8804
- Fill in one of our contact forms so we can call you
- Use our live chat tab on your screen.
You can also watch our video which explains our No Win No Fee claims service in detail:
Select A Section
- What Is Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?
- Carbon Monoxide Poisoning At Home
- Carbon Monoxide Poisoning At Work
- Who Can Make Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Claims?
- Claiming For A Fatal Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
- How Much Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Compensation Can I Claim?
- What Else Can Carbon Monoxide Compensation Payouts Include?
- No Win No Fee Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Claims
- Learn More About Claiming Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Compensation
What Is Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when you breathe in the poisonous gas, which has no taste or smell, which is why it is often referred to as the silent killer. If you are exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide, it can be fatal.
Once carbon monoxide has been breathed in, it enters your bloodstream, and it mixes with haemoglobin. This is the part of your red blood cells that are responsible for carting oxygen around the body. When the carbon monoxide mixes with haemoglobin, carboxyhaemoglobin is formed. The formation of carboxyhaemoglobin means that the blood can no longer carry oxygen. The body’s tissue and cells will start to fail and die due to the lack of oxygen.
Direct any questions about carbon monoxide poisoning compensation claims to a member of our team.
Symptoms Associated With Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
If you believe that you have suffered any form of carbon monoxide poisoning, it is important that you seek medical attention right away. People making carbon monoxide poisoning claims can experience different symptoms, but you may recognise some or all of the below:
- Headaches.
- Dizziness.
- Nausea or sickness.
- Weakness and confusion.
- Shortness of breath.
- Chest pains.
According to the UK Health Security Agency, more severe results of carbon monoxide poisoning include a loss of consciousness, respiratory failure, heart attacks or even death.
You may be able to claim for physical and psychological pain caused by carbon monoxide poisoning if somebody else’s negligence was to blame. Call today to discuss your experience and learn if you could make a poisoning by carbon monoxide claim with the aid of an expert solicitor.
Watch Our Video On Carbon Monoxide Compensation Claims
Below you can watch our video guide on carbon monoxide compensation claims:
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning At Home
If you suspect that you’ve suffered carbon monoxide poisoning following a gas leak at your home, you may be able to claim compensation against the following organisations if they you can show they were at fault:
- The manufacturer of the appliance that is emitting carbon monoxide gases – if the appliance was faulty.
- The company that manufactured or installed the carbon monoxide detector – if it did not work effectively.
- The private landlord, housing association, or council you rent your home from – if they do not ensure the safety of your property.
- The company or person that carried out the safety inspection of your appliances – if they did not realise that the appliance was faulty.
- The company or the person that installed the appliance – if they did not install if correctly.
Carbon Monoxide Leaks In A Rented House
What happens if you have fallen ill because of a carbon monoxide leak in a rented house? If you have suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning due to gas leaks in rental accommodation, it is likely that you will be able to launch a personal injury claim due to the landlord’s negligence. As part of their legal obligation, all landlords need to provide an up-to-date gas safety certificate.
They must ensure that this certificate is renewed on a yearly basis. If your landlord does not have a gas safety certificate, they are actually breaking the law, which means you have grounds for prosecution and a civil lawsuit.
Your landlord also needs to fit a carbon monoxide alarm in any room that is used wholly or partly as living accommodation, which also has any appliance that burns, or is capable of burning, solid fuel.
This does not include oil or gas boilers, but it does include open fires, as well as coral and log burning stoves. These alarms need to be checked on the day a new tenancy begins. You could launch a compensation claim if your landlord has not taken these steps.
If you live in rental accommodation that has been provided by the council or a housing association, the same rules apply. If the council or any other government department has acted negligently, and you have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning as a result, you will be able to claim a compensation payout.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning At Work
Your employer has a responsibility to ensure you are kept safe at work. This is a legal responsibility. They must make sure that employees are not exposed to dangerous amounts of carbon monoxide.
Therefore, if you suffered carbon monoxide poisoning at work, you may be able to make a claim for employer negligence.
Who Can Make Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Claims?
In order to make a personal injury claim for carbon monoxide poisoning, you must be able to prove that:
- A liable party owed you a duty of care.
- This duty was breached.
- You suffered harm because of this breach.
There are a few different situations in which you are owed a duty of care, which is a legal responsibility for your health and safety. These include:
- At home: Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, your landlord has a legal obligation to ensure the proper working order of installations that supply gas. Should they fail to do so, and you suffer harm, you could be eligible to make a claim for carbon monoxide poisoning compensation.
- In the workplace: Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), your employer owes you a duty of care. This means that they must take all reasonable and practicable steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees. If your employer fails to adhere to the health and safety legislation that applies to them and you experience harm, you could be eligible to make a carbon monoxide poisoning claim.
- In public: If you are in a public space, such as a restaurant, the controller of that space has a legal obligation under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 to ensure your reasonable safety. If they fail to do so and you suffer harm, you might be eligible to seek compensation for carbon monoxide poisoning.
To find out if you might be entitled to make a carbon monoxide poisoning claim, contact our team of advisors today.
How Long Do I Have To Make A Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Claim?
As we stated above, there are certain exceptions to the 3-year time limit when claiming for carbon monoxide poisoning compensation. These include:
- From the date of knowledge. You will have three years to start a claim from the date you first reasonably realised that the harm you suffered was caused by a third party breaching their duty of care.
- Those who lack the mental capacity to make a claim for themselves, the limitation period is indefinitely suspended. During this time, a court-appointed litigation friend could start a claim on their behalf. If they regain this mental capacity, they will have three years from the date of recovery to start a claim if one has not already been made.
- Those under the age of 18, the time limit is paused until their 18th birthday. Prior to this, a litigation friend could claim on their behalf. Once they turn 18, they will have three years to start a claim if one has not already been made.
Call our advisors to discuss the limitation period when claiming compensation for carbon monoxide poisoning. Additionally, they could provide you with free advice for your potential claim.
Claiming For A Fatal Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
If you lost a loved one due to a carbon monoxide gas leak, you might be able to claim compensation on their behalf. However, only certain relatives are eligible, and you must be able to prove that negligence caused your loved one’s death.
If you are claiming on behalf of the deceased, you must submit evidence. This must prove that they were owed a duty of care and when this was breached, they suffered fatal injuries.
Examples of evidence that could be useful in proving fatalities include:
- The deceased’s medical records. These will show what treatment they received prior to their passing.
- Maintenance records. There might be appliance maintenance records or records of gas safety checks depending on where the deceased was exposed to carbon monoxide. For example, if the exposure occurred due to a faulty boiler, there should be proof that the landlord carried out gas checks. If these identified the problem and yet action was not taken in a timely manner, you might be eligible to claim on your loved one’s behalf.
- Air sample readings. For example, if the deceased worked in an enclosed environment, there could be a digital record of chemicals found in the air, such as from a digital air filter.
If you have any questions about claiming carbon monoxide poisoning compensation, call our advisors for free advice. They can discuss who is eligible to claim on behalf of the deceased as well as talk about what evidence can be submitted. In addition, they can assess the eligibility of the claim. If it seems like it could succeed, you could be put in touch with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
How Much Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Compensation Can I Claim?
There are few circumstances in which you could be eligible to claim compensation for instances such as these. For instance, there could be a carbon monoxide leak in your house due to your landlord’s negligence. Alternatively, your landlord may not have installed a carbon monoxide detector, leading to your health being affected as a result.
If you have become ill due to circumstances such as these, you may be eligible to claim compensation. The portion of your settlement that addresses your pain and suffering is known as general damages. Legal professionals often use various materials when they are calculating how much this payment should be worth. For example, they can make use of a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
Guideline Compensation Figures
Below, you’ll find some example figures that we have taken from the latest edition of the JCG. Additionally, we’ve provided a figure in the top row that shows you how compensation could be awarded for more than one injury and related expenses. This figure was not taken from the JCG.
However, getting in touch with us directly for a valuation can help you gain a better understanding of how much you could be owed.
| Harm | Level | Typical compensation amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Forms Of Very Severe Harm Plus Financial Loss | Very Severe | Up to £500,000+ |
| Brain Damage | Very Severe (a) | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Moderate (c)(ii) | £110,720 to £183,190 | |
| Less Severe (d) | £18,700 to £52,550 | |
| Chest Injuries | Total Removal Of One Lung and/or Serious Heart Damage (a) | £122,850 to £183,190 |
| Chest and Lung Damage (c) | £38,210 to £66,920 | |
| Toxic Fume/Smoke Inhalation (e) | £6,500 to £15,370 | |
| Lung Disease | Serious Disability With Progressive Worsening (a) | £122,850 to £165,860 |
| Significant and Worsening Lung Function (c) | £66,890 to £85,460 | |
| Breathing Difficulties Requiring Frequent Inhaler Use (d) | £38,210 to £66,920 |
What Else Can Carbon Monoxide Compensation Payouts Include?
The amount received in carbon monoxide poisoning compensation will differ from case to case as every claim is unique. Whether you’re claiming due to damage caused by a gas leak in the house or a neighbour’s car leaking on the road, the amount you could receive will depend on aspects including the severity of your injury and how badly the injury has negatively impacted your life.
The severity and effects would affect the calculation of your general damages payout. This amount would compensate you for the pain and suffering you have experienced due to the harm you sustained.
Special damages may also make up the overall compensation you get for carbon monoxide poisoning. This takes into account the financial losses you’ve suffered due to the injury. Through this, you can claim for losses like loss of earnings, travel costs, therapy costs, home adjustments and healthcare costs. Furthermore, you can also claim for future loss of earnings if the injury has caused you either long-term or permanent health issues, leading to you being unable to work for a prolonged period of time.
However, you would need to evidence these losses such as by providing receipts, payslips or other documentation that shows the incurred expenses. To learn more about payouts for carbon monoxide poisoning claims, please contact our team for free legal advice.
No Win No Fee Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Claims
The best option for anyone that wants to pursue a carbon monoxide claim is to go down the No Win No Fee route. This is a type of arrangement we offer. It ensures that finding money to pay for legal expenses is not something you need to worry about.
Under this type of agreement, if for some reason we are not able to secure compensation for you, you won’t need to pay a thing. If we do secure compensation for you, our fee will be deducted from the payout. This means that you don’t need to fret about our legal fees, as everything is taken care of for you.
This type of agreement is often referred to as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). It eliminates the monetary risk that is typically associated with making a personal injury claim. This type of legal agreement was set up to help those that did not have the money to pursue a carbon monoxide case or gain access to the expert legal assistance they required.
Legal costs are controlled tightly, and at the time of writing, success fees are capped at a small percentage of the total amount of compensation that is awarded.
Learn More About Claiming Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Compensation
Here are some helpful links that relate to your claims:
NHS Carbon monoxide symptoms, treatment and complications.
This Carbon Monoxide NHS link explains carbon monoxide and poisonous gas that has no smell or taste and very dangerous.
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm guide for landlords.
This government web page provides information on smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations explanatory booklet for landlords.
Frequently asked questions about carbon monoxide.
This HSE government link has information on gas safety and carbon monoxide awareness frequently asked questions.
This is our updated guide on Chemical Burn Injury Claims.
Other Claims We Could Help You With
- Mesothelioma, asbestos, and cancer claims
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- You can also read our guide to wedding food poisoning compensation claims
Thank you for reading our carbon monoxide poisoning compensation claims guide.
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