Rialto Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Lawyer
If you rent an apartment, condo, single-family home, or any other residential property, state law requires your landlord to ensure your home is in reasonably good and safe condition. This includes a duty to provide tenants with functioning carbon monoxide detectors in units where exposure is a foreseeable hazard.
If you or a loved one suffered harm from carbon monoxide exposure because your landlord failed to meet this obligation, contact a Rialto carbon monoxide poisoning lawyer for assistance. You may have grounds to seek civil compensation for the harm you have sustained, and our experienced attorneys could help you achieve the best possible outcome for your claim.
Where Are Carbon Monoxide Detectors Required?
Under the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2010, landlords must avoid carbon monoxide housing violations by installing and maintaining functioning carbon monoxide detectors in all the following types of property:
- Single-family homes with heating systems or appliances powered by fossil fuels
- Each unit of a multifamily housing complex with heating systems or appliances powered by fossil fuels
- Common hallways in two-story apartment complexes with central heating systems powered by fossil fuels
- Any type of dwelling unit with an attached garage or a garage connected to living spaces by ventilation systems
Landlords must use detectors certified by a national testing laboratory to ensure they emit an audible sound when detecting carbon monoxide, and install them outside each dedicated sleeping area. If your Rialto landlord neglected to install a carbon monoxide detector and you suffered harm, contact our attorneys for guidance.
Seeking Reasonable Maintenance From a Property Owner
You have the right to ask in writing for your landlord to fix non-functional detectors or install new ones where appropriate, if your rented apartment or home does not have working carbon monoxide detectors meeting the criteria listed above. You should not have to pay for this service or be retaliated against in any way for requesting it. Retaliation can include your property owner threatening to report your immigration status to law enforcement.
If your landlord in Rialto is retaliating after you request reasonable safety measures against carbon monoxide poisoning, our attorneys could help you report the matter to state authorities and ensure you get the safe accommodations you deserve. In extreme situations, we may help you in seeking relocation assistance, allowing you to move at your landlord’s expense to a place where your health is not in immediate danger.
Demanding Compensation for Preventable Harm
If a landlord’s failure to provide sufficient carbon monoxide protection leads to a tenant suffering carbon monoxide poisoning, that tenant would likely have grounds to sue their landlord for negligence. This type of claim could allow recovery for both economic and non-economic losses, including medical bills, lost wages, physical pain and suffering, and other related expenses. A carbon monoxide injury lawyer in Rialto could discuss what losses you may be able to seek compensation for during a private consultation.
Contact a Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Attorney in Rialto for Help
Carbon monoxide has no taste or smell and is completely invisible to the naked eye, but if enough of it builds up in the air, it can replace the oxygen in your blood and cause serious or even life-threatening harm. Nevertheless, some landlords negligently or knowingly fail to protect their tenants as required by state law.
You have professional legal help available to enforce your right to safe living conditions and seek fair restitution for related injuries. Call today to discuss your options with a Rialto carbon monoxide poisoning lawyer from our team.