More than 20 Ruth’s Chris workers who say they suffered serious injuries because they were exposed to carbon monoxide at the Pier Five Hotel in 2008 have been awarded a $34 million Baltimore personal injury verdict. The steak restaurant, which is not considered at fault, is located at the downtown hotel. The workers contend that the exposure left them with permanent brain damage that have resulted in attention problems, memory problems, and personality changes.
Firefighters had to evacuate the restaurant after workers and customers fell ill. During the civil trial, the rescuers affirmed that the levels of carbon monoxide on the premises could have proved fatal. According to the plaintiffs’ Baltimore injury lawyers, fumes entered through cracks in the hotel’s walls over a four- to five-month period. The safety device for detecting carbon monoxide was shut off on several occasions. On February 2, 2008, that a pipe cap came off, resulting in the carbon monoxide leak.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon monoxide exposure can prove deadly for victims. Because CO has no taste, smell, or color, it can be hard to know when one has been exposed. This is one reason there are detection devices designed to give warning when exposure has occurred.
Some 5,000 people are killed and over 10,000 others are injured in the US because of carbon monoxide poisoning. Depending on the specifics of a case, property owners, the manufacturers of products that emitted the CO, or maintenance companies that failed to do their job properly so as to allow for the leak are just some of the parties that can be held liable for Maryland personal injury in the event that carbon poisoning harmed the victim.
Jury awards $34M to restaurant workers at harbor Ruth’s Chris, Baltimore Sun, July 29, 2010
Workers at an Inner Harbor steakhouse win a $34 million dollar lawsuit over CO poisoning, ABC2, July 28, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Carbon Monoxide, eMedicineHealth
Premises Liability, Justia