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Carbon monoxide (CO) has no color, no odor, and no taste. By the time someone realizes something is wrong, serious harm may already have happened. Carbon monoxide builds silently in enclosed spaces. Symptoms like headaches, dizziness, confusion, and nausea are easy to mistake for something else. That delay is often what makes CO poisoning so dangerous.
When a carbon monoxide poisoning could have been prevented, Wisconsin law may give you a path to hold the responsible party accountable. Pemberton Personal Injury Law Firm works with people across the state who have been seriously harmed by carbon monoxide poisoning, including tenants, hotel guests, and families who have lost someone. Our team has experience handling carbon monoxide poisoning cases involving unsafe properties, defective products, and wrongful death claims.
Most CO cases trace back to a preventable failure in a building or product. A furnace with a cracked heat exchanger can leak CO into living spaces without any visible warning signs. A gas water heater that is vented improperly can push exhaust back into a home. Portable generators used indoors or too close to a window are another common cause.
Hotels and short-term rentals carry their own risks. Guests may stay in a room connected to a shared HVAC system with no working detector nearby. In rental properties, a missing or dead CO alarm is one of the most common contributing factors. The gas builds up without triggering a warning, and carbon monoxide poisoning can continue until someone is seriously hurt.
According to the CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, hundreds of people in the United States die every year from accidental, non-fire-related carbon monoxide poisoning, and many more are hospitalized or seen in emergency rooms. Cases are most common in winter months, when heating systems run constantly, and ventilation is limited.
Wisconsin law places clear requirements on property owners when it comes to CO detectors, and failing to meet those requirements can establish liability in a personal injury claim.
For single-family and two-family dwellings, Wis. Stat. § 101.647 requires the owner to install a functional CO detector in the basement and on each floor level of the home. If a tenant notifies the owner in writing that a detector is not working, the property owners are required to fix the issue within five days. Missing that deadline may help show negligence.
For residential buildings with multiple units, Wis. Stat. § 101.149 governs detector requirements. Wisconsin law requires property owners to keep their property reasonably safe for tenants and guests. Having working carbon monoxide detectors is one way they do that. A landlord who ignores a known hazard or lets required detectors go uninstalled may be held responsible for any resulting harm under Wisconsin’s premises liability laws.
Hotels and vacation rentals fall under different rules than residential dwellings, but the duty of reasonable care still applies. Hotel and vacation rental owners may be responsible if carbon monoxide detectors are missing, not working, or if a known danger was ignored before guests arrived.
Some CO cases involve a product that failed on its own. A defective furnace, carbon monoxide detector, or gas appliance can all lead to a product liability claim if they failed to work safely. These cases target the company that designed or sold the defective product rather than the property owner.
Both types of claims can exist in the same case. If a landlord ignored service warnings about a faulty furnace and the furnace itself was defectively made, responsibility may be shared.
At high concentrations, CO can cause loss of consciousness and death within minutes. At lower levels, the damage builds more slowly but is still serious. People who survive serious carbon monoxide poisoning often experience long-term effects that continue even after they leave the area.
Cognitive changes are common and can include memory loss, difficulty concentrating, and shifts in personality or behavior. Some symptoms may not fully show up for days or even weeks. Some survivors develop significant brain injuries that affect their ability to work or manage daily life. In the most serious cases, CO poisoning results in permanent disability that may qualify as a catastrophic injury under Wisconsin law.
When a victim does not survive, surviving family members may have grounds for a wrongful death claim. Wisconsin law allows families to seek compensation for medical expenses, funeral costs, loss of support and companionship, and other damages tied to the loss.
Tenants injured in a rental where the owner failed to maintain working detectors may have a premises liability claim. Hotel guests who are harmed during their stay may have a claim against the property. People injured by a defective appliance or detector may have a product liability claim against the manufacturer or seller. Family members of someone who died from CO poisoning may be able to file on behalf of the estate or the surviving family under Wisconsin’s wrongful death statute.
Timing matters in these cases. A lawsuit must typically be filed within three years from the date of injury, and this time period generally applies to carbon monoxide poisoning claims under Wisconsin law. However, there are important exceptions and nuances that can affect the applicable deadline. Talking with an attorney sooner rather than later can help protect your options.
Our attorneys started on the other side of these cases. Before representing injured clients, our lead attorney spent time at an insurance defense firm, where he learned firsthand how insurers approach claims and what they do to reduce payouts. That background means we know what the other side is looking for, and we build cases with that in mind.
Our firm has more than 90 combined years of experience handling serious injury cases across Wisconsin. Our attorneys have handled serious injury cases across Wisconsin and have been recognized by organizations like Super Lawyers, AVVO, and the National Trial Lawyers. We have offices in Madison, Baraboo, Eau Claire, and Sun Prairie, and we handle cases statewide.
We take every case on a contingency basis, which means you pay nothing unless we recover for you. We also prepare every case as if it is going to trial. That preparation helps us build strong cases and stand up to insurance companies.
After carbon monoxide poisoning, your focus should be on healing and understanding what happened. These cases can involve multiple responsible parties, overlapping areas of law, and insurance teams working quickly to limit what they pay. Having an attorney on your side early makes a real difference in how your case develops.
Pemberton Personal Injury is built on The Pemberton Promise, a commitment to stand with every client, fight for the maximum outcome they deserve, and never back down when insurers push back. If you or someone you love suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in Wisconsin, contact us to schedule your free case evaluation.
Insurance companies profit when you lose. Every claim they deny, every settlement they lowball, every injured person they convince to accept less—that’s money in their pocket. And they’re very good at what they do.
At Pemberton Personal Injury Law Firm, we’ve made it our mission to take on the insurance companies that put profits over people. We know every underhanded tactic they’ll use to cheat you out of fair compensation, and we’re prepared to fight fire with fire. When insurance adjusters see us coming, they know they’re in for a real battle. You didn’t ask to be injured.
You didn’t ask to fight a billion-dollar corporation. But now that you’re here, you deserve lawyers who will go to war for you. We don’t settle for less than full compensation, we don’t back down from tough fights, and we don’t let insurance companies bully our clients. PERIOD.
Life following a serious injury can bring intense emotions and pain. Accident victims often hope to get their lives back on track, only to be held back by the demands involved with personal injury claims. This is especially the case for individuals who become hospitalized. Wherever you are in the process, we’d be glad to help.
Our injury lawyers in Wisconsin step up to represent you. At Pemberton, we provide this advocacy at every step in the injury claims process so you can be on your way to feeling like yourself again.
Contact our Wisconsin personal injury attorneys at (608) 448-6242 to speak with one of our experienced attorneys. We will create a plan together to help you protect your rights and get you back to your life.
$40M+ Won For Our Clients
The client was involved in a motorcycle crash and suffered a brain bleed, TBI, facial fractures, broken ribs, and internal organ injuries. After initially hiring our firm, the client left for a cheaper attorney who mishandled the case. Months later, the client returned to us, and we secured the full $500,000 policy limits and reduced medical liens by $20,950.
The client was injured in a motorcycle crash, suffering a head bleed, facial fractures, broken sinuses requiring surgery, spleen removal, multiple broken ribs, and fractures to the shoulder, spine, pelvis, femur, ankle, and hip. Despite limited insurance coverage, we secured the $250,000 settlement and reduced over $1 million in medical liens down to just $30, ensuring the client kept nearly the entire settlement.
The client was rear-ended in a car versus motorcycle crash, sustaining twisted bones in the spine, nerve damage in the neck and back, a concussion, hip pain, numbness in the feet, facial cuts, and anxiety. After initial treatment was interrupted by a two-year gap due to insurance issues, proving the crash caused the injuries became complicated. The client had previously tried negotiating with the insurer alone, resulting in medical bills sent to collections and a lowball offer. We secured a $180,000 settlement—more than twice the pre-retainer offer—and negotiated nearly $22,000 in medical cost reductions.
“If you ever need an attorney, he would be the first one I recommend”
“Focus on healing and we will take care of everything on the legal side”
“If you ever need an attorney, he would be the first one I recommend”
