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Baltimore County Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Incident Kills 2 People and Sickens At Least 10 Others

By Jack Lebowitz, Esq. and Vadim Mzhen, Esq.

According to Baltimore County Fire Department Divisional Chief Michael Robinson, the rental house in Pikesville where Nelvin Salguero and Enael Lemus died from carbon monoxide poisoning on Sunday was not equipped with a CO detector. County ordinance requires that a rental property come with the device. Firefighters said the carbon monoxide levels at the home was over 11 times greater than the level of CO there would have to be for a detector to go off.

Salguero and Lemus were construction workers who boarded with the family that rented the home. They each leave behind a wife and kids. Eight other people, including two children, fell ill during the Maryland CO poisoning, as did three of the police who responded to a 911 call and arrived at the scene. At least 10 of the Pikesville injury victims were treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center or University of Maryland Medical Center.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Winter is a time for carbon monoxide leaks to commonly occur. Many CO leaks happen because an active furnace is improperly vented is turned on or because of result of improperly vented hot water heaters or generators run with kerosene or gasoline.

As our Baltimore personal injury lawyers have reported in the past, carbon monoxide poisoning is the number one cause of accidental poisoning in the US. The Journal of American Medical Association attributes 2,100 deaths annually to CO poisoning, which can also cause brain injury, heart damage, endocrine damage, and cellular injuries.

There are steps that premise owners can take to reduce the chances that a carbon monoxide incident will occur, including:

? Installing a carbon monoxide detector in the building
? Making sure that the central heating system, appliances, vents, and chimneys are properly maintained and cleaned
? Ensuring that the flues are open when using a fireplaces,
? Making sure the appropriate fuel is used in paraffin space heaters
? Not using paint remover containing methylene chloride

2 dead, 10 sick in Pikesville carbon monoxide poisoning, The Baltimore Sun, December 13, 2010

Pikesville CO victims identified, ABC2News, December 13, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, eMedicineHealth

Protect Your Family and Yourself from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, US Environmental Protection Agency

Contact our Baltimore County wrongful death law firm today.

Full post as published by Maryland Accident Law Blog on December 15, 2010 (boomark / email).