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Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Pennsylvania: Detectors and Landlord Duties

Symptoms are mistaken for flu, and the exposure is often documented by the fire service.

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Kenneth R. Schuster, founding member of Schuster Law
Kenneth R. Schuster Founding Member. Practicing in Delaware County since 1982.

Carbon monoxide poisoning claims usually involve a faulty heating appliance, a blocked flue, or a missing detector. Symptoms are routinely mistaken for flu, and delayed neurological effects can appear weeks after apparent recovery, which is why blood testing and documentation at the time matter enormously.

Why it is missed

Headache, nausea, dizziness, confusion and fatigue read as flu, particularly in winter when heating systems are running and viral illness is common. Whole households are treated for a virus while the boiler continues to leak.

The distinguishing feature is that everyone in the building is affected at once, and symptoms improve away from the property and return on going back. Pets are affected too, often first.

Where it comes from

  • Faulty or poorly serviced furnaces, boilers and water heaters.
  • Blocked or damaged flues and chimneys.
  • Improperly installed or vented appliances.
  • Generators run in or near enclosed spaces, particularly after storms.
  • Vehicle exhaust in attached garages.
  • Faulty gas ranges used for heating.

Detectors

Pennsylvania requires carbon monoxide alarms in certain residential occupancies, and requirements have expanded over time. A missing, disconnected or expired detector in a rental is frequently the center of the claim.

Detectors also have a finite life and expire, which landlords routinely overlook. A unit that was installed once a decade ago may not be a working detector at all.

Get tested and get it documented

Carboxyhemoglobin levels fall once you are removed from the source, and they fall faster with oxygen treatment. A level measured hours later may look unremarkable even after significant exposure.

Tell the treating clinicians that carbon monoxide is suspected so the right test is done promptly, and get the fire service or utility reading of the property recorded, because that measurement is independent and durable.

Delayed neurological effects

This is the part that gets missed. Some people appear to recover and then develop cognitive difficulty, memory problems, personality change and movement disorders weeks later. It is a recognized phenomenon.

Anyone with significant exposure should be followed up, and neuropsychological testing may be needed to document what changed. A claim settled at apparent recovery does not cover what appears afterwards.

The attorneys who handle these cases

Every one of these bar numbers is searchable on the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board register. The person who takes your call is the person at your hearing.

Questions people ask us about this

How do I know it was carbon monoxide and not flu?

The distinguishing features are that everyone in the building is affected at once, symptoms improve when away from the property and return on going back, and pets are affected, often first. Blood testing while still symptomatic is what confirms it.

Is the landlord responsible for a detector?

Pennsylvania requires carbon monoxide alarms in certain residential occupancies and the requirements have expanded over time. A missing, disconnected or expired detector is frequently the center of the claim, and detectors do expire, which landlords routinely overlook.

My blood test came back normal.

Carboxyhemoglobin levels fall once you are away from the source and fall faster with oxygen treatment, so a level measured hours later can look unremarkable after significant exposure. The fire service or utility reading of the property is independent evidence that does not fade.

I felt better and then got worse weeks later.

That is a recognized phenomenon. Delayed neurological effects including cognitive difficulty, memory problems, personality change and movement disorders can appear after apparent recovery. Anyone with significant exposure should be followed up, and a claim settled at apparent recovery will not cover it.

What should be preserved?

The appliance and flue as they are, the fire service and utility readings and reports, service and maintenance records for the heating system, the detector itself including its manufacture date, and any prior complaints you made in writing.

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