Fires and explosions can cause severe injuries, including burns, scarring, lung damage, hearing loss, brain injury and neurological damage. Burns are well known to be one of the most painful injuries anyone can suffer. But people are not as aware of the physical side-effects of burns or smoke inhalation, which can be deadly and can show up unexpectedly. One of the most important overlooked injuries is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which can occur as a result of the shock and trauma.
Fires and explosions are often caused by carelessness. They may be caused by faulty wiring, defective furnaces, stoves, or other electrical products, smoking, or gas leaks. They may be the result of the carelessness of a contractor, sub-contractor, supplier, or product manufacturer. Occasionally, they are set intentionally by someone – arson. Detecting the cause of a fire or explosion requires experts, and those experts should be brought in early to do their work properly. Your lawyer needs to have experience and the resources to work up a fire or explosion case properly.
For example, when the gas fires and explosions rocked the Lawrence and North Andover area in the fall of 2018, many residents called KJC Law Firm. They told of the terror of being ordered to leave their homes immediately and hearing of homes that exploded without warning. They told of the hardship of being displaced for days, weeks, or months, of moving back to cold homes with no hot water or cooking, and on the one hand wanting their gas back on, but on the other hand fearing that when it was turned back on, their home would explode without warning Kathy Jo Cook was named to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the Consolidated Class Action filed on behalf of the residents of the Merrimack Valley who were driven from their homes in fear on that catastrophic day. That case resolved by settlement for $143 million in the spring of 2020.
Whether you are injured at work, home or somewhere else, the laws regarding fire and explosion accidents are complex. You don’t have to be an expert, you just have to make sure that you have a lawyer that is experienced and prepared to navigate the system for you.
