Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A Detroit medical examiner concluded that two unhoused children found dead in their family’s van died from carbon monoxide and not the cold, as authorities initially believed.
The official cause of death for the children, 9-year-old Darnell Currie Jr. and 2-year-old A’millah Currie, was certified Wednesday. On Feb. 10, the children were found unresponsive in the family van by their mother after the vehicle stopped running. The children, their mother, their grandmother, two siblings and their mother’s sibling were allegedly living in the van at the time, according to reporting from The Detroit Free Press.
The five children in the van ranged in age from 2 to 13 years old.
The van was parked at a casino’s parking garage for the night and the car stopped running in the middle of the night. Temperatures that day were in the low-to-mid-teens.
Authorities have not yet said what went wrong with the van, according to the Detroit Free Press. NBC News, however, reported Thursday that the children’s mother, Tateona Williams, said the van had run out of gas.
Officials believe the family was parking the van in various casino parking lots for safety, and to use the bathroom.
The family allegedly reached out to a homeless response team in November and again requested help last summer. When Williams called on Nov. 25, she
NBC News reported that “there was no resolution reached on where they would go, and an outreach worker did not visit the family.”
The mayor of the City of Detroit, Mike Duggan, called for a review of the family’s case. Last week, Duggan released a seven-point plan to address the city’s response to requests for help from the unhoused community, including the establishment of a 24-hour helpline set to run seven days a week.
A faith-based non-profit organization that helps find permanent solutions for the unhoused and other disadvantaged Detroit residents stocked the kitchen and made cosmetic improvements to a home that was gifted to Williams and her two surviving children nearly two weeks after the children’s deaths.
The home is “strictly for the mother and her children,” according to reporting from NBC. The organization is set to sit down with Williams to before the year’s end to create a “long-term housing plan” and she must transfer the utilities to her name within three months.
Leesfield & Partners Fights for Carbon Monoxide Protections in Florida
During hurricane season in Florida, when storm activity can knock down powerlines and cause outages, many families tend to rely on portable generators to power their homes.
Nationwide, close to 100 people die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning related to portable generator use. At least 41 people suffered from carbon monoxide exposure in Florida in September 2022 during Hurricane lan, a near-Category 5 storm, according to reporting from the Florida Department of Health.
In most cases, the cause of the exposure was “most likely coming from generators,” reporters said in a CBS News article.
When a Key West hotel had damage following a hurricane, they failed to hire a licensed technician to properly repair and inspect a broken roof vent. This allowed carbon monoxide to leak back into the room, slowly poisoning a family from lowa. One family member, thankfully, was able to call for emergency services before they passed out from breathing in the toxic gas.
Leesfield & Partners represented the family and other hotel guests in this case, which caught the attention of national news outlets and highlighted the dangers of carbon monoxide within the state.
Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, along with other attorneys at the firm, successfully fought for the passage of Senate Bill 1822. This law was passed as a result of the firm’s case in Key West and other tragically fatal carbon monoxide incidents throughout Florida.
What is Carbon Monoxide?
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that binds to the hemoglobin in blood, inhibiting the body’s ability to carry oxygen. Because it can go undetected, the gas can build up quickly in closed spaces undetected. As a person breathes it in, they may experience dizziness or confusion with the lack of oxygen and pass out before they are able to call for emergency services.
“Carbon monoxide poisoning isn’t just a subtle threat; it’s the second most common cause of non-medicinal poisoning death,” they said.
Previous Leesfield & Partners Cases
In the firm’s many years representing injured clients and their grieving families in Florida, our attorneys have had the privilege to handle numerous carbon monoxide cases on behalf of victims. In that time, the firm has gone up against resorts, hotels, universities and other lodging places that have failed the very guests who entrusted them with their safety. These cases have gained attention from national and international news outlets, and have been the catalysts for state laws and protections.
One such case involves an over $11 million recovery for a woman exposed to carbon monoxide while at a resort.
A student who was visiting a college campus and staying at an accommodation owned by the university had to be hospitalized after being exposed to carbon monoxide as the student slept. In an investigation, attorneys found that there was over 200 ppm inside the house. The maximum carbon monoxide level that is considered “safe” while indoors is 9 ppm over eight hours, according to gas measurement specialists. The cause of the leak in that case was found to be an exhaust pipe in from the house’s furnace.
A confidential settlement was reached in that case.
“Every casualty from carbon monoxide poisoning has been unnecessary,” Mr. Leesfield said. “We have successfully represented numerous victims of carbon monoxide poisoning for 48 years and fought hard for the passage of Senate Bill 1822.”
