Chicago Fire & Smoke Alarm Failure Fatality Attorney

Chicago Injury Attorneys For People Injured Due To Fire & Smoke Alarm Failure

When a smoke alarm and fire alarm work properly, they serve as invaluable tools for saving lives. In fact, it is estimated that three out of every five deaths from a house fire occurs because there was a smoke alarm failure.

According to the U.S. CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission), home fires are the second leading cause of accidental deaths happening in the house.

Alarms to detect fire, smoke and carbon monoxide are crucial to minimizing the potential for severe injuries and death. Proper installation requires that each unit is interconnected with other devices in the home. Proper maintenance includes periodic testing to ensure the unit detection system is operating as designed.

Defective Products and Improper Installation Of Alarms To Detect Presence Of Fire & Smoke

Product defects often cause a smoke alarm failure or do not correctly detect a fire. Smoke detectors are manufactured to perform using an ionization process, or a photoelectric detector to trip the sensor and set off the alarm.

While an ionization detector works well for quickly sensing fast-moving intense fires, the device usually is not capable of detecting a smoldering, or slow burning fire.

Alternatively, a photoelectric detector uses a photocell or light receptor to look for signs of smoke. When smoke appears between the receptor signal and the light source, the sensor sets off the alarm. Also, the system should be interconnected where one tripped sensor sets off all the other remaining fire alarms and smoke detectors.

Unfortunately, fire alarm failure and smoke detector malfunctions are often due to improperly installed or defective devices that are not working or working together.

Improper installation or malfunctioning device can cause the loss of significant valuable seconds to evacuate the dwelling and avoid horrific burn injuries and severe traumatic brain injuries caused by smoke inhalation. Many victims involved in a home fire die from burning flames, carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation.

Product Recalls and Inadequate Training For Installers

Fire alarm failures are an all too common occurrence and often give rise to a smoke alarm product recall. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2008, issued a carbon monoxide/smoke alarm voluntary recall due to malfunctioning devices.

Building contractors are required to follow local, and federal building codes anytime a home, apartment complex, condominium or other residence is built. Even so, homebuilders often cut corners by not providing adequate training to employees to properly interconnect smoke detectors and fire alarm systems.

Determining Accountability In the Wake of An Accident

A smoke alarm lawsuit or claim can be filed if it can be proved that the contractor, landlord, builder, or manufacturer had a duty to provide the household a working detector.

Also, that duty had to of been breached, causing burns, injuries, and wrongful death. When proven, responsible parties can be held legally accountable and made to pay financially for the damages they caused.

Filing a Failed Smoke, Fire or Carbon Monoxide Alarm Compensation Claim

When victims have been involved in a fire or suffered severe injuries as a result of smoke inhalation, they have the potential of filing a smoke alarm claim against responsible parties.

Hiring the skills of a competent attorney early on is essential, to secure the scene of the fire and locate all equipment in the house used to detect smoke, fire and carbon monoxide. It is imperative to preserve all detection systems involved in the fire to support the claim.

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC concentrates on fire alarm claims failures can hire a team of investigators and experts to inspect the devices and preserve the evidence. Detection alarms can be x-rayed, even when damaged or burned, to determine the manufacturer, the model number, and how the system was designed and installed.

Also, the law firm can quickly interview any survivor, first responder or neighbor to determine if the smoke alarm sounded during or before the fire was noticed. In some cases, the fire detectors are powered, but no sound emitted in the presence of fire or smoke.

Using the evidence, the attorneys can file smoke alarm lawsuits against the manufacturer, contractor, and installer alleging negligence and product liability.

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC at (888) 424-5757 has been successful at winning substantial financial compensation for the victims of fire when they can prove that the design, installation and maintenance of a fire system and adequately failed to warn the residents.

Other times, the lawyers show that the detectors failed to work in a smoldering fire that did not generate sufficient amounts of heat to be picked up by the ionization detector, leading to intense fire causing substantial injuries to the victims.