Examples of propane tank explosions on the job include the following:
- Propane heat exchanger ruptured;
- Propane blow torch leaked and the vapors ignited;
- Propane tank exploded and flew into the air, causing burn and crush injuries;
- Propane tank exploded while forklift operators were changing it;
- Spark from a forklift ignited leaked propane gas;
- Tanker truck exploded;
- LP gas cylinders stored improperly.
Explosions at Home
You may be able to hold propane company and/or landlord responsible for an explosion in your home.
Many of these cases happen in a house, apartment or other residential building. In many of these cases, a propane company is responsible. If it was a rental property, there may be a case against a landlord. If an appliance was involved, there may be a case against a manufacturer, installer, or service company.
Can I Sue for a House Explosion?
Legal rights of a family in an explosion lawsuit
Families have rights when their loved one is injured or killed in an explosion.
If your loved was injured or killed in an explosion, you may have the right to sue the company responsible for the blast that forever changed your life. You can contact our law firm to find out if you have a case.
Husband or Wife
If you are the spouse of the victim, you may have legal claims to a lawsuit based on “loss of consortium” and “loss of companionship”. Loss of consortium means the loss of or detrimental change of the marital relationship.
Son, Daughter, Mother or Father
If you are the child or parent of the explosion victim, you may also have a claim for loss of companionship, particularly in the case of a minor child whose parent is severely, permanently injured or killed.
Wrongful Death
When someone dies in an explosion and it is the fault of a business, the family can file a wrongful death lawsuit, which can force the propane company or other business to:
- Hand over relevant documents and other evidence to us so that we can find the truth; and
- Get money for your family as compensation for your tragic loss and to hold the business responsible accountable.
Wrongful Death Caused by an Explosion
Propane Explosion Causes
How much money your case is worth depends on what caused your injuries and what company or companies are legally responsible.
Propane is generally stored in a tank as a liquid and used as a gas. Because it is stored under pressure, there is a risk of a tank explosion. In addition, gas that leaks out of the tank can ignite.
Possible causes include the following:
- Failure to take the appropriate measures during refill, including failure to relight appliances for homeowners;
- Improper installation of a gas stove, dryer, or other gas appliance;
- Improper maintenance of a tank; for example, not replacing an old regulator or failing to maintain any part of the system;
- Improper inspection of the tank by the gas supplier;
- Tank leaks; and
- Grill fires and explosions.
If You Could Not Smell Propane Gas before the Explosion
You may be able to sue a company for odor fade.
Because propane is an odorless gas, a chemical odorant is added to it to make sure people can smell it if there is a leak. If something happens to lessen or eliminate that smell, it is called “odor fade”.
If you could not smell gas before a propane leak explosion, there may have been odor fade. If we can prove it, you may be able to get a payout from the company responsible for the odor fade.
We won millions from a company for a client critically injured in a blast that happened when a spark ignited an invisible, odorless cloud of propane gas. We proved that the company that filled the tank prior to the blast was at fault.
Our lawyers found out that the tank, which was new, had only been filled 30%. This was a problem because the lining of the tank can react with the chemical odorant and remove the odor from the propane gas. For this reason, a new tank should be filled 100%, which prevents the deodorization.
In this case, the propane gas leaking out of the tank and filled the air. No one smelled it.
For more information about odor fade, read “Why Didn’t We Smell Propane Gas before the Explosion?”
