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Explosions may happen for several reasons in various places, and there is almost always someone responsible. Our attorney can help you take legal action and get you the compensation you deserve.
Explosions often occur for surprisingly mundane reasons. Gas leaks inside buildings may cause massive explosions. Gas lines hit by utility workers, damaged or faulty home appliances, and ordinary accelerants like gasoline or lighter fluid are common elements in explosion cases. If you were injured in an explosion accident while working, you may have other legal options, including Workers’ Compensation, depending on your circumstances.
Contact our explosion death and injury lawyers for a free, private case review by calling The Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797.
How Explosion Injuries and Deaths Can Occur in Dallas
An explosion is not just something out of an action movie. They can occur under much more ordinary circumstances and often affect many people.
Gas Leaks
Gas leaks can be difficult to detect if they are small or come from a hard-to-access location. Gas from a leak may build up over time, and it only takes one small spark to ignite an enormous blast.
Gas leaks can occur almost anywhere with a gas line. Homes, apartment buildings, and office buildings have been known to experience gas leaks and explode.
Public Works
Utility workers from private companies or from state or local governmental agencies may accidentally hit a gas line, causing a leak and explosion.
You may be able to sue the governmental entity responsible for the accident. If the state authorities hire workers to perform road or highway maintenance and the workers cause an explosion by hitting a gas line, the government may be held liable.
Suing the government is difficult, and your time to sue and available damages may be limited, so you should talk to an attorney as soon as possible.
Damages or Faulty Appliances
An explosion may occur in a private home because of a faulty appliance with electrical components, or one designed to heat up using gas (e.g., a gas oven).
The explosion could be large, and you could be badly hurt. Even small explosions that initially cause little damage can spark fires that destroy your home and endanger your life.
What if Someone is Injured or Killed in an Explosion at Work?
Some people may be injured in workplace explosions, and our workplace explosion injury attorneys can review your legal options.
Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim
A Workers’ Compensation claim generally covers medical expenses for reasonably necessary treatment and a portion of your lost income. Income benefits may cover up to 75% of your average weekly wage. If you are permanently injured and unable to work, you may continue collecting benefits with a 3% increase each year.
Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are generally unavailable in Workers’ Compensation cases.
Suing Your Employer
Generally, Workers’ Compensation laws prohibit injured employees from suing their employers for work-related accidents, such as explosions. Also, the families of employees who died in workplace explosion accidents may not sue their loved one’s employer.
However, Texas allows private employers and employees to opt out of Workers’ Compensation. If you or your deceased loved one was not covered, you may be able to sue instead.
Suing Third Parties
Whether you are covered under Workers’ Compensation insurance or not, you may sue third parties who caused the explosion.
A third party is anyone who is not within the employer-employee relationship. For example, trespassers who tamper with gas lines, manufacturers of faulty equipment that sparks an explosion, and even customers or clients may be third parties you can sue.
What Damages Should You Claim in a Lawsuit for an Explosion Death or Injury?
Explosions are often severe accidents. Many people may be badly injured, property may be destroyed, and damage will likely add up quickly.
Medical Care
Injuries from explosion accidents are known to be severe. Painful burns, severed limbs, spinal cord injuries, head injuries, and many other catastrophic injuries are somewhat common. As such, your medical bills may be extremely high and are likely to continue to climb over time.
Pain and Suffering
A lawsuit might be the only way to claim damages for pain and suffering, as these are not available through Workers’ Comp. These damages may include claims for intense physical pain, which may last for years or forever. Burns can be especially painful this way.
Our explosion death and injury attorneys should also consider psychological trauma and grief over the life you once lived. Many victims are burn survivors and live with significant scarring and disfigurement. They may also be unable to work again and must give up once-promising careers.
Lost Income
After an explosion, it would be a miracle if you could get up and go to work the next day. Most people cannot work for a long time, possibly forever. In such cases, victims may claim damages for the income they have lost and will continue to lose in the future.
Damaged Property
Property may also be damaged in an explosion. If your home is involved, it may be severely damaged or destroyed, along with all the items inside. This kind of property damage is extensive and can take time to fully determine. An attorney will make sure that you get all the compensation you deserve after such a significant loss.
Wrongful Death Damages
If you lost a family member in an explosion, you may sue for wrongful death. Families may claim damages for the lost financial support of their loved one, loss of services, and extensive damages for the pain and suffering your family must endure.
Who is Responsible for an Explosion in Dallas?
If an explosion occurred in a private residence, the property owner might be liable. However, if the explosion resulted from a leak caused by a utility company, that company may be to blame.
Determining who is responsible will vary from case to case, but individuals, businesses, government entities, and others may be on the hook.
What if Someone is Hurt in a Gas explosion at Work?
If you are injured in a gas explosion at work, you may file a Workers’ Compensation claim. However, if you or your employer opted out of Workers’ Comp, you may sue them instead.
Similarly, families of workers killed in workplace explosions can file Workers’ Compensation claims through their loved one’s employer.
What Damages Are Available in Gas Explosion or Death Cases?
Damages in a lawsuit may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Medical treatment costs
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Lost income.
How Do You Prove Responsibility for an Explosion?
Proving responsibility for an explosion may be challenging, as they can happen under various circumstances. Private property owners, businesses, utility companies, and manufacturers of appliances or equipment that can explode may be among those responsible.
Speak to Our Dallas Explosion Death and Injury Attorneys for Help Right Away
Contact our explosion death and injury lawyers for a free, private case review by calling The Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797.