You can sue for a house explosion if there is sufficient evidence against a landlord, gas company, propane business, or another company to support your personal injury or wrongful death claim. Your lawyer may be able to negotiate a settlement before a lawsuit is filed, but you need to know that you have a limited time to file. Call our law firm at 1-888-377-8900 if you need help.
Below our lawyers answer frequently asked questions.
Who Can I Sue if I Was Injured When My House Exploded?
In every case, one of the most important legal issues is who is “liable” (who can be sued). The answer depends on what caused the explosion.
Propane Tank
In propane tank explosions, the liable parties could be one or more of the following:
- landlord;
- company that installed, filled, or serviced the propane tank;
- manufacturer of the tank or any defective part.
Natural Gas
Finding all of the liable parties for explosions involving natural gas can be difficult. We look at the following businesses to determine who to sue:
- landlord (usually a company, even if owned by one person);
- gas company (corporate documents need to be looked at to determine if there is also a liable parent company);
- heating company;
- construction contractor and/or subcontractor (in most cases, these lines are installed with the help of companies that are not legally related to the gas company);
- manufacturer;
- totally unrelated company or government (city, county, state) that punctures the gas line (yes, one can sue a city, county or state under certain circumstances).
It is important to make sure all of the liable parties are sued because that will help ensure you get all of the compensation you deserve under the law.
Gas Appliance
When the investigation points to a gas appliance (stove or wall oven, refrigerator, freezer, dryer, furnace, water heater, grill) as the cause, the liable parties may include one or more of the following:
- landlord (old appliance or poorly maintained appliance);
- company that recently installed or “fixed” the appliance;
- manufacturer of the appliance.
What if the House Explosion was Caused by a Recalled Product?
Periodically, gas appliances are recalled. Certain products sold under the following brands have been recalled: Frigidaire, GE, Kenmore, Electrolux, Wolf, Maytag, Thermador, Amana, Magic Chef, and Tappan. You can find recall information on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website.
When an explosion and/or house fire is caused by a recalled product, we need to make sure we have solid evidence that the will convince a jury that the recalled product was indeed the cause, at least in part. Most people do not realize that a manufacturer can be liable even if the product was only partially at fault for the personal injury or wrongful death.
In most lawsuits involving a recalled product, there are 3 separate claims for compensation: strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty. “Strict liability” means the manufacturer has to compensate you because they sold a dangerous or defective product that injured you. You will not need to prove that the company intentionally or negligently sold the product. “Negligence” means doing something carelessly. For example, if the company should have used a specific screw on the product to make it safe and they unintentionally did not, that is negligence. “Breach of Warranty” is a theory of liability based on contract law, which states that a company warrants that products sold are fit for use. If a product is defective, it is not fit for the intended use and the warranty is breached. This may be more than you wanted to know about liability. If you have questions, you can call our law firm at 1-888-377-8900 and talk to one of our lawyers for free.
How Much Will This Cost Me?
If you hire our explosion lawyers to represent you, you will not need to pay us unless we win your case. Because we are a successful law firm (recoveries over $10 million), we have the resources to foot the bill until we win money for you.