Furnaces are important household appliances that are installed in a home to provide it with heat. Most ordinary home-heating furnaces are fueled by electricity, oil, natural gas or wood, although some furnaces can be fueled by other sources. A furnace may be part of a central heating system, which provides heat throughout an entire house. A furnace, as part of a central heating and cooling system, converts fuel into heat, which a blower then circulates as warm air throughout a building.
In summer, the furnace works with a heat pump or air conditioner to draw in warm air from a building, cool it, and then recirculate the cooled air. The main components of a natural gas furnace include burners, a heat exchanger, a blower, and controls.
Some furnaces, known as space heaters, are designed to heat only a limited space, such as one room or area of the house. They may have any of the same fuel sources that a furnace that is part of a central heating system has.
As with any heating device, one of the major safety risks of furnaces is the risk of fire. The fire risk comes from the fact that the furnace is enclosed in a small space and incorporates a heating element for its operation. From the space where the furnace is enclosed, a fire can spread and cause major damage throughout a building.
Other safety issues associated with furnaces include:
- Risk of Electric Shock: This risk exists for furnaces fueled by electricity;
- Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Carbon monoxide poisoning can occur if carbon monoxide is not correctly vented and exhaust fumes are allowed to leak into homes, rather than being safely directed to the exterior of the buildings. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be deadly;
- Risk of Explosion: Again, because furnaces may involve explosive fuels, especially natural gas, they may explode if the circumstances are present.
Furnace systems are sometimes left to become outdated, especially in older homes and residential apartment buildings. Older, outdated furnaces that have not been adequately maintained can further contribute to health and safety risks. It is important to inspect a furnace on a regular basis and replace them as recommended by HVAC professionals.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Furnace Fire?
If furnace fires or accidents cause injury or property damage, this may lead to legal action. Any number of people or entities might be responsible for a furnace accident. For instance, the manufacturer of a furnace can be held liable for fires and other accidents that result from a product defect. Product defects can originate from a design defect if the furnace was originally designed in a faulty manner. Or furnace defects can result from a flawed manufacturing process. An example of this is where the manufacturer used inferior materials in the manufacture of the furnace, which caused it to be more susceptible to fire.
A product defect might result from a marketing defect. With respect to an appliance like a furnace, a marketing defect could arise when the instructions for installation or maintenance of a furnace are not adequate or are incorrect. Warnings about how it should be installed or used might be absent completely, or they might not be as complete as they should be.
The person who installed a furnace or the company the person works for may be liable for negligence if some carelessness on their part results in a furnace fire or other accident. It is possible that an installer could make a mistake when installing a new furnace and hooking it up to existing electrical wiring or ventilation systems. In any event, some failure to use due care in installation or maintaining a furnace could lead to a fire or accident. This would serve as the basis for a lawsuit for damages for negligence. A retailer who sells and installs a furnace can also be liable on a theory of strict product liability.
In other cases, a landlord or building manager can also be held liable for negligence in failing to maintain safe premises in the building. For instance, if they knew (or should have known) that a furnace was dangerous, they might be held liable if a person is injured in a furnace fire or other accident involving the malfunction of a furnace.
Are There Any Legal Remedies in a Furnace Fire Lawsuit?
Furnace fire incidents may result in a lawsuit seeking compensatory damages. A lawsuit for product liability or negligence would seek money damages to compensate all people who were injured for their losses. The damages award may cover such expenses as hospital bills, the costs of medical care provided by doctors and physical therapists, lost wages or salary, and, if appropriate, lost earning capacity.
In addition, in a fire, significant damage to structures is a real possibility. A fire can destroy a structure completely, and if people live in it, they lose their homes. A lawsuit would seek to recover damages to repair or replace structures that have been damaged or lost completely. Also, if people lose their housing, those harmed in this way would seek compensation for the cost of locating alternative housing.
In addition, some furnace fires can result in other consequences, such as a class action lawsuit or a product recall. These can occur if many people report being affected by accidents involving a specific furnace product.
Furnace recalls happen when a number of consumers report problems and manufacturers are then urged to alert their customers to possible dangers involved in the use of their products. The recall is supposed to warn consumers before a fire or other accident takes place, so as to prevent injury to people and property damage.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is the federal government agency responsible for issuing warnings about recalls of consumer products. It makes the information about which models have been subject to recalls available to the public. Anyone who has experienced problems with a furnace may want to contact the CPSC, and this can be done by calling the agency or visiting its website at http://cpsc.gov.
A person can visit the Furnace Recall page of the CPSC’s website to see the manufacturers have been involved in recalls, how the recalls were conducted by the companies responsible and the results of any lawsuits that have been filed in connection with accidents and injuries sustained due to faulty furnaces. The furnace models that have been subject to recalls are listed, including serial numbers of those particular furnaces. One can find information about recalls related specifically to carbon monoxide leaks.
Furnace recalls also involve a variety of different remedies for consumers who have the recalled furnace. There may be a complete replacement of the furnace or a total refund of the price paid for the furnace. Or a company might offer a partial refund or voucher that can be used towards the purchase of a new furnace. This is especially likely if the company is involved in a voluntary recall and there have not been fires or accidents that have caused injury or property damage.
Another remedy that companies offer is a replacement of faulty parts at a company’s expense and repair kits which may be installed by the furnace owner’s contractor of choice. A claim made on a furnace listed as a recalled item is not time-limited. Federal law requires manufacturers to replace or repair faulty parts without limit as to time.
But a person cannot benefit from a CPSC furnace recall if they do not know about it. A person might hear from a furnace manufacturer, but it would pay for a consumer who may have purchased a new furnace of any kind to be proactive and visit the CPSC website to see if it has been recalled. If a person is buying a new furnace, they might ask the dealer or installer how they can be sure that they will be notified of any recall of the product.
Do I Need a Lawyer for Help with a Furnace Fire Lawsuit?
If you have been injured or your property damaged by a furnace fire or other accident, you should contact a personal injury attorney to learn about your options. Your attorney can play a role in determining the cause of the fire or accident and whether it involves a product defect of some kind or negligence on the part of a company, installer, or building owner.
Determining the cause of a furnace fire or accident and then proceeding with legal action for compensation can be complicated and technical. Consultation with an expert may be necessary. A personal injury lawyer is knowledgeable about working with experts. This is the type of case that really requires the expertise of an experienced personal injury attorney.
A defective product lawyer can offer helpful advice if you have been offered a particular kind of remedy as part of a recall. It can be helpful to consult a lawyer to find out if the remedy offered by a company offers enough protection to you as a consumer or whether you should ask for a different remedy. If there has been a recall of your furnace, it is important to use that to your best advantage. A consumer product lawyer can prove very helpful in a recall situation.
