Propane and gas explosions can cause life-altering injuries and extensive property damage. Victims often face painful injuries, time off work, costly medical bills, and a heavy emotional toll as they rebuild their lives from the ground up.
You have legal rights after an explosion caused by someone else upends your life, and you deserve fair compensation. To hold the at-fault party responsible, you’ll need to understand those rights and how to pursue the money you’re owed by navigating the legal process of personal injury claims.
What Makes Propane and Gas Explosion Claims Complex
Gas explosion cases are significantly more complicated than the average personal injury claim.
The explosion’s destructive power can destroy key evidence, and determining liability involves an in-depth investigation of multiple parties. Victims who have suffered burn injuries must act quickly and work with experienced legal teams to protect their rights.
Here’s what makes these cases so challenging:
- Multiple Liable Parties – Responsibility for an explosion can involve several entities, including gas suppliers, appliance manufacturers, property owners, or contractors who installed or maintained the system. Each one may share part of the blame, and establishing that liability requires both skill and persistence.
- Destroyed or Altered Evidence – Explosions often leave behind little more than charred debris and twisted metal. Fire suppression and cleanup efforts can eliminate critical evidence for proving your claim.
- Need for Expert Investigation – Gas explosion attorneys rely on engineers, fire investigators, and industry specialists to analyze the scene and pinpoint the source of ignition or gas leak. These experts provide the foundation for proving fault and obtaining fair compensation.
Steps to Take Immediately After an Explosion Injury
Your actions in the moments, days, and weeks after an explosion injury can make all the difference in the outcome of your case. Here’s what to do after a gas explosion:
Seek Prompt Medical Attention
Even if injuries seem minor, smoke inhalation, burns, and internal trauma can worsen quickly. Seeing a healthcare provider right away protects your health and creates vital documentation linking your burn injuries to the accident.
Report the Explosion to Authorities
Fire departments and gas utilities must document what happened. Their official reports often serve as key evidence in pursuing propane and gas explosion claims. Report the incident right away.
Preserve What Evidence You Can
Propane and gas explosions often destroy and damage a lot of key evidence. However, it’s still essential to document what you can if it’s safe to do so. Take photos and videos of the scene and save damaged items or clothing that might show burn patterns or contain chemical residue.
Don’t Discuss Fault or Sign Any Statements
Insurance companies or company investigators may try to limit their liability by contacting you to request recorded statements. You may also be asked to sign cleanup authorizations, property damage releases, witness statements, or release of liability agreements. Do not sign anything or offer any recorded statements without consulting an explosion injury lawyer first.
Contact an Attorney
The sooner you call an experienced gas explosion attorney, the faster a legal team can start investigating the accident, protecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, and consulting experts. Protect your rights by contacting one as soon as possible.
Proving Fault and Preserving Evidence
Attorneys must work alongside forensic engineers and fire scientists to determine the cause of the accident and trace it back to the liable party. This process involves the following:
- Identifying the Source – Investigators analyze gas lines, pressure regulators, tanks, and appliances to locate the leak or failure point.
- Tracing Responsibility – Attorneys examine maintenance records and inspection reports, and investigate manufacturers and distributors to determine who neglected safety protocols or sold defective equipment.
- Securing Physical Evidence – While evidence is often destroyed in explosions, personal injury lawyers can seek out any gas system components, appliances or equipment, debris and residue samples, electrical components, propane tanks, gas valves, and other physical clues that can support your claim.
- Gathering Witness Statements – Witnesses can provide powerful testimony that lends credibility to your claim. Your gas explosion attorney will seek out anyone who smelled gas before the explosion or observed the incident itself.
What Compensation Can I Claim?
Compensation for gas explosion injuries is designed to account for accident-related losses. Your attorney will likely seek compensation for the following on your behalf:
Economic Damages
This compensation includes money for measurable financial losses, such as:
- Current and future medical expenses
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Property repair or replacement costs
Non-Economic Damages
This compensation covers the personal impacts of your injuries, including:
- Pain and suffering from serious burn injuries
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Punitive Damages
In rare cases, courts may award punitive damages when a company or individual acts with reckless disregard for safety, like ignoring known gas leaks or bypassing safety systems. This compensation punishes extreme negligence and helps prevent future tragedies.
How Long Do You Have to File a Claim?
Under Wisconsin law, you typically have three years from the date of the incident to file a propane gas explosion lawsuit. Missing this deadline can bar you from recovering the compensation you deserve. Acting swiftly protects your rights and allows your attorney to build a compelling case before evidence is lost or witness memories fade.
Why Legal Representation Is Essential in Gas Explosion Cases
Propane explosion lawsuits require not only skillful legal strategy, but also in-depth technical knowledge. Here’s why working with an experienced explosion injury lawyer is essential:
- Extensive Experience – Law firms with a strong background in these complicated cases know how to identify, preserve, obtain, and present the evidence you need to recover full compensation.
- Access to Expert Networks – These cases simply cannot be won without the help of a variety of experts, engineers, forensic and product safety specialists, and chemists. A seasoned law firm has access to a network of these experts and can leverage it to build a compelling claim.
- Aggressive Negotiation – Insurance companies will fight to protect their profits by minimizing your payout. A skilled attorney can return that fight and negotiate for the settlement you deserve.
- Trial Preparation – If the insurer refuses to offer a fair settlement, your attorney can file a lawsuit and bring your claim to court, where they’ll fight for a favorable verdict on your behalf.
Ask Our Explosion Injury Lawyers How We Can Help
If you’ve suffered blast injuries or property damage in a gas or propane explosion, you need an experienced attorney to protect your rights. The team at Schwaba Law Firm knows how to pursue the accountability and compensation our clients deserve after these devastating incidents. We’ll fight for you while you focus on recovery.
Contact our personal injury law firm today for your free consultation.
