Johnson City Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Lawyer
At Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette, we represent victims of carbon monoxide poisoning across East Tennessee, including the Johnson City and Tri-Cities area. Our personal injury attorneys understand the serious and often lasting harm that carbon monoxide exposure can cause, and we have direct experience handling carbon monoxide cases in Tennessee. If you or a family member was exposed to carbon monoxide at Milligan University or in any other establishment area, our Johnson City carbon monoxide poisoning lawyers can help you understand your rights and pursue the compensation you deserve.
The carbon monoxide leak at Milligan University’s Steve Lacy Fieldhouse brought the dangers of carbon monoxide exposure into sharp focus for the Johnson City community. More than 300 students and staff members were transported to seven Ballad Health hospitals across the Tri-Cities region after the leak was discovered on the morning of February 5, 2026. Multiple carbon monoxide detectors installed in the fieldhouse failed to activate, allowing the invisible, odorless gas to accumulate undetected. While most of those evaluated experienced mild symptoms, a number of individuals required oxygen therapy and extended observation, and the full extent of long-term health consequences for many of those exposed remains to be seen.
Understanding Carbon Monoxide Exposure in Johnson City
Johnson City and the broader Tri-Cities region of Northeast Tennessee experience cold winters that keep residential and commercial heating systems running for months at a time. Furnaces, boilers, gas water heaters, propane heaters, and fireplaces are all common sources of carbon monoxide when they malfunction, are improperly vented, or are not maintained on a regular schedule. The area’s mix of older homes, rental properties, university housing, commercial buildings, and industrial facilities creates numerous environments where carbon monoxide can accumulate if safety precautions are not properly followed.
What makes carbon monoxide so dangerous is that it is completely invisible to human senses. You cannot see it, smell it, or taste it. The only reliable way to detect a carbon monoxide leak before symptoms develop is through properly installed and functioning carbon monoxide detectors. When those detectors are missing, improperly placed, or fail to work as they should, the people inside a building have no warning that they are breathing in a potentially lethal gas. The Milligan University incident demonstrated this reality in devastating fashion: despite the presence of multiple detectors in the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse, none of them sounded an alarm.
Early symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headache, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Because these symptoms closely resemble the flu or general malaise, many victims do not immediately realize they are being poisoned. As exposure continues, more severe symptoms develop, including confusion, vomiting, blurred vision, loss of coordination, chest pain, and loss of consciousness. In the worst cases, carbon monoxide exposure leads to permanent traumatic brain injury, cardiac damage, or death. Even victims who appear to recover quickly from the initial exposure may develop delayed neurological symptoms days or weeks later, including memory problems, difficulty concentrating, mood changes, and chronic fatigue.
Who May Be Liable for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Johnson City?
Tennessee’s premises liability laws require property owners and operators to maintain safe conditions for the people who use their buildings. When a carbon monoxide leak occurs because a property owner, landlord, employer, or facility manager failed to meet this duty of care, the injured parties may be entitled to pursue a legal claim for their damages.
In a case like the Milligan University incident, multiple parties could potentially bear responsibility. The university itself, as the owner and operator of the fieldhouse, had a duty to ensure that the building’s heating systems were properly maintained and that all carbon monoxide detection equipment was functional. The company responsible for maintaining or inspecting the heating system that caused the leak could share liability if it failed to identify or repair a known hazard. If the carbon monoxide detectors installed in the building were defective, meaning they should have detected the gas but failed to do so, the manufacturer of those detectors could face a product liability claim.
More broadly, carbon monoxide poisoning claims in the Johnson City area can arise from a wide variety of circumstances. Landlords who rent out homes or apartments with poorly maintained furnaces or without working carbon monoxide detectors may be held liable under Tennessee law. Employers whose workers are exposed to carbon monoxide in warehouses, restaurants, auto shops, or industrial facilities may face claims if they failed to provide adequate ventilation or safety monitoring. Hotels and motels that do not comply with Tennessee’s carbon monoxide detector requirements put their guests at risk and may be held accountable when exposure occurs. Even homeowners who hire contractors to install or service heating equipment may have claims against those contractors if shoddy workmanship leads to a carbon monoxide leak.
Tennessee’s Carbon Monoxide Safety Laws
Tennessee has enacted several laws designed to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Since January 2016, the State Fire Marshal has required carbon monoxide detectors to be installed within ten feet of each sleeping room in every hotel or building that has a fossil fuel burning heater or appliance, a fireplace, an attached garage, or any other feature that produces carbon monoxide as a byproduct of combustion. Additional regulations enacted in 2020 require carbon monoxide detectors in boiler rooms that contain fuel-fired boilers above a certain capacity. Tennessee also requires carbon monoxide detectors in licensed daycare facilities and rental recreational vehicles.
These laws exist because carbon monoxide detectors are the first and often the only line of defense against an invisible threat. When a building owner or operator fails to install detectors, fails to maintain them, or allows them to remain in place despite being nonfunctional, they are in violation of Tennessee law and may face heightened liability if someone is harmed as a result. The fact that the carbon monoxide detectors at Milligan University’s fieldhouse were present but did not activate raises critical questions about maintenance, testing, and whether the equipment was defective, all of which are issues that a thorough legal investigation can address.
Time Limits for Filing a Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Claim
Under Tennessee Code Section 28-3-104, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is one year from the date of injury. This is one of the shortest statutes of limitations in the country, and it means that victims of carbon monoxide poisoning must act quickly to protect their legal rights. In some cases, the discovery rule may extend this deadline if the victim did not immediately realize that their symptoms were caused by carbon monoxide exposure, but this is not something victims should rely on without legal guidance.
Equally important is the preservation of evidence. In carbon monoxide cases, critical evidence can include the heating equipment that caused the leak, carbon monoxide detectors that may have failed, maintenance and inspection records, building permits and code compliance documentation, and witness accounts from the time of the incident. If a legal team is not involved early, there is a real risk that this evidence will be altered, discarded, or destroyed before it can be properly examined. For anyone exposed to carbon monoxide at Milligan University or anywhere else in the Johnson City area, consulting with an attorney as soon as possible is the best way to ensure that your rights and your evidence are protected.
Compensation for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Victims
Victims of carbon monoxide poisoning in Johnson City and throughout Tennessee may be entitled to recover compensation for a broad range of damages. These can include emergency room visits and hospital stays, oxygen therapy and hyperbaric treatment, ongoing medical care and rehabilitation for neurological or cardiac effects, lost wages during recovery, loss of future earning capacity if the poisoning causes lasting impairment, and pain and suffering for the physical and emotional toll the experience has taken. In cases where a loved one dies from carbon monoxide exposure, surviving family members may pursue a wrongful death claim to seek compensation for their losses.
Carbon monoxide exposure can also be considered a form of toxic exposure, and the legal strategies used in toxic exposure cases, including the use of medical experts, toxicologists, and engineers, are often directly applicable to carbon monoxide claims. At Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette, we have the experience and resources to build these complex cases and fight for the full value of our clients’ claims.
Contact Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette Today
If you or a loved one has been affected by carbon monoxide poisoning in Johnson City, Elizabethton, Kingsport, Bristol, or anywhere in the Tri-Cities region, the attorneys at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette are ready to help. We offer free consultations and handle carbon monoxide poisoning cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation on your behalf. Contact our team today to discuss your situation and learn how we can help you hold the responsible parties accountable for the harm you have suffered.