Carbon monoxide poisoning at work · Carbon Monoxide Kills

Carbon monoxide at work: your options, explained.

Warehouses, kitchens, garages and job sites often run fuel-powered equipment indoors. When ventilation, monitoring or maintenance fail, workers breathe the result.

By Rob Aiers, founderWe have over 25 years dealing with CO cases. We know what makes a case and what doesn’t.Updated 21 Oct 20266 min read

The short answer

In brief

If you were poisoned by carbon monoxide at work, workers’ compensation is usually the main route against your employer. You may also have a separate claim against other companies, such as the maker of a forklift, heater or generator, or a contractor who maintained the ventilation. Report the exposure in writing and get medical care straight away.

Where it happens

Common sources include propane and gasoline forklifts, floor buffers and concrete saws used indoors, kitchen and bakery ovens, loading docks with idling trucks, parking garages, boiler rooms, and generators or heaters on construction sites. Poor ventilation turns an ordinary task into a dangerous one.

Exposure limits

Limit	What it means
50 ppm	OSHA permissible exposure limit, averaged over an 8-hour shift.
35 ppm	NIOSH recommended exposure limit, averaged over a 10-hour day.
200 ppm	NIOSH ceiling: a level that should never be exceeded.

Sources: OSHA, NIOSH. Your employer should be able to show monitoring results for areas where fuel-burning equipment runs indoors.

Workers’ comp and third parties

Workers’ compensation generally covers medical care and part of lost wages without needing to prove fault, but it usually prevents you from suing your employer directly. A third-party claim is different: it is brought against someone other than your employer, and it can include losses that workers’ comp does not.

Workers’ compensationFrom your employer’s insurer. No need to prove fault.

Equipment manufacturersForklifts, saws, heaters or generators that were unsafe or poorly labeled.

ContractorsCompanies that installed or maintained ventilation, boilers or monitors.

Property ownersWhen the workplace belongs to someone other than your employer.

Workers’ comp is often only part of the answer. Other companies may share the blame.

What to keep

Your written report of the exposure and the date you made it.
Medical records, including any COHb blood test and when it was taken.
Names of coworkers who were present or also felt unwell.
Details of the equipment: type, make and where it was used.
Any OSHA complaint or inspection record.

Questions

Will I lose my job if I report it?

Federal and state laws protect workers who report safety hazards. If you are worried, speak to an attorney before or soon after you report.

My symptoms started after I went home. Does it still count?

Yes. Carbon monoxide symptoms often appear or worsen after a shift, and some effects are delayed by days or weeks.