How an Explosion Injury Lawyer Can Help You Get the Maximum Recovery in New York City

An explosion injury lawyer can help you get compensation from the right parties when you have suffered any type of injury arising from an explosion. When you or a loved one has been a victim of an explosion, call us immediately so we may be able to help you. Rest assured, the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin PLLC will not charge any attorney’s fee for an explosion accident injury until we have received a favorable settlement or judgment for you.

If you are looking for an explosion injury lawyer, we at the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin are here for you. You can call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at [email protected].

Causes of explosions

Explosion injuries usually arise from workplace accidents, though explosions can also be caused by a car accident. Explosions in buildings and residential homes are usually caused by gas leaks, steam, or defective electrical equipment. In the workplace in New York, most explosions happen in a construction site, a railyard, or a chemical or industrial plant. Whatever the cause, negligence can usually be attributed to at least one party.

Wrongful death

Explosion injuries are usually severe and fatal, with some resulting in wrongful death. If your family member died due to an explosion, the surviving spouse, children or parents can bring a wrongful death lawsuit. Our legal team can help you get the appropriate compensation due to you in a wrongful death case. These damages can include funeral and burial expenses, health care expenses related to the last injury or illness, financial support that would have been contributed to the family, the value of parental nurturing, care, and guidance to surviving children, conscious pain and suffering that the deceased suffered prior to death, plus interest on the damages, calculated from the date of death.

Explosion survivor

If you are a survivor of an explosion, we can help you obtain fair compensation for your damages, which include pain and suffering, medical expenses, mental anguish and emotional distress, physical disability, physical disfigurement, lost wages, and punitive damages.

Damages recoverable in an explosion injury case

Your explosion injury lawyer will analyze your situation to see who to file a case against and what damages you will be able to recover. It would depend on the severity of your explosion injury, the type of medical treatment you need, whether long-term medical treatment is required, whether you will sustain long-term damage, or if you have lost employment or had to take a leave of absence because of the injury.

Types of Explosions That Cause Personal Injury Cases

Explosion cases that come to our office tend to fall into several recognizable categories:

• Natural gas explosions. Leaks from underground mains, service lines, or interior piping accumulate in walls and basements until an ignition source sets off the explosion.
• Propane explosions. LPG cylinders, lines, and appliances can leak. Propane is heavier than air and pools in low areas, which makes it particularly dangerous.
• Boiler and steam explosions. Overheated, over-pressurized, or improperly maintained boilers can fail catastrophically. Older buildings in New York City have a long history of boiler incidents.
• Chemical and industrial explosions. Workplace chemicals, dust accumulations, reactive material storage, and process plant failures can all produce explosions.
• Electrical explosions and arc flashes. High-voltage equipment can fail explosively, with intense thermal and pressure effects.
• Fuel tank and fuel line explosions. Vehicle fuel systems, generator tanks, and stored fuel can ignite, particularly in collision or in fire conditions.
• Pyrotechnic and fireworks incidents. Professional and consumer fireworks injuries follow a similar pattern of high-energy thermal and blast damage.
• Battery and lithium-ion explosions. E-bike batteries, scooter batteries, and other lithium-ion devices have produced a wave of explosion-related injuries and fatalities in recent years.

Who Can Be Held Responsible

Identifying the correct defendants is one of the first jobs of an explosion injury lawyer. Potential defendants include:

• Property owners and landlords. Especially where the explosion arose from on-property piping, equipment, or maintenance failures.
• Building managers and management companies. Where operational control of the building lies with a manager separate from ownership.
• Utility companies. Con Edison, National Grid, and other utilities have responsibility for their distribution mains and certain service lines.
• Contractors and subcontractors. Including plumbers, gas fitters, electricians, mechanical contractors, and excavation companies.
• Product manufacturers. Of stoves, ovens, water heaters, furnaces, boilers, dryers, generators, and other appliances or industrial equipment.
• Distributors and retailers. Of fuel, batteries, fireworks, and other products that contributed to the explosion.
• Employers (in certain limited circumstances outside the workers' compensation exclusivity).
• Inspectors and code enforcement officials. In narrow circumstances where they negligently approved work that caused the explosion.

Lithium-Ion Battery Explosions

The proliferation of e-bikes, e-scooters, and other lithium-ion-powered devices has produced a dramatic increase in battery explosion incidents in New York City. The Fire Department of New York has reported hundreds of lithium-ion battery fires annually, with multiple fatalities. Many of these incidents involve aftermarket or counterfeit batteries, batteries damaged in prior incidents, batteries charged with incorrect chargers, or batteries left charging overnight. We have handled cases involving battery manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and apartment landlords who knew about charging activities in their buildings.

Construction-Site Explosions

Construction-site explosions usually arise from gas line strikes during excavation, propane heater incidents, fuel storage violations, or welding near combustible materials. New York's Labor Law provides specific protections for construction workers under Sections 200, 240, and 241. Section 240 (the "scaffold law") and Section 241(6) impose strict and near-strict liability for certain elevation-related and code-violation accidents. Workers injured in construction-site explosions often have claims under these statutes against owners and general contractors in addition to claims against subcontractors and equipment manufacturers.

What to Do Immediately After an Explosion

• Seek medical attention even if injuries seem minor. Blast injuries and inhalation injuries can be serious without obvious external signs.
• If you are able, document the scene with photographs and video, especially before utility companies and fire investigators clean up.
• Get the names and contact information of every witness.
• Preserve clothing, footwear, and other items that may carry physical evidence.
• Save all communications about the incident — text messages, emails, voicemails, and prior complaints to the landlord or utility.
• Do not give recorded statements to insurance adjusters without consulting a lawyer.
• Do not sign releases or other documents that look like settlements.
• Call an explosion injury lawyer as soon as possible to preserve evidence and identify all potentially responsible parties.

Preserving Evidence Before It Disappears

Explosion scenes get cleaned up quickly. Demolished walls are torn down, debris is hauled away, damaged pipes are replaced, and witness memories fade. Within days of being retained, we typically send spoliation letters demanding preservation of all relevant evidence, retain forensic engineers to inspect the scene, photograph and video the entire site, and obtain copies of all available agency reports. Where physical evidence has already been moved, we sometimes locate it at a storage yard or laboratory and arrange independent inspection.

Working With Experts

Every serious explosion case requires expert support. The most common experts include forensic mechanical engineers (for boiler and equipment cases), fire investigators (for ignition source analysis), metallurgists (for failed components), chemists (for fuel and chemical cases), accident reconstructionists, life-care planners (for catastrophic injury cases), economists (for lost earnings calculations), and treating doctors and rehabilitation specialists who can describe long-term medical needs. Coordinating expert testimony to tell a coherent story to the jury is one of the central skills of an explosion injury lawyer.

Catastrophic Injuries and Lifetime Care

Explosion victims often require lifetime medical care. Burn survivors may need decades of reconstructive surgery, scar revision, and rehabilitation. Traumatic brain injury survivors may need ongoing neurological care, cognitive rehabilitation, and assistance with daily activities. Spinal cord injuries may require wheelchairs, home modifications, and personal care attendants for life. We build cases that capture the full present and future cost of care, including replacement costs for assistive equipment over a normal life expectancy.

Wrongful Death Compensation

When an explosion takes a life, New York's wrongful death statute (EPTL 5-4.1 to 5-4.6) controls. Compensable damages include funeral and burial expenses, medical care for the last injury, pecuniary loss to the distributees, loss of parental guidance for surviving children, conscious pain and suffering before death, and interest on damages from the date of death. New York has historically been one of the more restrictive states on emotional distress damages in wrongful death cases, though that has been the subject of recent legislative attention.

Contingency-Fee Representation

We represent explosion injury clients on a contingency basis. You pay nothing up front. Our fee is a percentage of any recovery, and we advance the substantial costs of expert witnesses, accident reconstruction, depositions, and exhibits. If there is no recovery, you owe us nothing for our time. This arrangement is essential because explosion cases require significant up-front investment that most injured families cannot afford.

Time Is Critical

When you have sustained explosion injuries, you need to call us immediately. Rest assured, you do not need to pay attorney's fees from an explosion accident injury until we receive a favorable settlement or judgment for you. Should you need assistance, we at the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin are here for you. We have offices in New York City, Brooklyn, NY and Queens, NY. You can call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at [email protected].