In Green Oak Township, Michigan, a 73-year-old man and his dog have died, according to the Washington Times. The cause is likely carbon monoxide poisoning.

Michigan law requires at least one carbon monoxide detector in each single family dwelling and in each unit of a multi-family dwelling. (Flickr / Creative Commons / Matthew Bellemare)

The township’s police chief Jason Pless said that he and the dog were found Sunday by neighbors. This was after the man had not been seen for a few days.

The Livingston Daily reported that the source of the toxic gas was believed to be a faulty water heater. When authorities arrived to the scene, the man had been dead for a “few days.”

The man was not identified, but the police chief said that there were “elevated levels” of carbon monoxide in the home.

Michigan law requires that at least one operational and approved carbon monoxide detector be installed in each single family dwelling. It should be located in the vicinity of the bedrooms, garage, or any fuel-burning appliances. Where was the working carbon monoxide detector in this case?

It is possible that the man was sleeping and did not notice the effects of the carbon monoxide poisoning. No one is likely to notice being poisoned until they become symptomatic as the gas is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, and dizziness are among the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. More serious poisoning results in confusion, vomiting, loss of coordination, loss of consciousness, and eventually death.

About 170 people die each year from carbon monoxide produced by non-automotive consumer products in the United States on average, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Many multiples of this survive carbon monoxide poisoning and have lasting long term problems, especially because the most severe long term symptoms happen days and weeks after the poisoned individual has left the hospital.

When people breathe in high levels of carbon monoxide, it can be deadly. When one breathes in carbon monoxide, it replaces the oxygen in one’s bloodstream. Ultimately, cells throughout the body start to die, and organs start to fail, resulting in death. But in cases where death does not result, it is the body’s immune system fighting off the poison that causes the most severe damage, particularly brain damage.

Gordon Johnson

Attorney Gordon Johnson is one of the nations leading brain injury advocates. He is Past-Chair of the TBILG, a national group of more than 150 brain injury advocates. He has spoken at numerous brain injury seminars and is the author of some of the most read brain injury web pages on the internet.

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