EXPLOSIONS AND FIRES

Imagine waking in your second floor bedroom to the smell of smoke from the first floor of your apartment. No smoke detectors were in place to warn you because the landlord was trying to save money by not replacing them when they failed. You go to your bedroom door and open it to make certain your wife and daughter are safe, only to be knocked to the floor by a wall of smoke and flame. You manage to close the door but are overcome by smoke and fall to the floor, semi-conscious. Fortunately, the greater level of breathable air on the floor allows you to revive, get up and throw a chair through the bedroom, allowing you to jump from the window to the concrete patio below, breaking both your heals and becoming permanently disabled. You are rushed to the hospital with lung damage, where to your great relief; you learn that your family is safe. They had been out when the fire started.

The cause of the fire is determined to be a defective wall heater. Effective legal representation resulted in a substantial recovery from the responsible party.