Leading Toxicology Expert Discusses Carbon Monoxide Death in Apartment Complex

This case involves a man who was exposed to carbon monoxide while living in an apartment building in a major northeastern city. At the time of the incident in question, the man had been left alone in the apartment while his girlfriend went to work. When she returned, she found her boyfriend unconscious on the kitchen floor. The man was taken to the hospital by ambulance, where he was declared dead shortly after arrival. Subsequent lab testing revealed that the man had been killed by acute carbon monoxide poisoning. The source of the carbon dioxide was believed to be a furnace that had recently been installed by an HVAC company in the building’s basement, which was directly below the couple’s apartment.

Question(s) For Expert Witness

1. How often do you treat patients who have suffered carbon monoxide exposure?

Expert Witness Response E-014412

Assessment of the causal relationship between carbon monoxide exposure and medical problems requires information on the nature of the individual's signs and symptoms, the magnitude of the dose of carbon monoxide they sustained, the temporal relationship between their medical complaints and the exposure, and knowledge of other factors that could be contributory to the medical complaints. In this instance, it seems that the proximity of the new furnace to the victim's apartment would indicate that it was a likely source of exposure.

Expert Bio

This expert is an active professor, environmental medicine practitioner, and medical toxicologist. He earned his BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University, as well as his MD from the University of California, San Francisco and his MPH in Environmental Health Sciences from the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to his academic duties, he currently works as a consultant in medical toxicology and occupational/environmental medicine. He is active on prominent committees, including the Lead Review Panel for the US EPA and the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention for the CDC.