Skip to Content

Propane Explosion Injuries

propane and natural gas explosionsAttorney Cullotta Discusses How Propane Explosions Occur & What Injuries May Happen To You As A Result of The Explosive-Related Blast

An injury resulting in a traumatic brain injury or amputation of limb can be tremulous.  The trauma of a propane or natural gas explosion can end or change your life in an instant by changing how you see, look, walk, talk, think, perform daily tasks.

a.     Some Causes of Propane or Natural Gas Explosions

Explosions often involve a defects or leaks (valves or hoses).  Safety mechanisms do not work 100% of the time.  That is why it is a good idea to check your pipes, fittings, and valves like you check you smoke detectors. The risk of death or injury from a gas explosion is greater when you can't see or smell it.  State and Federal regulations require chemical odorants be added so a propane leak can be detected.

Propane or natural gas explosions can also occur with or without warning. 

Propane Explosions can occur without warning if the propane tank has insufficient labeling, contain insufficient added chemical odorants (rotten egg smell), chemical odorant added to propane tank decreases to undetectable levels, propane tank itself explodes due to A BLEVE (pressure in the propane tank exceeds the pressure it can safely vent), a leak forming in the piping or tank, or piping coming loose.

b.     Explosions Are a Leading Cause of Traumatic Brain Injuries that may result in secondary injuries like blindness, cognitive impairments, changes the inability to perform daily tasks.

Explosions Can Cause Traumatic Brain Injuries 

In addition to an IL motor vehicle accident or a slip and fall, explosions can cause Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). The brain can be hurt it struck or it strikes an object or the sudden acceleration and deceleration of the brain surrounded by a hard skull.  

Explosions with or without warning can cause rapid movement of the brain inside the skull as the body blown back from the force of the blast. The acceleration and deceleration of the brain often cause diffuse axonal injury or shearing and tearing of axons.

The majority of people who suffer from TBI fully recover (usually within days to months).  The post-concussive syndrome occurs when the brain injury symptoms to this type of mild brain injury persist beyond, however, researchers may be one step-changing that.

Explosions Can Cause Vision Loss

A traumatic brain injury’s secondary effect may be loss of vision.  A recent study involving monkeys aims to restore vision after damage to eyes or optic nerve injury through a Cortical visual prosthesis. Scientists created an implant that allows monkeys to perceive artificially induced patterns in their brains.

Vision happens when light enters the lens of the eye and hits the retina, which results in an electrical signal within the visual cortex at the back of the brain and via the optic nerve. 

This study aims to restore vision using electrodes to directly stimulate vision in the brain.  Researcher Roelfsema said he and his team hope to make similar devices for humans in about three years. ‘[W]e want to create new types of electrodes that are better accepted by the body,’ he said... Ultimately, a wireless solution would be best.  Fortunately, wireless devices that interface with the brain are advancing rapidly.

Explosions Can Cause Traumatic Amputation

The loss of limb may be partial or complete. A complete amputation is the entire detachment of the limb from the body. Blast injuries have resulted in a pattern of multiple lower limb amputations, with associated severe abdominal, pelvic or genitourinary injuries. 

Contact Us

The trauma of a propane explosion can end or change your life in an instant. Contact attorney Cullotta about your blast injuries or accident.  Call Cullotta Law Offices if you or a loved one have sustained an injury/amputation, or a loved one has died as a result of a explosion wrongful death.  Or contact us using our online form.

Contact Us

PaperStreet Web Design

2624 Patriot Blvd. Glenview, IL 60026 Phone: 847-651-7191 - Fax: 847-651-7191