Nausea, headaches and other symptoms allegedly caused by a fireplace gas leak have caused Vancouver residents Margaret Elizabeth Edwards and Dr. John Philip James Pinel to seek redress through the courts.
Edwards and Pinel are seeking damages from Kenorah Construction & Design Ltd. and Parkinson’s Heating Ltd., arguing negligence, breach of contract and breach of duty of care.
The statement of claim, filed in BC Supreme Court December 21, 2011, alleges that in 2007, the plaintiffs hired Kenorah as general contractor for some renovations, for which the couple temporarily moved out of their residence. The court document states that Kenorah hired Parkinson’s as a subcontractor on the project.
The suit states that one of the two companies removed the living room gas fireplace and stored it in the garage and then re-connected it in or around June 2008. It claims that when the couple moved back into their residence in November 2008, they noticed that a hinge on the fireplace was broken and embers were missing.
It claims that Kenorah refused to return to their home to investigate.
The court document then states that in February 2009, Parkinson’s serviced the three gas fireplaces at the plaintiffs’ home, including the living room fireplace and replaced its broken hinge.
“In 2009, [Edwards and Pinel] developed symptoms including headaches, loss of balance, loss of concentration, inability to complete simple tasks and multi-task, nausea and fatigue,” the suit alleges.
It states that in November 2009, Parkinson’s again serviced all the household fireplaces.
“On or about January 1 to 4, 2010, [Edwards and Pinel] suffered from serious headaches, nausea and loss of appetite,” it claims.
The document states that, as a result of the symptoms, the plaintiffs then called their gas supplier, the former Terasen Gas, and were told to leave their residence immediately.
It alleges that a Terasen Gas technician then inspected the gas sources and informed the plaintiffs that the fireplace was leaking carbon monoxide gas.
“The technician turned off the gas supply, [and] tagged the fireplace with a red card that stated ‘Danger-Notice of Hazardous Condition,’” the document claims.
The claim alleges that a gas fitter from Parkinson’s then came to inspect the fireplace and found it was not connected or not properly connected to the vent.
None of these allegations have been proven in court.
As of press time, no statement of response had been filed. •
