PUEBLO, Colo. — Two Pueblo brothers filed a lawsuit last week claiming their landlord’s negligence left them with permanent brain damage after carbon monoxide poisoning in their apartment.
Fort Collins-based Cannon Law, on behalf of Branden and Dameion Quintana, filed the complaint in Pueblo County Court on April 7 against C & S Grand Investments, LLC, and its managing member, Jason Scott Berrier.
According to the lawsuit, the two brothers were hospitalized with life-threatening carbon monoxide poisoning in April 2024 from a malfunctioning furnace, which the landlord allegedly tried to fix himself without a required license.
The property is located at 2805 N. Grand Avenue in Pueblo.
The suit claims the two brothers had no idea they were being slowly poisoned as their broken furnace continued to fill their unit with the deadly, odorless gas, which went undetected because their unit allegedly lacked a working CO detector.
The furnace malfunctioned two times in December 2023 and again in March 2024, according to the lawsuit. Each time, Berrier came to their residence and worked on the HVAC system.
However, "Unknown to the Quintanas, Defendant Berrier did not possess a mechanical license as required to work on fuel-fired appliances by the City of Pueblo," the complaint reads.
► Pueblo brothers sue landlord, say CO poisoning left them with brain damage
The complaint details the hours leading up to the April 29, 2024, hospital stay when the brothers first noticed something was wrong, both experiencing severe symptoms, as one brother stayed home and the other went out to help a friend.
The lawsuit claims that after a few hours playing Minecraft, Branden felt dizzy when he stood up for food, and he was eventually unable to stand, talk, or write a note when his girlfriend arrived.
The girlfriend immediately called 911, and Branden was transported to the hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, Dameion, who went to a friend’s house to help change her tire, was starting to feel dizzy and weak himself, almost collapsing as he finished replacing the friend’s tire, according to the complaint.
Moments later, the brother’s mom called him and told him to go to the hospital too, after learning of Branden’s hospitalization, the lawsuit read.
The brothers were discharged from the hospital early the next morning with instructions not to return home as firefighters found CO levels above 500 ppm in the apartment unit, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit claims that both men were diagnosed with long-term brain injuries.
Denver7 contacted C & S Grand Investments, LLC, and spoke with Berrier, who said they were not aware of any lawsuit and couldn’t comment on the issue because they had not yet spoken with their attorney.
The lawsuit accuses the property owner and manager of negligence, premises liability, and violating Colorado’s Warranty of Habitability, and seeks medical costs, lost income, and punitive damages.
The brothers say they’re speaking out to prevent similar incidents.
Carbon monoxide incidents in Colorado are an ongoing, persistent public health threat as CO deaths have never dropped below 40 in any year from 2000 to 2024, according to data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Colorado law requires CO detectors to be installed in all residential properties that are rented, sold or remodeled.
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