If Someone Was Seriously Hurt or Died From Carbon Monoxide at an Airbnb, You May Have a Case

The short version: Families whose loved ones were killed or seriously injured by carbon monoxide at an Airbnb-listed rental are filing cases against Airbnb. The core argument is straightforward: Airbnb controls what hosts are required to do to list a property on its platform. It had the ability to require working CO detectors in every listing. It did not meaningfully do so — and people died. If this happened to your family, you may have a case. The review is free and takes about two minutes.

If you want to go straight to a confidential case check, the form is at the bottom of this page.

What Happened — The Carbon Monoxide Problem at Airbnb Rentals

Carbon monoxide is a gas produced when fuels like natural gas, propane, or wood do not burn completely. It builds up silently inside enclosed spaces. A gas furnace, water heater, stove, fireplace, or generator at a rental property can all produce dangerous levels of CO if something goes wrong. Because CO has no smell, no color, and no taste, there is absolutely no way to know it is present without a detector.

Short-term vacation rentals — cabins, beach houses, lake houses, apartments listed on Airbnb — often do not have the same safety requirements as hotels. Many states and municipalities have no law requiring CO detectors in short-term rentals. The host who owns the property may not be on-site and may not realize there is a problem with a gas appliance. If the property has no working CO detector, there is nothing to wake up guests in the middle of the night.

Multiple families across the United States have lost loved ones to CO poisoning at properties listed on Airbnb’s platform. These families have filed cases arguing that Airbnb bore responsibility for ensuring those properties met minimum safety standards — and that a working CO detector is the most basic of those standards.

What the Lawsuits Claim Airbnb Did Wrong

The cases against Airbnb are not about a freak accident. They are about a pattern — and about what Airbnb knew and chose not to do.

• Airbnb knew CO poisoning was a risk. Carbon monoxide deaths at vacation rental properties have been reported for years. This was not a hidden or unknown danger.
• Airbnb had the power to require CO detectors. Airbnb controls what hosts must do to list on the platform. It can and does require things from hosts — certain photos, certain amenities, certain disclosures. Requiring a working CO detector was within its power.
• Airbnb did not meaningfully enforce the requirement. While Airbnb’s safety policies mention CO detectors, the lawsuits allege that the company did not verify, enforce, or follow up to ensure listed properties actually had working detectors.
• Guests trusted the platform. People who book through Airbnb do so in part because Airbnb presents itself as a trusted platform with safety standards. Guests reasonably expected that Airbnb had taken steps to ensure basic safety at its listed properties.
• The failure to act caused deaths. If Airbnb had required and enforced CO detectors, those alarms would have gone off. People would have had a chance to get out.

Who May Qualify

You or your family may have a case if all of the following are true:

• You or a family member stayed at a property that was listed on Airbnb at the time of the stay
• You or that family member died or was seriously injured from carbon monoxide poisoning during that stay
• The property had no working carbon monoxide detector — meaning there was no detector present, the detector was missing batteries, the detector was broken, or the detector failed to sound an alarm

You do not need to have filed a complaint with any government agency. You do not need a prior criminal or regulatory case. This is a civil matter, and the case check is free and confidential.

What About Filing a Case

Filing a civil case against Airbnb does not require you to have a police report, to have won a criminal case against anyone, or to have previously pursued a complaint through Airbnb. Civil cases are entirely separate from any criminal or regulatory process.

What you do need is someone who can review the facts of what happened — when it occurred, where, what kind of property it was, and what the circumstances of the injury or death were. That review is free. If you may have a case, a lawyer can explain your options and what the process looks like from there. You owe nothing unless and until your case recovers money.

A Reuters legal column published in May 2025 analyzed multiple cases that families have filed testing Airbnb’s liability. Courts are actively weighing these arguments. Cases are being filed and accepted now.

Filing Deadlines

Every state sets its own deadline for filing a civil wrongful death or personal injury case. These deadlines — called statutes of limitations — typically run from the date of injury or death, and they vary widely. Some states allow two years; others allow three or more.

In wrongful death cases, the clock often starts ticking from the date of death. In personal injury cases, it typically starts from the date of injury or the date you reasonably discovered your injury was caused by someone else’s negligence.

Because these rules vary by state and by the specific facts of your situation, the only reliable way to know if you still have time is to have it reviewed by a lawyer. The case check is free. Waiting could mean losing the right to recover entirely.

How the Process Works

Step 1 — The Free Case Check

Fill out the form on this page. Takes about two minutes. Share only what you are comfortable sharing. Our intake team reviews it privately. If it looks like you may have a case, someone reaches out within one week.

Step 2 — A Private Conversation

A team member contacts you to understand what happened at the property and the circumstances of the injury or death. This conversation is confidential and carries no cost or obligation. Nothing you share is made public.

Step 3 — Moving Forward

If you decide to move forward, you sign a simple agreement. You owe nothing unless your case recovers money. The law firm handles the legal work — you do not need to navigate the courts on your own.

Common Questions

The property had a gas appliance but I don’t know what caused the CO. Does that matter?

Not necessarily. The important facts are that CO was present, that there was no working detector, and that someone was seriously injured or killed. A lawyer can help determine the source and how it fits into the case.

We booked through Airbnb but the host also had a direct booking site. Does that affect the case?

If the booking was made through Airbnb and the property was listed on Airbnb at the time, that is what matters for this case. A lawyer can review the specifics.

We made a complaint to Airbnb after it happened. Does that affect things?

No. What you reported to Airbnb or what Airbnb said to you is part of the record, but it does not prevent you from having a case reviewed. Talk to a lawyer before signing any documents or accepting any offer from Airbnb.

Does it cost anything?

No. The case check is free. If you sign up and your case does not recover money, you owe nothing.