Toxic Mold Litigation 

Q: What is toxic mold?

Mold is everywhere. More than 100,000 species of mold have been identified in water-damaged buildings across the nation . Of these, over 100 mold species are known to cause a human illness/disease and or response. The most common types of mold that are known to cause a wide array of injuries include Stachybotrys, Aspergillus , Penicillium , and Tricholderma .

Toxic mold exposure can cause indoor air quality problems that result in serious pulmonary, neurological, digestive and skin related illnesses. An individual’s response to mold exposure can be unpredictable . While some people seem to suffer no ill effects from prolonged exposure , others become severely debilitated from only limited exposure. One’s response to exposure is affected by the individual’s own immunities, allergies and sensitivities. Pregnant women, children, immune-compromised people and the elderly appear to be particularly sensitive to mold exposure. 

Physical examinations , blood tests, allergy tests and other objective assessments provide information that may be helpful in linking exposure to mold and allergy, inflammatory or other toxic effects that may occur as a result of the exposure. Some mold exposure victims suffer from cognitive impairment secondary to toxic exposure . Neuropsychological testing is helpful to link these related symptoms to the toxins from the mold exposure.

Q : Is there anything the government is doing about this problem? 

Recent Legislation Creates Hope for the Future In 2001, California Governor Gray Davis signed two bills which may help consumers suffering from the effects of toxic mold.   The California Toxic Mold Protection Act of 2001 ( Senate Bill 732 ) requires the department of Health Services (DHS) to adopt permissible exposure limits (PELs) for mold found indoors. This is important, because no federal government agency has to date issued PELs for mold. SB 732 directs the California DHS to provide guidelines for mold remediation, disclosure requirements and public education materials. This Senate bill requires DHS to report back to the legislature on its progress in developing such guidelines by July 1,2003. The disclosure requirements will then come into effect approximately six months after DHS adopts the standards.  Once enacted, such PELs may then be used in litigation to establish negligence per se for failure to reduce levels of toxic molds that exceed the PELs in commercial ,residential and government buildings. 

The second bill geared toward protecting consumers from exposure to toxic mold is
California Assembly Bill 284 .This bill requires the DHS and the California Research Bureau to create a blue ribbon panel to study fungal contamination in indoor environments. The panel will publish findings on the health effects of mold, methods of assessing such contamination and methods for identifying, preventing and remediating mold contamination. 

Q: Do Victims of Toxic Mold Have Any Legal Rights?

Victims of toxic mold need not wait for The California Toxic Mold Protection Act to take effect before they can recover .Civil lawsuits are currently the primary means by which victims of toxic mold can be compensated and contaminated buildings can be renovated and the contaminants removed . Personal injury lawsuits for toxic exposure can be raised in landlord-tenant litigation (by apartment dwellers or office workers ), construction defect cases (by home and condominium owners ), product liability lawsuits (against the manufacturers of water heaters, ice makers, water filter systems and other water related devices that are a common source of leaks ), real estate litigation (against sellers and / or sellers’ broker who have a duty of disclosure under some circumstances ), insurance bad faith cases ( against insurers who may erroneously withhold homeowners insurance policy benefits if the mold was caused by a water leak that was covered under the policy ) , nuisance actions (for sewage back flow ).  Future monitoring costs may be compensable .


Q : What Should You Do If You or a Loved One Have Been Diagnosed with Mold Related Injuries? 

Seek the advice of an experienced attorney. The Law Offices of Mulligan & Banham are available to provide free consultation . If your case is accepted, contingency fee arrangements are available. 

The first step will be to identify how the moisture intruded into the building and how the moisture resulted in mold growth . It need not be a flood nor long standing pooling of water that created the mold. Expert industrial hygienists, microbiologists, building scientists, architects and /or building contractors may be hired to help establish this critical first step. Such experts may do microbial sampling to test the air and/or surface areas in the contaminated building. Preservation of contaminated personal property and photographs of contaminated areas are critical pieces of evidence that should be preserved for use in the case. 

The second step will be to establish how the individual was exposed to the mold growth . Occupational health physicians, allergists, pulmonologists, neuropsychologists and others may have to conduct physical examinations ,blood and allergy tests to determine what allergic, respiratory, inflammatory or other toxic effects resulted from the exposure. Asthma, respiratorytract infections, gastrointestinal problems ,brain damage and cancer have all been associated with mold exposure. 

Q: What Kind of Damages are Recoverable in Toxic Mold Cases? 

The presence of toxic mold can disrupt an individual’s life in many ways. Recovery may be huge even if the illnesses and /or property damages seem relatively minor. If the case can be proven, the victims of toxic mold may be able to recover some or all of the following damages:

• Past and future medical expenses
  

• Lost wages and loss of future earning capacity
  

• Damages for pain and suffering, mental anguish and emotional distress
  

• Evacuation/moving costs and substitute lodging
  

• Diminution in property values ( reduction in market value of the property after repairs)
  

• Cost of repairing/remediating the contaminated building
  

• Decontamination of personal property
  

• Attorney’s fees ( potentially recoverable in actions against homeowners’ associations and landlords)
  

• Punitive Damages ( potentially recoverable for fraudulent representations of habitability and/or in first part bad faith cases against homeowner’s insurers ) 
  
  

The Law Offices of Mulligan & Banham  limit their representation of toxic mold victims to those individuals whom have suffered serious personal injuries. If unable to represent you, Mulligan & Banham  will refer you to other experienced attorneys who may be able to help you Call today for a free consultation .