Word: mold
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Amid the frenzy, a cottage industry of fungus busters, mold lawyers and support groups is growing. On June 4 a jury found that Farmers Insurance should pay Melinda Ballard of Dripping Springs, Texas, $32 million for mold damage to her 22-room, hilltop mansion and for her ensuing mental anguish. In May the Delaware Supreme Court upheld a $1 million jury award to Elizabeth Stroot of Wilmington, Del., who claimed that moldy water leaking into the bathroom of her apartment aggravated her asthma and caused cognitive disorders...
Faced with a rising number of claims, insurers and home builders are looking for ways to minimize their liability. Farmers, which estimates that in Texas alone it will have to shell out $85 million in mold claims, has simply eliminated coverage in some 30 states. Says Janet Bachman, vice president of the American Insurance Association: "We are not the guarantors of public health." The California building industry tried and failed to push through a "home warranty" bill, under which homeowners could be required to enter binding arbitration instead of suing for defects...
...much of the crisis is based on hard science and how much stems from plain old hysteria--fanned by news reports and plaintiffs' lawyers--is a hotly contested issue. Mold, after all, is everywhere, from the tasty Roquefort cheese in your salad dressing to the nasty black stuff clinging to the grout in your bathroom. Doctors know that certain strains can trigger allergic reactions, asthma and other respiratory ailments. They have discovered that toxins produced by aspergillus molds can cause cancer. But proving that a mold in this house caused this person's nosebleeds or mental confusion is a notoriously...
Among the skeptics, Dr. Emil Bardana, of Oregon Health & Science University, argues that most people will experience little more than "transient irritations," such as a runny nose or teary eyes, that clear up once the mold is removed...
Others are not so sure. In a study published in 1999, Mayo Clinic researchers concluded that mold causes most chronic sinus infections. Even more alarming, several researchers believe that molds can cause some types of brain damage. Wayne Gordon, a neuropsychologist, and Dr. Eckardt Johanning, both of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, have seen enough patients whose problems with memory, learning and concentration occurred only after exposure to stachybotrys to convince them there is a relationship. Still, they concede, more research is needed...