Attorney baltimore mesothelioma

Black mold the next darling of product liability cases

It was not so long ago that asbestos was the insulation that covered everything -- heating systems, car parts, municipal water pipes, shingles, siding, floor tiles and even ironing boards.

But since the 1970s, the fireproof substance has been the source of 550,000 lawsuits, more than $20 billion awarded in related claims and costs, and has caused the bankruptcy of almost 60 companies, according to the American Academy of Actuaries.

Inhalation of asbestos has been found to cause, among other diseases, lung cancer and mesothelioma -- malignant tumors on the lining of the chest, abdomen and heart. About 2,000 people per year still are dying of mesothelioma.

Employers that manufactured asbestos-containing products, the mining companies who gathered it and the contractors, builders, architects and landlords that used it in their buildings all have been held accountable for the injuries the substance has caused.

Asbestos was the plaintiffs' lawyers' dream. It revolutionized the filing of mass claims and the litigation it prompted has swept the country for decades.

But now there's a new gang in town, and it goes by the name black mold.

Stachybotrys chartarum, as the greenish-black mold is known in scientific circles, grows indoors on materials like fiberboard and paper if exposed to constant moisture -- water leaks, excessive humidity and the like.

It emits toxic chemicals called mycotoxins that can be inhaled on the airborne spores the mold produces. The mold can cause cold-like allergic symptoms in some people, especially those with pre-existing lung conditions like asthma.

But, some are saying, it also can kill.

Killer

People across the country are claiming that toxic mold has taken the lives of their infant children or elderly parents, and though no medical consensus has been reached on the topic, they are winning cases in court.

While the black mold phenomenon only recently is starting to build, legal experts in Baltimore and across the country are speculating that mold could be the next asbestos -- a boon to plaintiffs' lawyers and a windfall for their clients.

"This is litigation that, in some jurisdictions, has really taken hold," said Barron L. Stroud, an attorney with the Baltimore office of McCarter & English. "It has the potential to be one of the next big waves in product liability legislation, both in the personal injury realm and also in suits brought on behalf of landowners or people whose property is damaged by mold."

Builders, subcontractors, architects and landlords are being held liable for the property damage -- and injuries -- caused by the toxic mold.

The MCS Group Inc., a record retrieval firm, stocks attorneys with the documents they need to deal with lawsuits of all types. And as requests for asbestos-related documents are tapering off, interest in black mold is increasing, said Matt Blake in MCS' Baltimore office.

"We believe this is going to be as large as the asbestos litigation has been," Blake said.

The medical consequences of the mold still are under debate, as it has not been proven conclusively to be fatal to infants, the elderly, or those made vulnerable by lung conditions.

But that hasn't stopped people from filing claims against their landlords and builders, saying that negligence in removing the mold allowed it to flourish, or that poor construction created ideal conditions for its growth.

"Moisture is the reason builders and subcontractors and architects are often held responsible," said Stroud, whose firm has defended clients against mold claims and has published numerous articles on the litigation.

When conditions such as a leaky wall, the right type of wood and the perfect temperatures combine, the mold grows and releases its airborne spores. If the mold is not cleaned away properly -- and if the construction flaws causing the humid conditions are not corrected -- landlords and builders can be held responsible, Stroud said.

Plaintiffs say ...

Plaintiffs' lawyers are insisting the mold can make people sick, and courts across the country have found landlords or builders liable for negligence that has led to deaths or illness.

"The mold causes terrible, terrible bronchitis," said H. Morton Rosen, a Baltimore plaintiffs' attorney who has been studying black mold cases.

Black mold "exacerbates allergies or asthma," Rosen said.

Problems occur when the mold is not removed properly, Rosen said - - when a landlord or homeowner decides to "paint over the mold. That doesn't get rid of it."

Plaintiffs' attorneys like Rosen -- and even document-retrieval services like MCS -- are beginning to notice the interest in black mold and put out feelers for clients, Blake said.

"There are several attorneys out there who are marketing for this type of litigation, simply because of the adverse health effects people have suffered," Blake said. "What I'm doing is putting the word out that this is the type of [litigation] we specialize in."

MCS can gather medical records on patients for both defense and plaintiffs' lawyers. The documents then are analyzed by medical experts to determine if mold could have caused the illness or injury in question.

That often is the turning point of the personal injury case, Stroud said.

"These cases, from a personal injury standpoint, are very defensible right now," he explained. "The real question is causation - - providing the connection between the mold exposure and the particular injury or disease has proven difficult. What have often been sustained are claims for damage or devaluation of property. That's easy to prove."

Insurance companies are settling black mold cases much as they did with asbestos cases, Stroud said. But often the question in such cases is whether or not the insurance company actually covers such damage or injury.

Stroud's firm is making its regular clients aware of the growing interest in black mold.

"We make an assessment of who among our client base might be potentially exposed in litigation," he said. "To the extent that we can give them proactive advice, we do -- that might limit the litigation."

But as the public is saturated with information and advertisements on the subject, the experts are expecting the number of black mold cases to multiply in the near future, much like the spores themselves.

"Within the next year or two, these are going to be popping up more and more," Blake said.