If you rent your residence, you should be aware of property damage and health issues arising from toxic mold. Mold grows in moist areas like basements, showers, attics, or water-damaged paneling. The experts sent to analyze the mold by your lawyer and the defendant's lawyer will often be at odds about the cause of injury or illness, which makes pursuing claims tricky. Here is some information about pursuing toxic mold claims against landlords.
Health and Toxic Mold Exposure
The term " toxic" in relation to mold adds to the confusion, since all mold is capable of causing illness in high amounts. However, only 100 out of 100,000 types of mold are regarded as toxic, including penicllium, aspergillius, and black mold. Unlike regular mold, toxic mold produces a musty smell. It appears fuzzy, slimy, or powdery.
Little knowledge exists to prove an exact connection between toxic mold exposure and illness, though there have been many public cases citing mold exposure caused the illness. While mold doesn't always cause symptoms, it has been accepted that people with asthma, lung conditions, the elderly, or infants, are more susceptible to illnesses from toxic mold exposure. Some common symptoms of toxic mold exposure include:
Landlord Liability
There are no federal guidelines or standards that establish exposure limits in residential buildings. Texas, Maryland, New Jersey, California, and Indiana are the only states with established guidelines on mold exposure. In states without guidelines, implied warranty of liability says landlords must maintain a safe environment for occupants, regardless of the clauses in your lease, which try to absolve them of the responsibility.
Recovering Damages
You have several ways to recover damages:
Recovering damages from toxic mold is challenging, but not impossible. If you don't have a personal injury attorney, consider hiring one, like those at Trammell & Mills Law Firm LLC, to help you with the complexities of law.
Share18 December 2015
When I was injured in a slip and fall accident a few years ago, my family and friends had a hard time relating to the things I was going through. While some people thought that my decision to file a lawsuit was frivolous, others were under the impression that I would walk away as a millionaire. Their lack of personal experience with this type of legal problem left me feeling alone during one of the most difficult times in my life. That is why I decided to start this blog so that accident victims from all over would have somewhere to come to get the information and support that they need. I truly hope that this page can be that place for you.