The current thinking is that mold is harmful to everyone. But courts and doctors haven’t figured out how to pin the tail on the donkey—I mean, how to connect mold exposure specifically to the generic human EVEN WHEN THE CAUSAL CONNECTION APPEARS OBVIOUS TO EVERYONE ELSE. The way the legal system works, unfortunately, is like the duck scenario. Just because it quacks like a duck, waddles like a duck, and otherwise makes like a duck, it does not mean it is a duck. And even if you are sick from mold exposure, even if you quack, waddle and otherwise make like you are sick from mold exposure, the court may have difficulty connecting your illness with that exposure if you’re not in a certain vulnerable “group.” Currently, there are certain groups which have been proven to be affected by mold:
- infants and children
- elderly people
- individuals with respiratory conditions or sensitivities such as allergies or asthma
persons having severely weakened immune systems (for example, people with HIV infection, chemotherapy patients, organ transplant recipients)
If you’re just a generic human, and not in one of the so-called susceptible groups, even if you’ve been harmed by mold, it is just harder to prove the connection in a court of law. But it can be done.
Testing is useful in court cases to establish baselines for before and after.
And as far as dealing with the mold, these procedures should be performed:
- Test to determine the baseline in the home
- Identify the Moisture Problem
- Fix the Moisture Problem
- Dry All Wet Material
- Remove and Dispose of Mold Contaminated Materials
- Clean Surfaces
- Disinfect Surfaces
- Retest to determine/verify improvement
- Remain on Mold Alert
If you’re in California, you might want to give us a call and see about getting an assessment from Byebyemold.