Toxic Mold And You
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
Mold is a type of fungus that can grow in multiple environments from old bread to the bathroom wall. No one is excited to spot this around their home, but sadly, it can be all too easy for it to thrive beyond our view. That aside, depending on what type of mold is around, you could have yourself a serious health risk growing right under your nose. What Is Toxic Mold?
The term ‘toxic mold’ is a bit misleading. In high enough concentrations, all molds are bad for your health. Thus, this term tends to be used rather loosely. However, there are a few forms of mold that are considered ‘toxigenic’. These molds are often spread through spores and can cause serious health issues when ingested over long periods of time.
One of the most well-known ‘toxigenic’ molds is called Black Mold. This fungus comes in a greenish black color and can often be found in flood-damaged buildings and homes. However, only certain strains of this fungus are dangerous.
Still whether the mold you find in your home is ‘toxigenic’ or not, mold still isn’t good to be keeping in your home.
What Are The Health Risks Of Toxic Mold?
Truth be told, we still don’t know much about the full effect mold or ‘toxic’ mold can have on the human body. Mold in general, tends to be most dangerous to told with allergies or breathing problems such as asthma. Being in close contact with mold over a period of time in some cases even causes a perfectly healthy individual to adopt allergies and breathing conditions that were not previously there.
However, there have been several attempts throughout the years to link mold to several serious diseases including fibromyalgia, cancer, and brain damage. Though there has been very little to no proof to back any of it up.
Can You Sue Over Exposure To Toxic Mold?
It is possible to, but it won’t be an easy case. Mold can pop up pretty easily and isn’t always so simple to spot unless you go looking for it. This means that it will be harder to blame someone for a fungus that is honestly quite easy to overlook.
Liability - First, the person would need to have some reason to be responsible for your health. Are they an employer? Was the mold in a place like a school where they are responsible for the health of their students? Is it in someone’s home in which you reside or in your apartment complex? Were they the person who build your home? This person or even company needs to have a reason for having responsibility over your health.
Proof of negligence - Next you would have to prove that either the person responsible had known about the mold and neglected to do anything about it or that the mold growth was due to neglecting something that caused the mold to grow in the first place. Again mold can be hard to spot if you are not looking for it. So if you know for a fact that this person knew of the existing mold and did nothing, then you have a case for negligence. However, if say, the person was supposed to get a leaky pipe fixed, never did, and it directly caused the growth of the mold, that would be grounds for a case as well.
Proof of damages - Lastly, you will have to prove that constant exposure to this ‘toxic’ mold directly caused your current health problems or the illness of a loved one or that it has damaged your home. This can be a tough one since mold exposure can be hard to determine as a cause of illness. That aside, if they find any other reason that may be the cause of your illness, they are likely to believe it over the mold. Still if there are others who have been exposed to the toxic mold and are experiencing similar symptoms, numbers can really work in your favor here.
If the damages you are seeking are for the house itself, it is a much easier task with just a few pictures of the mold site.