Washington, DC, July 18--It's usually just scrubbed off tile grout, shower stalls and basement walls, but lately, mold has become the subject of expensive insurance claims and multimillion dollar lawsuits.
Builders, insurance industry groups and other businesses on Thursday blamed overzealous lawyers and increased media attention for a threefold increase in mold-related lawsuits the past three years. There are 10,000 such cases pending today nationwide, the Insurance Information Institute says.
The tiny fungi can trigger allergic reactions similar to hay fever, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that some agriculture workers with chronic exposure to mold can experience respiratory illnesses.
But many of the lawsuits contend that mold damage inside a home or building that wasn't cleaned up properly caused more serious health problems like bleeding in the lungs or brain damage.
There isn't enough scientific evidence to support those claims, Bryan Hardin, of the toxicology consulting firm GlobalTox, said at a forum on mold cases at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The CDC is currently conducting a study on mold's effects on human health.
"Lawsuits over fungi fail to meet the test of sound science," said Lisa Rickard, president of the chamber's Institute for Legal Reform.
A spokeswoman for the American Bar Association declined comment, while a call seeking comment from the American Trial Lawyers Association was not immediately returned.
According to the CDC's Web site, molds are found virtually everywhere, both indoors and outdoors, year round. Growth is encouraged by warm and humid conditions.
Mold claims tend to be more common across the warmer climates in the South, and have especially increased in Texas. In 2001, a jury there ruled that Farmers Insurance Group had to pay a family $32 million for damages related to a mold-infested home.
An appeals court last year reduced it to $4 million for actual damages to the home, but threw out the part of the award for mental anguish and punitive damages.
Insurance officials say the attention drawn by the case has led to the filing of similar lawsuits nationwide.
In some states, mold-related damages are now putting caps on claims or have excluded mold coverage from the policy. The high jury awards have also led to an increase in premiums, insurers say.
Anita Drummond, director of legal and regulatory affairs for Associated Builders and Contractors, says some claims of property damage due to mold may be legitimate because some builders are using cheaper materials that tend to hold more moisture to build homes.
But, she added, more builders and contractors are putting unnecessary resources to avoiding future mold damage because of the threat of a lawsuit. The task is made more difficult because there are no common standards for what is an acceptable level of mold in a home, she said.
The EPA says any mold damage on hard surfaces should be cleaned up immediately with detergent and water. Absorbent materials such as ceiling tiles or carpet that become moldy may have to be replaced.
"Prevention and control is the key," said EPA spokeswoman Cathy Milbourn.
