Toxic Mold - An Overview

Mold is a fungus that exists naturally in and around many environments. The individual mold spore is a microscopic, airborne organism. Collectively, the spores make up a colony, a very visible mass that people commonly identify as the mold organism. As the toxic colony lives and grows indoors, it gives off toxins that can cause a number of illnesses in the human body. The airborne spores can also pose a potential problem.

Mold toxins and spores enter the body via touch, ingestion, and inhalation. Inside the body, mold can cause symptoms that may be as minor as sneezing, or as severe as brain damage. Prolonged exposure to mold does irreversible damage to the body. Usually it is the elderly, immune suppressed, young children, and infants who are the most susceptible to the ill effects of contamination, even from the briefest exposure.

The illnesses caused by mold toxins and spores are not the only result of a mold infestation. The growing colony feeds on materials such carpeting, wallpaper, sheet rock, and anything else that contains cellulose. As it feeds, the mold destroys the structure. Eradicating the mold most often requires replacement of those structures and the extensive cleaning of many other structures. This is a job for professionals, and can become quite expensive.

Mold infestation is preventable with proper maintenance. Colonies are easily eradicated with remediation, and replacement. This can, however, be a costly process in cases when colonies have been allowed to grow for a long time. People still suffer from illness due to mold infestations that could have been prevented or should have been eradicated. For these victims, there are personal injury laws and lawyers.

Personal injury attorneys who specialize in mold cases can recover costs and losses that result from toxic mold exposure. Cause of action for such cases can range from breach of contact to workers' compensation claims. In some states, strict liability in which the property owner is liable because they owned the property applies.

Property owners are not necessarily the only defendants in such cases. Architects, realtors, material suppliers, insurance companies, and even janitors have been held liable for damages in mold cases. These damages include recovery of lost wages, relocation costs, reimbursement of medical and remediation costs, and much more.

Toxic mold attorneys are personal injury attorneys who are very skilled in representing the interests of injured clients. They employ a host of devices such as records research, scientific testing, private investigation, etc., in an effort to compensate the client and to punish those at fault for the contamination. A mold attorney should be consulted as soon as a mold problem is detected.

If you, or a loved one, have suffered as a result of toxic mold infestation, visit the website of the American Bar Association, which features a lawyer locator. Access to the site and to the locator are both free, and can help assist you in your search for a caring, qualified personal injury lawyer attorney.

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