Re: $9.5M Settlement~ Philly HA ~Mold & Brain Injury

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How very sad. It is hard to imagine the dilemma the parents
faced; sleep in the street or stick it out for the 30 days
to give notice to the landlord whose property had already
failed mold inspection.

I remember the night I dreamed I was suffocating and woke up
to realize it was no dream. I crawled outside w/ phone in
hand and at 3 am wondered who I wished to speak to
last...there was no way an ambulance could get to me in time
or that my neighbors could hear me. After a while, I
noticed I could take in small breaths.. I lay outside for
nearly 45 minutes before I could get up and go inside. I
had no idea what was going on, but I never slept in that
room again. Months later, it turned out that the duct
leading to that room was one of the worst in the place with
mold contamination...none of this visible at the vent. And
the landlord knew, he sent his handyman in to "clean the
coils" 4 times while I was there without my knowledge...the
handyman volunteered this info when it all began to come out.

I wonder what my death would have been written off
as...still haven't figured out if it is divine intervention
or dumb luck, but I am leaning toward divine intervention.

No amount of money those people receive will make up for
that. Sad indeed.

On 5/04/10, Sharon wrote:
> Philadelphia Housing Authority Settles Mold Lawsuit for
> $9.5M – Moldy Conditions Led To Brain Damage For 12 Year
> Old Girl
> Jump to Comments
>
> 5-4-10
>
> “Just before opening statements in court today, PHA agreed
> to pay more than $9.5 million to her family. As Joyce
> reported, the PHA admits no wrongdoing in this case. They,
> for the most part, blame the Section 8 property owner and
> management company.”
>
> “The property landlord and management company agreed to
pay
> at least $2 million for their part.”
>
> After years of legal wrangling, the Philadelphia Housing
> Authority settled Monday morning with a former Section 8
> tenant whose daughter was left with brain damage – the
> result of living with mold.
>
> Fox 29’s Joyce Evans brings you the story of Ebony Gage.
> She was a typical 12-year old. She developed asthma. Her
> attacks worsened. She now has profound brain damage. She
> cannot walk or talk and needs 24-hour care. Her family
> claims that the PHA ignored years of pleading to fix the
> hazardous, moldy conditions in their house. Her mother
> thinks it all could have been avoided.
>
> Just before opening statements in court today, PHA agreed
> to pay more than $9.5 million to her family. As Joyce
> reported, the PHA admits no wrongdoing in this case. They,
> for the most part, blame the Section 8 property owner and
> management company.
>
> PHA’s statement reads in part, “Our hearts go out to the
> victim…We hope that the settlements will serve as strong
> reminders to all landlords on the program that they must
> responsibly care for units they own and manage.”
>
> Ebony’s attorney, Michael Trunk added that after
continuing
> top fail inspections for year and not repairing the damage
> the final insult was PHA forcing the family to give 30
days
> notice before they could move.
>
> It was during those 30 days that Ebony had that terrible
> asthma attack.
>
> The property landlord and management company agreed to pay
> at least $2 million for their part.
>
> The settlement will help Ebony’ mother pay for the
mounting
> medical bills that are already in the millions, but she
> says that Ebony will never be the same girl.
>
> myfoxphilly
>