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

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Message from a friend:

(http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/92742784.html)

PHA to pay $9.8 million for brain damage

Message received:

- the defense claimed "food poisoning" as a cause and the well
known Dr. Harriet Burge (defense expert - listed as Director of
Aerobiology and Chair of EMLab P&K's Scientific Advisory
Board) - who has no medical education, training or license
argued in a motion paper to dismiss the legal claims:

” Based on my experience, the documents reviewed, and a study
of the peer reviewed literature it is my opinion, to a
reasonable degree of scientific certainty, that exposure to
purported fungi, bacteria, endotoxin, glucan, and mycotoxin in
the ….(street).. Property was not the cause of …(name)'s
asthma, .. the exacerbation of ..(names).'s asthma, or (name)'s
anaphylactic reaction on March 18,2006."

And further argued that an "Acute status asthmaticus would
require an intense aerosol of the specific fungus to which an
individual was sensitized." . …

"None of the air sampling results showed ANY indication of an
intense fungal aerosol (>100,000 spores/m3 of air) to any
fungus in this home."

She did not present any study or case example(s) that would
support such a theory -

On 5/05/10, Deborah wrote:
> 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
>>