The area of litigation is growing so rapidly that Mealey's Emerging Toxic Torts, a well-respected industry newsletter, has begun tracking mold cases for its lawyer subscribers. I get a half dozen new calls a day from around the country. I take maybe 10 percent of the cases that people want me to take. Although scientists are still struggling to understand how mold attacks the human body, Robertson says the knowledge that does exist is enough to make the issue ripe for litigation. It's a lot like tobacco smoke.
Most people accept now that there are adverse health effects to exposure to toxic mold.
Then you get into exactly how sick it can make you, and that's where the battle lies. The courts have only begun to weigh legal arguments involving the health aspects of mold, but lawyers such as Robertson are increasingly winning mold claims by focusing on more traditional areas of law. Instead of arguing science, they attempt to blame people, usually builders and their contractors, for creating a mold infestation because of faulty construction practices. Other cases focus on insurance companies, which are increasingly getting hit with allegations that they failed to pay for or adequately repair a mold infestation. Just three years ago, the insurance industry didn't acknowledge there was a problem.