Product Liability Law Blog

In the years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, thousands of their victims who received shelter in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers have sued the trailer manufacturers for auto products liability because of illnesses they sustained from exposure to high levels of formaldehyde in the mobile homes.

Some 143,000 trailers were used as emergency housing units following the two storms. Later, federal tests on hundreds of FEMA mobile homes in Mississippi and Louisiana determined that the levels of formaldehyde (a carcinogen linked to breathing problems) found in the trailers was about five times greater than what can be found in modern homes.

FEMA trailer lawyers representing clients have accused the trailer manufacturers of using poor methods and materials in an attempt to quickly construct the mobile homes to meet FEMA’s demand for temporary residences on the Gulf Coast following both hurricanes.

One plaintiff, Elisha Dubuclet, says the high levels of formaldehyde that she and her family were exposed to while living in a FEMA trailer aggravated her daughter’s eczema and increased her chances of getting cancer. Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. made the trailer where Dubuclet's family lived. Other FEMA trailer residents have complained of breathing problems, eye, throat, and nose irritation, and nausea.

Trailer residents were not the only ones made ill from exposure to the high levels of formaldehyde. According to a CBS News report, Linda Esparza and Tommy Yager, a mother and son who worked on the construction of some of the FEMA trailers, say they experienced flu like symptoms and fatigue as a result. The two of them built the trailers for Gulf Stream Coach, an RV maker contracted to make 50,000 trailers as quickly as possible. At one point in 2006, Gulf Stream Coach was producing over 100 trailers each day—that's triple the rate of regular production.

In July 2008, officials for Gulf Stream Coach, Forest River, Keystone RV, and Pilgrim International testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. They admitted that they knew the FEMA trailers they made for the hurricane victims contained unsafe levels of formaldehyde.

Deal in works to resolve some FEMA trailer claims, AP/Google, December 2, 2009

Manufacturers say they knew of FEMA trailer health risks, Christian Science Monitor, July 11, 2008

Did Trailer Makers Know About Toxic Fumes?, CBS, July 8, 2008

Related Web Resources:
FEMA Moving 35,000 Hurricane Katrina Families Out of Toxic Trailers, Product Liability Law Blog, February 18, 2008

Federal Emergency Management Agency

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee

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Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , FEMA Trailers , Toxic Chemicals , Toxic Injuries or Disease , Toxic Tort/Environmental Cases

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Recently, Lennar Corp. reported that it has identified 400 homes that it constructed in Florida that contain defective Chinese drywall. This is troubling news for the homes' residents, who may be suffering from the effects caused by this defective product.

According to some experts, almost 300,000 US homes may contain the defective drywall. The material was brought over from China between 2004 and 2007 when there was a shortage of domestic wallboard and thousands of homes had to be rebuilt following a number of hurricanes. Lennar says there may be more homes in Florida it has yet to identify that contain the defective dry wall.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recent status report to lawmakers states that it has received 608 incident reports involving defective Chinese drywall from people in 21 states and in Washington DC. The CPSC says at least 5,503,694 Chinese drywall sheets were imported to the US. Already, a number of homeowners in the US have filed products liability lawsuits over the defective chinese drywall.

Defective Chinese Drywall
The drywall is made of gypsum and is coated with paper. It is found in the walls and the ceilings of many homes.

There are concerns that the defective drywall was made in gypsum mines where fly ash was used. The drywall may contain high levels of sulfur, which can corrode the piping, damage the wiring in the home, lead to appliance and electronic failure, and cause health issues.

There is evidence to indicate that exposure to the defective drywall for extended periods of time can cause health issues. The material may contain poisonous compounds that can affect bone growth in children and impact the nervous system, the cardiovascular system, the liver, the skin, the eyes, and the kidneys. Infants, the elderly, sick people, and kids are highly vulnerable to the effects of defective Chinese dry wall.

One Florida resident says the drywall is causing her to have skin problems, experience nosebleeds, and suffer from insomnia. In North Carolina, one family sued the builder of their home because they say that the defective Chinese drywall in their walls not only damaged their home and personal property but also made them sick.

Lennar: 400 homes have Chinese drywall, Business Journal, July 13, 2009

CPSC Says Drywall In 21 States, Details Testing Programs, NewsInferno.com, July 14, 2009

Related Web Resources:
CPSC Drywall Status Report (PDF)

Chinese Drywall

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Posted In: Toxic Tort/Environmental Cases

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Frances Barras, a Texas woman, is suing DuPont , Guard-Line, Union Carbide, Anchor Packing Co., Ingersoll-Rand, Guard-Line, Owens-Illinois, and a few other industrial companies for allegedly exposing her to asbestos because she would inhale fibers from her husband’s clothing when doing his laundry.

Barras’s husband Louis worked as a refinery worker at the DuPont facility in Beaumont. Barras says the asbestos dust and fibers coming from his work clothes, hair, and body caused her to become ill. As part of her duties, she would wash his work clothes, replace washing machine lint filters, clean the laundry area, and ride in the car that her husband would take to work.

Barras says that the asbestos came from the products sold by the defendants, who were negligent in manufacturing and distributing goods with asbestos. In her lawsuit, filed in Jefferson County District Court in Texas earlier this month, Barras says that DuPont should have realized that employees exposed to asbestos could unwittingly spread the fibers to others, including family members.

Louis and the couple’s children are also plaintiffs in the case. They say that DuPont was negligent in causing Frances’s asbestos exposure because of its:

• Failure to execute precautions to ensure that asbestos fibers did not leave the work area.
• Failure to properly warn of the health risks that come with asbestos exposure.
• Failure to provide a place where employees’ clothes could be laundered.
• Failure to educate workers about wearing protective gear.

The lawsuit alleges that all of the defendants allowed each other to behave negligently and Frances was harmed as a result. The Barras family is suing the defendants for $30 million.

DuPont and other industrial companies have used asbestos as a fire retardant and for insulation for years. Asbestos is made up of minerals that have tiny fibers, which can be dangerous—even fatal—if inhaled. It is believed that many companies were aware of the health risks associated with asbestos but continued to expose workers to the substance. Many companies continue to use asbestos.

Diseases associated with asbestos exposure include:

• Lung Cancer
• Pleural disease
• Asbestosis
• Mesothelioma

DuPont has been named as a defendant in numerous lawsuits alleging that the company has exposed workers, consumers, and others to hazardous substances.

Our consumer safety law firm has successfully filed lawsuits against some of the largest corporate giants in the U.S. for the harm that their negligence has caused our clients. One of our asbestos lawsuit lawyers can discuss your case with you during a free consultation.

Nederland housewife files $30M suit against DuPont, alleges asbestos exposure from husband's laundry, Southeast Texas Record, February 19, 2008

Related Web Resources:

What is Asbestos?, ATSDR.cdc.gov

DuPont

Illnesses Caused by Asbestos Exposure, USAAction.org

Continue reading "Family Suing DuPont For Alleged Asbestos Exposure Seeking Over $30 Million" »

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Posted In: Toxic Chemicals , Toxic Injuries or Disease , Toxic Tort/Environmental Cases

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is trying to relocate some 35,000 families out of the trailers and mobile homes that the agency had provided after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Results from tests by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirm that there are dangerous levels of formaldehyde fumes in many of the trailers.

Formaldehyde is an airborne chemical and a preservative commonly found in construction materials. Exposure to too much formaldehyde can lead to breathing problems and possibly even cancer. The toxin can be found in construction materials, such as composite wood and plywood panels, which were used in the thousands of FEMA trailers.

The CDC test results is not the first time that there has been an indication that the FEMA trailers and mobile homes may have been causing health problems for its residents. A number of people living in the homes have complained of different health issues, such as headaches, asthma, sinus problems, respiratory distress, nosebleeds, and runny noses.

As early as last April, the Sierra Club tested FEMA trailers and found formaldehyde concentrations up to .34 parts per million in many of them—an excessively high amount. Even after these test results, FEMA maintained that the toxic problem was isolated to only a handful of trailers and that the mobile homes were generally safe for use. FEMA had suggested that improving ventilation by airing out the trailers would help.

There are over 35,000 FEMA trailers and mobile homes in Louisiana, Mississippi, and other states. Over 144,000 mobile homes and trailers have housed Katrina victims at some point.

The CDC says it has not found a direct connection between the toxin and the different illnesses and symptoms that the occupants in the trailers have reported, but it is recommending that trailer residents move out as soon as possible.

The trailers were manufactured quickly to accommodate all the Katrina victims. Residents have also complained that the trailers and homes are cramped and poorly made.

Toxic FEMA Trailer Cases
Our products liability law firm has successfully dealt with many injury cases throughout the United States involving all kinds of defective motor vehicles, as well as injury and death cases brought about from exposure to hazardous toxins and wastes. One of our Toxic FEMA Trailer Lawyers would be happy to speak with you during a free consultation.

FEMA slammed for using toxic trailers, MercuryNews.com, February 15, 2008

FEMA to step up efforts to move hurricane victims from toxic trailers, Baltimore Sun/Associated Press, February 14, 2008

Related Web Resources:

FEMA Trailer Study, CDC

Sierra Club Action Confirms FEMA Inaction On Gulf Coast, Sierra Club, July 23, 2007

FEMA

Continue reading "FEMA Moving 35,000 Hurricane Katrina Families Out of Toxic Trailers " »

Posted by Gilbert, Ollanik, & Komyatte, P.C. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , FEMA Trailers , Toxic Chemicals , Toxic Injuries or Disease , Toxic Tort/Environmental Cases

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