In mold fight, state must lend a hand
April 21, 2006

Jeff and Terri Chandler won their battle.

A few weeks ago, the New Paltz family finally settled their case out of court for $200,000. For those of you unfamiliar with the Chandlers' plight, let us fill you in: The Chandlers spent four years, much of their time and all of their money fighting to be compensated for their unlivable home. That home became unlivable after a contractor's repairs let a new tenant into the Chandler home: toxic mold.

Soon, the Chandlers were all sick with crushing headaches and trouble focusing. Their children suffered the most, experiencing tremors and skin lesions. A short time later, the family found themselves living in an RV in their own backyard. Their house was unlivable, every precious memento, every birthday card, beloved stuffed animal, goofy school pictures lost to the growing mold.

Holidays came and went; years passed, and the Chandlers were still locked in a legal battle with the insurance company, trying to get justice for themselves and their kids.

Now the battle has been won. It's easy to see, though, why the Chandlers might find the victory a hollow one. Jeff has lost his livelihood and has been forced to find work where he can. Mounting legal fees and the simple expenses of daily living forced the Chandlers into bankruptcy. Most of the settlement money will go to pay the lawyers, the rest to pay for the RV they're living in and the mortgage on the house they still can't live in.

And at the end of the battle, at the end of four years of court fights, of homelessness, of watching their children suffer, the Chandlers are still without the one thing that started this in the first place: a home.

Mold, of course, has become big news. Erin Brockovich, who made her name by fighting contaminated water, took on the mold issue in her own home. Sandra Bullock won a major court case, and Carson sidekick Ed McMahon sued for $20 million. But while the celebrity mold cases grab national headlines and do help to bring the health risks to public attention, they fail to capture the other side of the mold story. That's the side where the little guy, the average family, takes on an insurance company over a mold case. Those are the stories of everyday folks left bankrupt and homeless trying to force the insurance companies to do the right thing.

That's the Chandlers' story. For while celebrities such as Bullock can simply buy a new home while her case is being heard, that isn't an option for most normal folks. And while losing the millions it takes to build a mansion might leave Bullock feeling the pinch, it isn't anything compared to the crippling grip of unpaid bills, lost work and uncertain health the average Joes feel when mold takes their home.

As New Yorkers, we're more vulnerable than residents of some other states when it comes to mold. Our weather and our aging housing stock plays some role in that, but the primary reason is that New York is one of the states that allows insurers to exclude mold coverage from their policies. And while mold claims in New York have more than tripled in New York in recent years, the state still hasn't taken the steps necessary to protect its residents from losing the roof over their heads.

New York needs to adopt a law like California's Toxic Mold Protection Act, which forces insurers to offer mold coverage and says home sellers must disclose previous water or mold problems to potential buyers.

A similar law was proposed in the New York Senate in 2001, but never made it to law. The Toxic Mold Protection Act would have established a task force to advise the state Department of Health on adopting standards for safe levels of mold and determining potential health risks. It would have also required homeowners to reveal mold problems to potential buyers.

It would have been a good start. It certainly would've changed the Chandlers' lives.

Until New York leaders step up and put a policy in place to address mold issues, families like the Chandlers will be forced to take on the big guys on their own. And some, like the Chandlers, may find that while they win their legal battle, the real fight has only just begun.

http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2006/04/21/opinion-21editmold-04-21.html