Mold Litigation
I recently
heard that mold articles written to reflect the view of some
professional medical groups were in effect written by medical
professionals that typically serve as defense experts and give
testimony that mold does not cause health problems in most
instances( even when significant mold problems exist). Is this
true?-Anon
Unfortunately it is true. The Wall
Street Journal in a front page story (January 10, 2007) describes
the saga of a position paper on mold health effects that was written
for the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM)
and published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental
Medicine in 2003. The article was written by individuals who
provided (and continue to provide) consultative services for a
company (Globaltox, now Veritox, Inc.) whose staff testify for
defendants in personal injury mold litigation. The article pretty
much attempts to debunk links between indoor mold exposures and
reported health problems including most respiratory health problems
(they do allow that some molds can cause allergy but that outdoor
mold is more of a problem than indoor mold).
Unfortunately because this paper on mold has the “imprimatur” of the ACOEM , it is commonly used by defense
attorneys in mold-related litigation to convince judges to throw out
mold cases brought against their clients.
Is it fair? Of course it isn’t?
Was it unprofessional for Veritox staff to have written and
published the paper without disclosing their affiliation? Of course
it was? Was the ACOEM corrupted because they asked individuals
that had an anti-mold bias and a personal economic interest in
providing testimony for clients in mold litigation? Of course it
was.
Why does this type of think
happen? My thoughts are that some individuals develop a mindset that
they are right and others who believe mold exposures pose health
risks are wrong. This mindset takes over with professional
ethics its casualty. Organizations such as ACOEM should
responsibly provide a fair evaluation of the
health risks of exposures to environmental contaminants before publishing articles that represent
“their position”.
Disclaimer: The author of this
posting has on a limited basis provided mold exposure testimony for
both plaintiffs and defendants.
January 11, 2007
