A lawsuit was filed Wednesday by 14 San Benito County workers
against the owners of a building rented by the county alleging that
the building is affected by toxic mold.
A lawsuit was filed Wednesday by 14 San Benito County workers against the owners of a building rented by the county alleging that the building is affected by toxic mold.
The complaint, filed in San Benito County Superior Court, claims that the offices of San Benito County Child Support Services at 220 San Felipe Road have suffered from water leaks for years, which has caused the growth of dangerous toxic mold, affecting the air quality and health of the plaintiffs.
“We’ve been instructed by our counsel not to say anything,” said Child Support Services employee Nancy Voelho, one of the plaintiffs in the suit against the building’s owner, Lawrence Family LLC, and other unnamed defendants.
The toxic mold listed in the lawsuit is stachybotrys, “a toxic mold known to cause respiratory, sinus, cognitive, gastro-intestinal, and skin illnesses and disease,” according to documents filed in the suit.
Charles Kelly, an attorney representing all the plaintiffs, said he has confirmed the existence of the mold in the building.
“Over a period of time there have been numerous instances of employees who have gotten sick with chronic flu or sinus infections, chronic respiratory illnesses, chronic fatigue (or) gastro-intestinal issues,” Kelly said. “The mold effects every individual differently.”
The suit also claims that San Benito County officials were notified of the conditions and then notified the building’s owner, who refused to make necessary repairs, according to court documents.
County Counsel Karen Forcum did not return phone calls from the Free Lance.
There is no test that proves that the “black mold” specified in the suit causes health symptoms, according to the National Center for Environmental Health. However, the California Department of Health Services said that spores from the mold could cause such symptoms as coughing, wheezing, runny nose, irritated eyes or throat, skin rash or diarrhea.
The mold in the building has developed over the years and has become more invasive over time, Kelly said.
Hersh and Hersh, the San Francisco law firm that Kelly works for, has ongoing lawsuits throughout the country regarding black mold and has been successful in winning the cases, Kelly said.
However, health experts and scientists are only in the beginning phases of studying the medical effects of the mold.
“We will have top-notch experts who will testify to review exposures and medical problems of the mold,” Kelly said. “We’ll avail ourselves of the very best experts in the country.”
The plaintiffs are requesting financial damages including medical bills, loss of wages and earning capacity, emotional distress, attorney’s fees, punitive damages, costs of future medical bills and court costs.
In the meantime, employees of Child Support Services continue to work in an environment that may be harmful to their health because many of them enjoy their jobs, and good jobs are hard to come by in the current economy, Kelly said.
