Lawyers Representing Victims of Toxic FEMA Trailers
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The toxic FEMA trailer attorneys at our law firm are heavily involved in helping Gulf Coast hurricane victims recover damages for injuries caused by living in formaldehyde-tainted FEMA trailers. Our offices in Florida, New Jersey and New York are staffed by highly knowledgeable toxic torts lawyers who can help people poisoned by formaldehyde in the toxic FEMA trailers receive compensation for medical bills, lost wages and other expenses incurred as a result of formaldehyde related illnesses. Our toxic FEMA trailer attorneys will hold the manufacturers and any other parties responsible for the toxic FEMA trailers accountable for the additional misery inflicted on those still trying recover from devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes.
Our FEMA trailer lawyers have spent a great deal of time with victims of the toxic FEMA trailers, and we understand how devastating formaldehyde-related illness can be. We will make sure that anyone sickened by toxic FEMA trailers receives the justice they deserve. When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed the Gulf Coast in 2005, thousands of those made homeless moved into FEMA trailers, and thousands of people continue to live in the temporary housing. By 2006 FEMA was getting reports from field workers that residents where getting sick from the air in the toxic trailers. The first suspect was formaldehyde, which is used in the manufacture of the trailers. Despite ever growing evidence that the toxic FEMA trailers where making hundreds of people sick, the agency did nothing to protect trailer residents until public pressure forced its hand. As a result toxic FEMA trailer residents spent months, and in many cases years, being poisoned by formaldehyde fumes.
Formaldehyde is a wood preservative commonly used in construction materials that have been used in FEMA Trailers. Growing evidence shows that the toxic FEMA trailers where making hundreds of people sick due to poisoning by formaldehyde fumes.
Formaldehyde in Toxic FEMA Trailers
Formaldehyde is a wood preservative commonly used in construction materials such as particle board. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), exposure to formaldehyde can cause respiratory and vision problems. Long term exposure can also cause cancer and higher rates of asthma, bronchitis, mouth and nasal tumors, and allergies in children and pets. Commonly used in manufactured homes, formaldehyde has been classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The signs of formaldehyde poisoning include headaches, runny noses, nosebleeds, burning eyes, coughing and nausea. Exposure to formaldehyde has also been linked to chronic skin rashes, and sinus and respiratory infections. These symptoms may get worse in summer, as hot temperatures encourage the development of formaldehyde fumes. Anyone who is living or who has lived in a toxic FEMA trailer and experiences symptoms should contact the toxic FEMA trailer attorneys at our firm to discuss their legal rights.
The majority of the FEMA trailers had levels of .56 ppm, while the formaldehyde detected in mobile homes was also above the threshold, in some cases as high as 0.1 ppm. An acceptable long-term exposure limit is 0.008 ppm (parts per million)
Independent Formaldehyde TestsDespite evidence of that formaldehyde in the toxic FEMA trailers was making residents sick, FEMA did not test the trailers. However, in 2006, the Sierra Club conducted its own tests of 600 FEMA trailers and mobile homes housing Hurricane Katrina and Rita victims. Of the FEMA trailers and mobile homes tested by the Sierra Club, only 23 had formaldehyde levels that “were at less than twice the acceptable long-term exposure limit” of 0.008 ppm (parts per million), and only 9 where below that standard. The majority of the FEMA trailers had levels of .56 ppm, while the formaldehyde detected in mobile homes was also above the threshold, in some cases as high as 0.1 ppm.
FEMA Negligence
Our law firm’s investigation has determined that FEMA deliberately ignored and tried to conceal the problems with toxic FEMA trailers. E-mails uncovered during a 2007 congressional investigation into the trailers showed that FEMA lawyers told the agency to drag its feet on air quality testing. FEMA’s Office of General Council also advised the agency not to test the trailers because doing so “would imply FEMA’s ownership of the issue”. One email from a FEMA lawyer advised, “Do not initiate any testing until we give the OK… Once you get the results…the clock is running on our duty to respond to them.” Another FEMA lawyer wrote in an email that investigations not approved by lawyers “could seriously undermine the Agency’s position.”
As these emails show, FEMA deliberately delayed testing its toxic trailers, despite overwhelming evidence that the formaldehyde in the toxic FEMA trailers was poisoning residents. Only public outcry moved FEMA to initiate testing in late 2007. The toxic FEMA trailer attorneys at our firm have done a great deal to investigate FEMA’s role in the trailer debacle, and have determined that the agency was negligent in waiting so long to start testing the structures for formaldehyde fumes. It is our intention to hold FEMA accountable for its negligence.
CDC FEMA Trailer Tests
After months of delay, FEMA and the CDC began testing more than 500 trailers housing Gulf Coast hurricane victims in December 2007. The results of those tests, released in February 2008, revealed that residents of the toxic FEMA trailers were being exposed to at least five times the level of formaldehyde found in typical homes. In the worst FEMA trailers, formaldehyde levels were nearly 40 times customary exposure levels. As a result of the CDC FEMA trailer tests, the CDC urged the agency to move Gulf Coast Hurricane victims from the trailers as soon as possible.
Legal Help for Victims of Toxic FEMA Trailers
Our lawyers are already helping hundreds of toxic FEMA trailer victims along the Gulf Coast. If you and your family have developed health ailments from living in a toxic FEMA trailer, you have valuable legal rights. Please contact a toxic FEMA trailer attorney at our firm today for a free consultation to explore the legal options available to you by filling out our online form or calling 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636).
Download Form 95 Now to Protect Your Rights. Click here!