January 20, 2003—San Francisco plaintiff rights law firm Hersh & Hersh has filed 18 individual complaints on behalf of employees of the San Benito County Department of Child Support Services, based in Hollister. Each complaint, filed in San Benito County Superior Court, states that the one-story office building, located at 220 San Felipe Road, has been a breeding ground for dangerous toxic mold due to chronic water intrusion and leakage.
Hersh & Hersh alleges that because of neglect and faulty building maintenance, air quality inside the premises—and the health and well being of the plaintiffs—have been adversely affected.
Hersh & Hersh attorneys contend that county employees had notified the building owner and landlord, Lawrence Family LLC on numerous occasions complaining that the hazardous fungal growth was causing a range of health problems including respiratory, sinus, gastro-intestinal, and skin rashes—even neurological damage—prior to filing the complaints.
The World Health Organization now estimates that one out of three employees is working in a place that is making them sick and it is costing businesses billions each year in lost productivity. Locally, the California Legislature has addressed the “sick building” problem in the last 12 months by appointing a taskforce to identify standards and ultimately provide guidelines to building owners, landlords and contractors.
Hersh & Hersh has identified a particular fungus in the Hollister building as stachybotrys, which is becoming more common in homes and buildings within the United States and Canada. Stachybotrys is a greenish black mold that typically grows on building materials such as wood, ceiling tile, drywall, insulation backing, cardboard boxes, paper files, etc. when these items become water damaged. The fungus tends to proliferate in very wet or high humid conditions due to plumbing leaks or water leaking through foundations.
For more information, contact Hersh & Hersh at 415/221-5018.
