Dozens of Katrina Victims Sue FEMA

Forbes.com ^ | March 19, 2008 | The Associated Press

[JACKRUSSELL]

(NEW ORLEANS) - A group of Gulf Coast hurricane victims sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday for sheltering them in trailers that allegedly exposed them to dangerous fumes.

The complaint filed in federal court adds FEMA as a defendant in a batch of consolidated cases against several manufacturers that provided the agency with tens of thousands of trailers and mobile homes after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

The cases against trailer makers were consolidated in November 2007 and transferred to U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt in New Orleans. However, FEMA couldn't be named as a defendant in the litigation until at least six months after a plaintiff had filed a claim against the agency.

Several plaintiffs from Louisiana have met that threshold, allowing FEMA to be named as a defendant in the consolidated litigation, according to one of the lead plaintiffs lawyer Gerald Meunier.

Meunier said FEMA already has been dismissed from similar federal lawsuits because that mandatory six-month waiting period hadn't expired yet. Including FEMA in the cases is an 'essential step,' he added.

'I don't think we can have any conversation ... about this controversy without the government's role in this being legally addressed,' he said.

Many trailer occupants have blamed their illnesses on formaldehyde, a common preservative found in building materials. Formaldehyde can cause respiratory problems and has been classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

The plaintiffs accuse trailer makers of using shoddy materials and construction methods in a rush to fill FEMA's unprecedented demand for emergency housing after Katrina laid waste to tens of Gulf Coast homes in August 2005.

Recent government tests on hundreds of FEMA trailers and mobile homes in Louisiana and Mississippi found formaldehyde levels that were, on average, about five times higher than......

[Sherman Logan]

Decaying buildings expose one to odd combinations of mold, bacteria and off-gassing building materials. Not a particularly healthy environment.

It’s probably more difficult to keep a tightly packed trailer clean and sanitary, too. Although that was probably not a prime concern for a good many of these people before the hurricane.

In general, it is extremely difficult in court to prove a direct connection between environmental exposures and a given symptom or health problem. Especially when, as probably in this case, the symptoms are mostly subjective and/or non-specific.

[New Jersey Realist]

Mobile Home makers use formaldehyde during construction. I lived in a mobile home at one time, and remember the smell. What you do is open the windows for a few days and it’s gone. Guess that was too much to ask from these “victims”.

---

Doing that much hard work would be out of character for the “you owe me” sector of our population. If the government doesn’t do it for them, it doesn’t get done. After all, nothing should interfere with their freedom to do nothing and their motto: RESPONSIBILITY:WE DON’T NEED NO STINKING SELF ACCOUNTABILITY!

[nyyankeefan]

Dozens of Katrina Victims Sue FEMA...

screwe all these so-called “victims”....let them pay back the $2,000 free money given by FEMA and the US taxpayers...

welfare victims.....anything to get over on whitey....

ask for relief from b. HUSSEIN and his mentor the right rev run!!!

[hdstmf]

Exactly right. Those trailers were not meant to be permanent housing

I was thinking the same thing. This is probably the best housing they have ever had. Sounds like some s***house lawyer has signed up a bunch of ignorant occupants with promises of cash.

[Nailbiter]

Doing that much hard work would be out of character for the “you owe me” sector of our population

More likely scenario is lack of instructions with pictographs on how to open windows and doors. /s

[hdstmf]

My question, absent the formaldehyde, what other factors after Katrina could have contributed to their illnesses?

Probably booze, drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, unsanitary habits and a heavy diet of high starch foods. Feel free to expand this list.

[Mila]

“ggggggggggggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, I’d just love to read ONE article of gratitude.”

How about this one?

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/03/chris_rose.html

[bboop]

Thanks for posting that, it’s very sweet.

[poobear]

Thanks for that clarification. I do remember the manufactured housing bringing the humidity factor in as well back in the 80’s. I'm in Florida and this plays into the picture as we have nearly 100% humidity for over 6 months out of the year.

Now the big thing is testing for mold. I'm in HVACR industry now. I recommend an ultraviolet light in the air handler and air distribution. Hospitals use this in operating rooms for sterilization.

These Katrina ‘victims’ have gotten on my last nerve. We pulled out of 2004 & 2005 hurricanes just fine in my state for a lot less $$ too. Why can't they?

[Mila]

"These Katrina ‘victims’ have gotten on my last nerve. We pulled out of 2004 & 2005 hurricanes just fine in my state for a lot less $$ too. Why can't they?

Almost all of New Orleans, a city that was home to nearly 500,000 people before the storm, sat in high flood water for close to a month before people could return to survey the damage to their property. The delay was due to the fact that the streets were impassable, there was no safe water, no electricity, and no communication. It goes without saying that there were big safety concerns of all kinds as well.

There were also no places to buy provisions in order to begin life again. No groceries, restaurants, Home Depots, drug stores, enough medical care or schools, you name it we didn't have it. Heck, it took many months before we even got mail delivery again. In other words, the entire infrastructure of the city was destroyed and because of that, things at the beginning were at a near standstill. Putting a major metropolitan city back on it's feet again after something of this magnitude is no easy task. Add to that the usual and unusual insurance hassles,the businesses and jobs that were lost, and the number of poor and elderly who had limited resources before Katrina and even less after, and you may begin to see why things are the way they are.

And keep in mind I'm just addressing the greater New Orleans area. Many of the outlying areas of the city such as Jefferson, St. Bernard, Plaquemines and St.Tammany were also flooded and suffered severe damage. As to the loss of life, at last count, there was almost 1500 deaths in Louisiana attributable to the storm.

I'm glad that your state fared so well during the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons and I hope that you continue to do so in the future, but unless you have experienced the situation here, it's rather hard to grasp exactly with what we have had to deal.

[WasDougsLamb]

I purchased a doublewide 2 years ago for some property we own by the lake and when it was new, the smell of the chemical was a little strong. We opened the windows and aired it out. End of problem. These homes were given to them as TEMPORARY housing. Be grateful for the shelter! There are plenty of "homeless" people who live in cars and the streets who would love to have had a new mobile home handed to them. JMO