News that a Loudoun County judge has reduced a mold award from $4.75 million to $1.4 may not be a bad thing in this economy. The decision was based on the lack of permanent injury to Paul and Wendy Meng after leaky basement windows caused mold to grow inside their $900,000 house.
There is no medical proof that mold cause health effects, a possible exception in Aspergillus type cases. Without the medical evidence, $1.4 million is never going to be enough for a family that first heard $4.75, however, it’s a whole lot more than what other juries and/or judges are handing out in mold cases. Experienced attorneys are very cautious about taking on a mold case because they realize they have no medical science to help them regarding personal injury. Most write-ups that I have read are cases that settle out of court, the very prudent attorney would take on a mold case on a contingency fee, unless there was clear evidence of property damage. Property Damage awards are not uncommon in big numbers.
Maybe a few more home owners will send in their trusty mold inspectors like Bye Bye Mold™ to see what exactly they’re dealing with–
It’s not over though–the decision will stand at least untill the appeal.