Maria Rosa Fabián Alvizo said her daughter’s life changed forever after she and her husband rented a University-owned apartment contaminated with mold. In March 2004, Fabián Alvizo, University law student Masi Heamish, her husband, and their daughter moved from student housing on campus to the University-owned Spencer View Apartments on Patterson Street At that time the couple’s daughter, Trinidad Fabián Alvizo, was a healthy infant, but almost immediately after moving into Unit 220, her mother said, she became “incredibly sick.”
She said when they found a large patch of black-colored mold on the wall in the corner of their bedroom and surrounding a window about a year after moving in, she was shocked – shocked enough to sue the University for $175,000 in damages
But an expert from the Oregon Department of Human Services said it’s almost impossible for serious illness to result from exposure to mold.
The complaint filed in July 2006 by Kenneth Dobson, their lawyer, claims the University was negligent because it failed to discover and repair a two-foot crack on the exterior of the building that allowed water to leak into the wall cavity where mold was flourishing. In its answer to the complaint, dated Sept. 29, 2006, the University claimed the city’s weatherization standards cited in the complaint don’t apply to Spencer View Apartments and it denies responsibility for the plaintiffs’ injuries. The University’s attorney could not be reached for comment. The case is presently in the discovery process, with both sides collecting additional evidence, and Dobson expects a settlement.
Fabián Alvizo and Heamish took their daughter to the doctor three or four times a week as she developed pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections, ear infections and had difficulty gaining weight, Fabián Alvizo said. Trinidad’s parents got sick, too. According to the complaint the couple filed against the University in Lane County Circuit Court, Heamish suffered from recurring respiratory infections, fatigue and had difficulty concentrating. Fabián Alvizo recalled having flu-like symptoms constantly.
“My body ached. I had really bad headaches,” she said. “I couldn’t breathe through my nose right; my sinuses were swollen up. My skin, on my face especially, would get really swollen.”
Shortly after Heamish complained, the University sent inspectors to test the spore count in the apartment. The test results reported the amount of aspergillus/penicillium spores in the bedroom at 1,200 times the outdoor control concentration level. Dobson, a Portland, Ore., lawyer who specializes in mold-related cases and is representing the family, said it’s one of the highest concentrations he’s ever seen.
About half of his cases involve mold-related injuries and he is currently representing another woman in Lane County who got a lung infection from mold growing in her workplace.
While many lawsuits attribute a variety of illnesses to mold, Oregon Department of Human Services Public Health Educator Shannon Levitt said, “reliable science tells us that mold releases toxins, but the likelihood of it causing a severe illness is very slim.”
She said it only makes preexisting symptoms worse and, while it can exaggerate asthma, it doesn’t cause it; after people are removed from the moldy environment, their symptoms disappear. She said part of her job in the office of Environmental Toxicology is to clear up misconceptions about the health risks associated with mold. “It’s an irritant like pollen, pet dander or dust,” she said. “Everyone is going to react differently.”
Levitt said people call the ODHS wondering about the toxicity of the mold in their homes and asking if it’s going to make them sick.
What they really need to do, she said, “is find out where the moisture is coming from.”
Viruses and bacteria thrive in the same damp, warm environment that mold does. She said it’s hard to trace many illnesses back to mold and while it’s common to find toxic mold in houses, it’s rare to have a reaction to it.
“I know what it did to my daughter…” Fabián Alvizo said, “and to Masi Heamish and to myself.”
Now almost 3 years old, Trinidad needs an inhaler three times a day and pills, just for maintenance. She watches Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” in the living room of their Eugene home as her mother explains how now, one and a half years after moving out of the spore-ridden apartment, Trinidad continues to suffer from severe asthma. On days when her daughter is sick, she stays home from school with an in-house nurse. There are weeks when Fabián Alvizo, a social worker for Head Start, has to miss work two or three times because Trinidad is ill.
While the University allowed the family to move to a different unit after a few weeks, not all landlords accommodate as willingly because the solutions are often costly. A spore test alone can cost hundreds of dollars. While most inspectors require the property owner’s permission before they test, the landlord doesn’t have to pay for it.
“Some landlords take it seriously, but I’ve dealt with plenty of slumlords who put no effort into maintenance,” Dobson said. “It’s amazing the neglect you see in some places.”
Dobson said he thinks Eugene should follow Portland’s example and institute regulations that address excessive mold in living areas. Eugene has building codes in place that regulate causes of mold like water leakage and ventilation. But a building, as mandated by the Eugene Rental Housing Code, only needs to meet the standards that were in place the year it was constructed, City of Eugene building official Stuart Ramsing said.
If tenants have moisture in their residence, they should contact their landlord in writing. If the problem isn’t repaired within 10 days, they can complain to the City of Eugene through the Rental Housing Code. Ramsing’s staff will then inspect and evaluate the situation, he said.
According to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency’s online guide to mold, evidence of water damage could be a sign that mold is lurking inside walls, behind wallpaper or above ceiling tiles. The EPA recommends having professionals investigate because opening up mold-ridden cavities could release unhealthy amounts of spores into the air. Fabián Alvizo said, in her case, inspectors told the family not to touch anything, to shut the door and to stay out of the bedroom.