New Jersey Injury Lawyer Blog

A recently filed lawsuit alleging that improper construction led to the existence of mold asserts both property damage claims and personal injury claims. Generally, cases of this type assert that either the builder or their sub contractors were negligent in the construction of the plaintiff's dwelling or that a landlord or maintenance company were negligent in failing to properly maintain the premises. Under either scenario, the basis of these claims is that water was allowed to infiltrate into the buildings and provide optimal conditions in which mold is able to grow and thrive. Oftentimes, the mold is hidden in areas such as crawl spaces and attics and may not be discovered for some time.

With regard to personal injury claims, the existence of certain types of mold cause the inhabitants of the building to will suffer from various illnesses which are usually respiratory in nature. The key to successfully litigating such cases is establishing the causal link between the complained of illness and the mold that exists. Thus, it is important for the injured person to obtain and retain samples of the mold once it is found. Usually a medical mycologist will be able to test the mold to determine its genus and species and to establish as causal relation between the mold and the illness.

Once a causal connection is made between the mold and the illness it is then important to have an expert determine the cause of the mold's existence. It must be determined if the mold's presence was caused by improper or negligent construction of the premises, the improper or negligent maintenance of the premises or some other reason. It must be mentioned that a builder may not be sued in New Jersey more than ten years after the Certificate of Occupancy of the building was issued.

Accordingly, it is important to seek the advice of both medical and legal professionals as soon as one believes that they are suffering an illness from the existence of mold. Failure to do so may result in the inability to properly pursue certain rights under the law.