Jail staff to split $495,000 over mold-sickness claim

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Jail staff to split $495,000 over mold-sickness claim

Orlando Sentinel - Orlando,FL

Caldwell | Sentinel Staff Writer

Posted December 15, 2006

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-

vsettle1506dec15,0,1528285.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-volusia

Nearly 100 people who complained that toxic molds made them sick at

the county jail are about to receive a half-million dollars in a

workers' compensation settlement from the county, officials said

Thursday.

Experts for the county never found the mold that experts for the

jail workers discovered.

The settlement won't be final until the County Council approves it

at its meeting Thursday, said Assistant County Attorney e .

But after the deal is sealed, she said, the complainants will each

get about $5,000 and it will be difficult for them to call the

Volusia County Branch Jail a " sick building " again.

" This should be the end of it, " said. " There are no more

claimants that can file because of the statute of limitations, since

it's been more than two years. "

In 2003, more than a third of the jail's then-300-plus employees

filed workers' compensation complaints, citing respiratory problems,

skin rashes and other illnesses.

The first complainant, Hauser, said he had been getting sick

since 1991, a year after he started working there. His complaints

and those from another corrections officer, Sperber, prompted

more complaints throughout the jail, which escalated when their

attorney, Mark Zimmerman, hired an expert to test the building.

Zimmerman's expert, Lipsey of ville, said he found

mold problems so severe that it could lead to problems such as

chronic bronchitis, asthma or even cancer.

" They, in my opinion, really scared the rest of the employees, "

said. " It really scared the rest of the employees, but

understandably so. "

The county's experts said they found nothing of the sort. Instead,

they reported that the jail, which had to replace its leaky roof

shortly after the building was built in 1987, had a problem with

water intrusion and aging air conditioners.

County officials acknowledged that such conditions could worsen

existing asthma or other ailments, but they insisted there was no

mold.

County officials said they fixed the roof and have been working on

the intrusion and air-conditioning issues.

" Our goal was to protect our employees, " said. " I mean, if the

place is bad, we obviously want to know about it. "

Some of Zimmerman's clients dropped out after the county brought in

the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, an arm of

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The agency, which makes recommendations in workers' comp cases,

couldn't find any potential health hazards.

The money will go to 97 former and current jail workers who will

have to split the settlement almost evenly, officials said.

Hauser is poised to get $15,000. The others are lined up to get

about $5,000 each. said she couldn't answer why Hauser was

getting more than the others were, referring the question to

Zimmerman, who wouldn't comment Thursday.

Calls to Hauser were not immediately returned.

Complainants also have to pay their own attorney fees, which could

range from $1,500 to $1,700, said.

As part of the settlement, all 97 clients must sign a release saying

that the jail was not a sick building, added.

considered the $495,000 settlement a win for the county. If

the mediation would have gone to trial for all 97 cases, she said,

the legal process -- including charges for experts and attorneys --

alone would've cost the county at least $1 million.

" From a litigation standpoint, " said of the county's

settlement costs, " that's not a lot of money. "

Caldwell can be reached at tcaldwell@... or

386-851-7910.