Brookfield man nets $190k settlement over toxic mold claim

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Brookfield man nets $190k settlement over toxic mold claim

Danbury News Times - Danbury,CT*

By Ali STAFF WRITER

Article Last Updated: 03/06/2008

http://www.newstimes.com/ci_8462586?source=most_viewed

BROOKFIELD -- A man who sued his landlord, claiming the home he and

his family were renting was poisonous, has won $190,000 in a

settlement from the landlord's insurance company, according to a

lawyer involved in the case.

J. Tricarico, who now lives on Vale Road, won the settlement

following a mediation session, according to New Milford lawyer Harry

Cohen, who originally represented Tricarico in the case.

The lawsuit was filed against landlord Miles Lynch in August 2005.

Tricarico leased a property at 89 Clearview Drive from 2003 through

2005 as a home for his family and his architectural engineering

business, Cohen said. He lived there with his wife, , and a

daughter who was then 8 years old.

Tricarico claims the property was " infected with toxic mold, which

was not made known to him at the time of leasing, and that he had

been in excellent health at the time of leasing, " according to Cohen.

Cohen said when Tricarico began to have swollen and painful joints

and rapidly gained weight, he thought he was having a recurrence of

Lyme disease, which he'd had in 1988. But treatment of his symptoms

was not successful.

Cohen said Tricarico became suspicious the house was making him sick

when his family also became sick.

" The mother and the daughter also felt the symptoms, but they were

not as severe, " Cohen said.

Cohen said the mold had a " devastating effect " on Tricarico's health

and " impacted his work, " causing a " projected loss of income. "

In the lawsuit, Tricarico claimed Lynch violated state law by

failing to keep the property " in a fit and habitable condition. "

Lynch's lawyer, Philip O'Connor of Hartford, could not be reached

for comment Wednesday, nor could Lynch himself.

Tricarico declined to comment on the case.

" I'm not going to say anything because I had a confidentiality

agreement, " he said.

Mold effects

n PEOPLE WITH SENSITIVITY TO MOLDS: For these people, mold exposure

can cause such symptoms as nasal stuffiness, eye irritation,

wheezing or skin irritation.

n People who have serious mold allergies may have more severe

reactions, including fever and shortness of breath. Severe reactions

can occur among workers exposed to large amounts of mold in

occupational settings, such as farmers who work around moldy hay.

n People with chronic lung illnesses, such as obstructive lung

disease, develop mold infections in their lungs.

Sources: State Department of Health and Human Services, Centers For

Disease Control And Prevention