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MORE
THAN
500
TRAILER
RESIDENTS
SUE
RV
MANUFACTURERS
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NEW
ORLEANS,
Aug.
8
/PRNewswire/
--
Mobile
home
and
travel
trailer
manufacturers
allegedly
exposed
displaced
victims
of
Hurricanes
Katrina
and
Rita
to
harmful
levels
of
formaldehyde,
according
to
a
lawsuit
filed
by
more
than
500
Louisianans
who
have
resided
in
the
federally
provided
housing
units.
Filed
late
Tuesday
in
New
Orleans
federal
court,
the
lawsuit
alleges
that
the
manufacturers
violated
federal
and
Louisiana
laws
by
producing
hurricane
relief
housing
units
that
emit
formaldehyde
"at
a
dangerously
unhealthy
rate."
The
plaintiffs
reside
or
have
resided
in
manufactured
mobile
homes
and
travel
trailers
that
were
provided
by
the
Federal
Emergency
Management
Agency
(FEMA)
after
the
landfalls
of
the
hurricanes
in
August
and
September
2005.
According
to
the
Complaint,
the
housing
units,
ordered
by
the
tens
of
thousands
by
the
federal
government,
were
manufactured
"without
the
benefits
of
Defendants'
usual
quality
control.
Defendants
were
unable
to
find
enough
construction
materials
from
their
usual
suppliers
of
low-formaldehyde
emitting
material,
and,
instead
used
high-formaldehyde
emitting
particle
board,
composite
woods,
adhesive
and
other
materials
in
the
manufacture
of
the
Housing
Units."
Attorneys
Tony
Buzbee
and
Peter
K.
Taaffe,
of
The
Buzbee
Law
Firm,
of
Galveston,
Texas,
and
John
Munoz,
of
Garner
&
Munoz,
of
New
Orleans,
represent
the
plaintiffs.
Mr.
Buzbee
stated,
"We
allege
that
the
defendants'
rush
to
manufacture
the
housing
units
led
them
to
produce
and
deliver
unsafe
and
hazardous
units.
Our
clients
report
a
wide
range
of
symptoms
that
are
consistent
with
formaldehyde
exposure.
This
troubling
situation
has
compounded
the
misery
of
many
who
were
displaced
by
Hurricanes
Katrina
and
Rita."
The
defendants
are
Gulf
Stream
Coach,
Inc.;
Fleetwood
Enterprises,
Inc.;
Jayco
Enterprises,
Inc.;
Starcraft
RV,
Inc.;
Forest
River,
Inc.;
Thor
Industries,
Inc.;
Coachmen
Industries,
Inc.;
Palomino
RV;
Pilgrim
International,
Inc.;
Keystone
Industries,
Inc.;
Morgan
Building
Systems,
Inc.;
Frontier
RV,
Inc.;
Recreation
by
Design,
LLC;
and
Skyline
Corp.
The
case
is
"Jerome
Anthony
Culler,
et
al.,
v.
Gulf
Stream
Coach,
Inc.,
et
al."
(Civil
Action
No.
07-4018)
in
the
U.S.
District
Court
of
the
Eastern
District
of
Louisiana.
The
lawsuit
will
not
be
pursued
as
a
class
action,
according
to
counsel.
What
do
you
think?
...
Add your comments
|
Readers'
comments:
Latest
first
beachbum
:
Does anyone have a list of either the worst brands or brands that are formaldehyde free?
Susan Rappoport
:
My brother bought a new travel trailer when he retired at age 54. He planned to live in it and travel to different parts of the country. After a short time, he started getting sick. He had slurred speech, loss of balance, severe depression and other symptoms. One side of his back started hurting. When we finally got him to go to the doctor, he had Stage IV kidney cancer. He died from it. I tested his trailer for formaldehyde over a year and half after he bought it. He had been airing it out all fall and into the winter. He was out of the trailer. My sister and I were taking care of him. The formaldehyde level in the trailer tested at .265 parts per million. A professional embalmer is exposed to .3 parts per million and is required to wear safety gear when using formaldehyde. He was my little brother. He worked so hard all his life. He was such a good person. My faith has been severely tested watching the pain and sickness he had to go through. The manufacturers of these trailers are not made to follow the law regarding the so-called "safe" level of formaldehyde, which I believe is .1 parts per million. There are those who think .1 parts per million is way too high for health safety. He died two years ago. I did extensive internet searches on formaldehyde. Today is the first time I have been able to get back on the internet and look up formaldehyde poisoning. My brother left three sisters and two sons broken hearted.
ALLEN FRALEY
:
I WAS POISONED BECAUSE MY CHEMCLEAN BOTTLE BY THETFORD RUPTURED AND RELEASED THE LIQID THROUGH OUT THE MOTOR HOME. EVIDENTLY THE BOTLE GOT TO HOT EVEN THOUGH THE AIR WAS ON. WE RETURNED IN THREE WEEKS OPENED THE DOOR, AND THE REST WAS HISTORY. I WAS BLEEDING FROM THE LUNGS ETC. HAD TO QUIT MY JOB AS DID MY WIFE. THE BOOTLE RUPTURED IN TWO LIKE SLITS AT THE BOTTOM AND THETFORD IS SAYING IT IS A CUT NOT A RUPTURE? ALL I KNOW IS I CAN HARDLY BREATH AFTER ALMOST A YEAR. AND SHARE MOST OF THE SYMTOMS OF THE OTHERS. HOW CAN WE TEST THAT BOTTLE?
Minnesota
:
I think I had formaldehyde poisoning in the 1980s from my new home. It was not diagnosed at the time, I came to suspect it later after reading a newspaper article on the subject.
My symptoms were: splitting headache for one year, insomnia, tired in daytime, severe short-term memory loss, burning esophagus, trouble inhaling deeply, trouble swallowing, pounding heart, depression, aching muscles, trouble making simple decisions and extreme muscle weakness.
The memory loss was such that when driving I would forget the difference between red and green traffic lights. When going to the mailbox or downstairs to the freezer, I would have to talk aloud continually, telling myself where I was going, otherwise, I would forget before I got there. I could not enjoy a television show because my bad memory would not allow me to follow the plot. When reading a book (and I read every book I could find on depression), I would have to re-read each paragraph 5-10 times before it would sink into my memory.
The headache was so bad that I would tip-toe around the house, because any jostling at all increased the pain of the pounding headache.
The breathing problems were so bad that I was afraid to go to sleep at night, fearing that I would suffocate because it was such an effort to breathe.
It was so hard to swallow that I would carry a napkin around to spit in rather than subject myself to needless swallowing.
namsangels
:
Did anyone have memory loss, eye color change, muscle pain?
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