Mold can cause serious damage to your property and health. If you discover mold growing in your home or business, don’t ignore it. You’ll need to take action quickly to clean up the problem and explore your legal options.
What Is Toxic Mold?
Mold is everywhere. You can find it in the air inside and outside and on many surfaces. Leaking roofs and burst pipes are the leading causes of mold growth in homes and buildings. Materials like ceiling tiles, drywall, wallpaper, carpet, and upholstery are vulnerable to mold infestations.
Mold can cause serious property damage and require extensive (and expensive) clean-up and removal, called mold remediation.
Mold can also cause some people to get sick. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), studies have found a link between indoor exposure to mold and certain health effects, including:
- allergic reactions (stuffy nose, wheezing, red or itchy eyes and skin)
- upper respiratory tract symptoms in healthy people (cough, wheezing)
- asthma symptoms in people with asthma
- lung damage in people with immune suppression, and
- the development of asthma in children.
Some people claim that exposure to molds that produce mycotoxins (“toxic mold”) can cause more serious health problems, such as memory loss, pulmonary hemorrhage (bleeding in the lungs), lethargy, and even death. According to the CDC, researchers have not proven a definitive link between these conditions and toxic mold exposure, further studies are needed.
Should I File a Toxic Mold Lawsuit?
Toxic mold lawsuits are complicated and expensive. Before you decide whether you should file a lawsuit, you need to figure out what kind of claim you have.
Most toxic mold lawsuits are disputes over property damage and personal injury. Property claims tend to be more straightforward than personal injury claims because the science regarding whether mold can cause certain illnesses is still unsettled. But, on the other hand, personal injury claims are probably worth more than claims involving property damage only.
The bottom line is that you’ll need to weigh the economic risks of filing an insurance claim or lawsuit against the potential benefits. A lawyer can help you estimate how much your case is worth and how much it might cost to litigate.
Learn more about calculating personal injury compensation, damages, and settlements.
Who Can I Sue for Toxic Mold?
If you’ve suffered harm because of a toxic mold infestation or exposure, you may be able to file an insurance claim or lawsuit against anyone who intentionally or carelessly caused or contributed to your mold problem.
Potential targets for toxic mold lawsuits (called “defendants”) likely include some combination of the following people and businesses.
Insurance Companies
Property owners and renters may file “bad faith” claims against their insurance companies if the insurers improperly delayed, undervalued, or denied their toxic mold claims.
Landlords, Property Managers, and Homeowner Associations
If you're renting a home or commercial space, your landlord or property manager may be liable (legally responsible) for health problems and damage to your personal property arising from mold exposure. If you have renters insurance, your policy will cover property damage caused by mold that’s the result of a covered event, like water damage from a burst pipe.
Learn more about landlord liability for toxic and black mold.
Architects, Builders, and Contractors
If you purchased a newly built home or commercial space, architects, builders, and contractors could be liable if your mold problem is the result of sub-standard work. If you have a “new-home warranty,” you may be able to claim that the builder or contractor violated or “breached” the warranty.
Material Suppliers
If you can show that the mold infestation started with moldy construction materials such as drywall or siding, you may have a claim against the suppliers or manufacturers of the mold-infested material.
Prior Homeowners
Most states require sellers to disclose known problems to potential buyers, including the presence of a mold infestation. If the prior owner knew about the mold problem and didn’t tell you about it, the owner may be liable for violating disclosure laws.
Learn more about how to recognize potential mold problems before buying a house.
Inspectors and Remediators
If you hired a company to inspect and clean up your property after an event, like a flood, hurricane, or mold infestation, and toxic mold showed up after the work was done, you might be able to sue the company for negligence.
Each toxic mold case is unique. More than one defendant is likely responsible for your mold-related problems. The best way to determine who you can and should sue is to talk to a lawyer.
How Much Is a Toxic Mold Case Worth?
Understandably, when deciding whether to file a toxic mold lawsuit, most people want to know how much compensation they’re likely to get. The legal term for money awarded in a lawsuit based on an injury or loss is “damages.”
The types of damages you can receive in a toxic mold case vary based on the facts of the case. Are you suing over property damage, health problems, or both? Damages in a toxic mold case may include some or all of the following losses.
Repairs or rebuild. If your property suffers mold damage, your compensation may include the cost of whatever repairs it takes to fix the problem or the cost of new construction to rebuild.
Relocation costs. If you have to temporarily move because of mold damage, you can ask for compensation for your rental and relocation expenses.
Loss of fair market value. Some houses lose value because they are associated with mold damage, even after the property is cleaned up and repaired. You can try to recover for the loss of your property’s fair market value if you’re property has been stigmatized by toxic mold.
Property replacement. Mold can damage or destroy personal property like clothing, furniture, and artwork. You can ask for compensation for the cost of replacing ruined personal and household items.
Inspections. Before you file a mold-related insurance claim or lawsuit, you may have to hire a company to assess the extent of the damage and get an estimate of the costs to remediate the mold problem. You can ask for reimbursement for inspection and testing costs.
Remediation. The CDC offers tips on mold cleanup. But some jobs are too difficult or dangerous for homeowners and renters to do themselves, particularly if heating, ventilating, or air conditioning (HVAC) systems are involved. If you have to hire a mold remediation professional to repair and restore damaged parts of your property, you can recover cleanup costs if you win your toxic mold lawsuit.
Medical Bills. If a mold exposure made you sick, your medical bills are part of your damages if you’re able to prove a link between the presence of mold and your health problems.
Lost wages and reduced earning capacity. If you had to miss work or lost out on business opportunities due to mold-related problems, you can ask for compensation for lost income.
Pain and suffering. In addition to out-of-pocket expenses like medical bills and lost income, you may be entitled to compensation for non-economic damages (also called “general damage”), including compensation for pain and suffering, anxiety, and emotional distress.
Punitive damages. In some cases, people suing over toxic mold (called “plaintiffs”), can ask for punitive damages. Most damage awards are meant to compensate plaintiffs for their losses. Punitive damages are meant to punish defendants for their bad conduct.
What Do I Need to Prove to Win a Mold Lawsuit?
Mold cases come in many forms. They may involve single-family homes, commercial buildings, apartment buildings, schools, and hotels. As previously noted, potential defendants in toxic mold cases include property owners, sellers, contractors, insurers, and many more. Toxic mold disputes may involve property damage, personal injury, or insurance coverage.
The proof an individual plaintiff will need to win a toxic mold lawsuit varies depending on the type of claim and the defendant involved. A new home buyer suing a contractor for breach of warranty is going to have to prove something entirely different than a parent suing an insurance company for failing to pay for the removal of a moldy floor that’s making a child sick. A lawyer can help you figure out what type of claim you have and exactly what you’ll need to prove.
That being said, all toxic mold cases typically involve the same fundamental questions:
- Is there a mold problem?
- Did the defendant cause the mold problem?
- Did the plaintiff suffer harm, such as property damage or health problems?
- Was the plaintiff’s harm caused by the mold problem?
Most plaintiffs’ attorneys rely on experts to prove the extent of the mold problem and that the mold caused harm. Experts in a toxic mold case may include microbiologists, mycologists, industrial hygienists, building defect experts, remediation experts, and medical experts.
How to File a Mold Claim
If you suspect a mold problem, you can prepare for a potential insurance claim or lawsuit. Make sure you:
- Call your insurance agent right away to report the problem. If you wait too long, the insurance company may try to deny your claim.
- Take detailed notes of every conversation you have related to your mold problem, including conversations with insurance adjusters, contractors, and doctors.
- Review your insurance policy to understand your coverage.
- Protect your property from further damage.
- Photograph, videotape, and inventory all damaged property.
- Preserve damaged property for potential testing.
- Cooperate with your insurance company’s investigation, but don’t give a recorded or sworn statement.
- Research contractors the insurance company hires to remediate the mold problem. Push to hire your preferred choice if possible.
- Know how much time you have to file a lawsuit (more on that below).
- Get help from your state’s department of insurance or a lawyer who has experience with toxic mold cases.
Toxic mold cases are complicated. Before you reach a final settlement with your insurance company, talk to a lawyer. A lawyer can help you understand your policy and fully access your coverage. A lawyer can also help you decide when to file a toxic mold lawsuit.
If your claim is under a certain amount, you may be able to represent yourself and file a toxic mold claim in small claims court. Find the small claim limit in your state and learn more about small claims court and lawsuits.
Toxic Mold Lawsuit Settlements
Most lawsuits, including lawsuits involving toxic mold, settle well before trial. The potential benefits of settling a toxic mold case include:
- saving money on expert witness fees and attorneys’ fees
- avoiding the uncertainty and stress of a courtroom battle, and
- maintaining privacy for both sides.
How Likely Are You to Receive a Toxic Mold Lawsuit Settlement?
The number of toxic mold claims and settlements rose dramatically starting in the early 2000s after a Texas jury awarded Melinda Ballard $32 million for mold-related damages in a bad faith insurance case. The Ballard verdict was later reduced on appeal, but news coverage of the case set off a wave of litigation and settlements.
Eventually, the insurance industry responded by excluding mold coverage in many policies and defendants effectively pushed back on the medical and scientific basis for personal injury claims in many cases.
Now the likelihood of a settlement in your toxic mold case isn’t going to be based on insurance industry trends and blockbuster verdicts in the news, but on the strengths of your case and your ability to hire high-quality (and high-cost) experts.
Is There an Average Toxic Mold Lawsuit Settlement Amount?
Most toxic mold settlements are confidential so there’s no way to determine average settlement amounts.
The value of your toxic mold case isn’t based on an average, but on factors that are specific to your case, including your:
- property damage
- medical bills and treatment
- lost income, and
- pain and suffering.
Recent Mold Lawsuit Outcomes
Here are a few real-world examples of toxic mold settlements and verdicts to give you an idea of the potential value of mold claims. As noted, each mold case is unique. You shouldn’t view these settlements and verdicts as an indication of the value of your case. Also, keep in mind that big verdicts get publicized while smaller ones often fly under the radar.
- $2,043,970 verdict in favor of a tenant who suffered injuries, including chronic fatigue and pain as a result of water damage and mold growth caused by a leaking ceiling in a lakefront home in California rented from the defendants in 2015. The jury award included compensation for medical expenses, relocation expenses, replacement and repair costs for clothing and furniture, and physical and mental pain and suffering. (Ghafouri v. Daftary et al., WL 2455453 (Cal. Super. 2023).)
- $600,000 judgment in favor of condo owners in Alabama who developed migraine strokes, pneumonia, and respiratory issues from mold exposure in 2015. The homeowners association knew that other units in the development were having issues with mold, but didn’t disclose this to the condo owners. The judgment included compensation for medical expenses, rental expenses, association dues, and mental anguish. (Calvin and Kathy McClellan v. Holiday Isle Owners Association, Inc. and Gulf View Sliders, Inc., WL 8154361 (Ala.Cir.Ct. 2021).)
- $25,000 settlement in favor of tenants who suffered injuries and damages as a result of water intrusion, mold, and other toxins while living in an apartment in California owned by the defendants from October 2007 through October 2008. (Jewett v. Citrus Ave. Partners, LLC, WL 4732830 (Cal.Super. 2011).)
- $3 million verdict against a builder in favor of homeowners in Ohio who said they were forced out of their $219,000 home after toxic mold took over. The court also ordered the construction company to pay the homeowners’ $700,000 legal bill when the case was decided in 2008.
- $500,000 verdict against a builder whose improper design and defective construction of a brand new single-family residence caused mold growth that worsened the homeowners’ allergies and asthma, decayed the property, and diminished the value of the home. (Richard and Lynne Rosenfield v. Urban Renaissance, WL 23207892 (Or.Cir. 2003).)
Filing Deadlines for Toxic Mold Lawsuits
If you’re thinking about filing a toxic mold claim, you have to know which filing deadlines—called “statutes of limitation”—apply to your claims. Each state sets its own deadlines for different types of claims. For example, the filing deadline in your state may be different for property claims and personal injury claims. The time period to file a claim typically starts when the mold problem started, or when the person harmed by the mold knows or has reason to know of the mold-related damage or injury.
If you wait too long to file your lawsuit, a court will have no choice but to dismiss it and you’ll miss out on your chance to get compensation for your losses.
Calculating the statute of limitations for mold claims is complicated and the consequences for missing the deadline are harsh. Talk to a lawyer if you have questions about the time limits that apply to your claims.
Learn more about calculating the statute of limitations and civil statutes of limitations in your state.
Next Steps
For more information on how to deal with mold, check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommendations on how to control mold.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also offers information and guidance for homeowners and renters on how to clean up residential mold problems and prevent mold growth in A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home.
Some states have passed mold-related laws and regulations. The National Center for Healthy Housing maintains a list of laws and policies adopted by states to address mold and mold remediation.
A lawyer can walk you through your options for dealing with a toxic mold problem, including filing an insurance claim or a lawsuit.
Talk to a Personal Injury Lawyer
If you're thinking about filing a mold-related insurance claim or lawsuit, talk to a lawyer. A lawyer can answer your questions and offer you an informed opinion about the strengths and weaknesses of your case and the net value of your claim (the value of your claim minus the likely cost of your claim).
Learn more about when to hire a personal injury lawyer and how to find the right personal injury lawyer. When you're ready, you can connect with a lawyer directly from this page for free.