Chinese Drywall Lawsuit
If you have been injured as a result of a toxic chinese drywall product, you may be eligble for compensation and should find a lawyer who specializes in product liability litigation and toxic injury torts. You can discuss your legal options regarding a potential personal injury lawsuit and all surrounding circumstances to be sure your rights have been protected. Personal injury lawyers who specializes in your type of injury lawsuit will be the best legal option. Florida and Lousiana are believed to be the states that are the most affected but problems also have been reported in the press in Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi and California.
The scope of the problem is huge. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the devastating levee breaks that followed damaged more than 1.2 million housing units, with more than 309,000 of those units sustaining major or severe damage. While Florida has received 60 percent of imported Chinese drywall since 2006, Louisiana is the second highest recipient. Louisiana has received 60.2 million pounds of imported Chinese drywall, and it may have been used in an estimated 7,000 Louisiana homes. All told, it is believed that between 60,000 and 100,000 homes nationwide may contain potentially defective drywall.
Read frequently asked questions about chinese drywall and about the chinese drywall investigation.
Consumers from at least 13 States and the District of Columbia have reported health symptoms or certain metal corrosion problems in their homes that may be related to drywall imported from China. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), together with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is moving aggressively to use all available resources and expertise to fully investigate this serious matter and find solutions. We are also working with State and local authorities to coordinate our response and talking with the Chinese government.
Senators Landrieu, and Bill Nelson, D-Fla., last month filed legislation aimed at initiating a recall and imposing an immediate ban on defective building products from China. The centerpiece of their legislation is a resolution pressing the CPSC to recall Chinese-made drywall, based in part on findings by a Florida homebuilder and state officials who have confirmed the presence of sulfide gases in homes built with the drywall.
Sens. Nelson and Landrieu said they are pressing the CPSC for a recall in hopes of jump-starting a process for helping affected homeowners with the costs of repairs or replacement, which under their legislation would be the responsibility of the Chinese manufacturers. Such a process would also provide clarity to businesses in the construction and homebuilding sectors, key industries along the Gulf Coast.
The Nelson-Landrieu legislation also asks the CPSC to work with federal testing labs and the Environmental Protection Agency to determine the level of hazard posed by certain chemicals in the drywall. In addition, the legislation calls on the commission to issue an interim ban on imports until it can review federal drywall safety standards to ensure that consumers are protected.
To date, the CPSC has received over 180 reports from residents in 13 States and the District of Columbia who believe their health symptoms or the corrosion of certain metal components in their homes are related to the presence of drywall produced in China. State and local authorities have also received similar reports. We received our first incident report from a consumer on December 22, 2008.
The majority of the reports to the CPSC have come from consumers residing in the State of Florida while others have come from consumers in Louisiana, Virginia, Wisconsin, Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, California, Washington, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, Arizona, and Tennessee. Consumers largely report that their homes were built in 2006 to 2007, when an unprecedented increase in new construction occurred in part due to the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005.
Common features of the reports submitted to the CPSC from homes believed to contain problem drywall have been:
- Consumers have reported a "rotten egg" smell within their homes
- Consumers have reported health concerns such as irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty in breathing, persistent cough, bloody noses, runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infection, and asthma attacks.
- Consumers have reported blackened and corroded metal components in their homes and the frequent replacement of components in air conditioning units
