A YouTube video, embedded below, gives a quick two minute run-down of the Chinese Drywall issue and how it can effect homes and their residents. While it has a Florida focus, the same effects and problems are being reported in Louisiana and elsewhere.
While it’s hard to tell what type of drywall was used in your home after everything is painted and the home is officially a “home,” there are various health problems and symptoms that homeowners with drywall from China are experiencing. These symptoms include:
The Florida Department of Health issued a report on Monday that confirmed what the media and homeowners have known for months: Chinese drywall is toxic.
Chinese drywall samples give off a sulfur odor when exposed to heat and moisture, according to a 66-page report released Monday by the Florida Department of Health.
The findings of the investigation, conducted by Unified Engineering, a private lab, will be detailed later Monday during a press conference by the department, which is analyzing drywall in response to a widening product liability crisis.
Residents of the Gulf Coast region are finding a new danger, this time in their homes. Chinese-made drywall is reportedly causing damage to health and property that the public at large, and Louisiana residents in particular, needs to be well aware of.
(CNN) — Officials are looking into claims that Chinese-made drywall installed in some Florida homes is emitting smelly, corrosive gases and ruining household systems such as air conditioners, the Consumer Product Safety Commission says.
Gas emitted from defective drywall corrodes copper wiring, turning it black, some Florida homeowners say.
Starting today and running through Friday, this blog will run through the emerging dangers coming up about Chinese drywall. Suddenly popping up on the news, this drywall is believed to emit gas that damages homes’ wiring and foundation while at the same time causing negative health effects to residents. With experts believing that tens of thousands of homes could have been built using Chinese drywall, and with health effects being reported within the state of Louisiana, it is important that people be aware. As thousands of homes were rebuilt or repaired in the wake of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Gulf Coast region, this drywall may become a huge problem for residents and getting out the information on this potentially dangerous material is a priority for us at the Berniard Law Firm. That the drywall may have been used everywhere across the country points out that individuals, whether in New Orleans, Huntsville or Boston, should get information immediately about the walls in their homes.
With the class approved, a judge in Orleans Parish awarded residents of Louisiana $1,000 each from Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance for how they handled claims after Hurricane Katrina. The Berniard Law Firm’s founder, Jeff Berniard, was part of the litigation and continued his record of helping residents get the justice they deserve when insurance companies act in bad faith of the law.
Judge approves Citizens class action settlement in Orleans Parish
by Rebecca Mowbray, The Times-Picayune
The San Francisco Gate features an article that helpfully and articulately describes the difference between property and disaster insurance. Embedded within the article are links to other articles that help outline the grey area that can often exist on the issue. While this blog has tried to explain this in the past, every article an insurance policyholder in the Gulf Coast can read on the topic is worthwhile as recent years have shown insurance nightmares can easily spring up.
An EXCERPT:
The key today, with so many options, is to first assess exactly what you need and then work with an insurance agent to figure out the best package: one that covers your most significant risks. It’s not an either/or scenario that you want, but a combination of policies that provides protection without duplicating coverage. It is common for business owners to fail to look closely at what is covered by their property insurance and buy another policy that covers many of the same risks. Conversely, many policyholders mistakenly assume disasters such as flooding are covered under one of their policies and don’t discover until they’re underwater that neither their property insurance nor their disaster insurance covers flooding.
During an interview with WBRZ, Louisiana’s insurance chief reminded Gulf Coast residents about tax rebates available to citizens in the wake of Gustav and Ike.
Homeowners who suffered property damage from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike are eligible for two tax rebates and a tax deduction. Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said property owners will receive a rebate if they were charged for a Louisiana Citizens assessment on their 2008 policies. Additionally, residents can claim damages in excess of $100 as a 2008 federal hurricane tax deduction.
The video of the interview can be found here.
Recently available online is an article profiling attorney Jeff Berniard’s work in defending policyholder’s rights post-Katrina. The article, written by Lawyers USA, describes Mr. Berniard’s strategy and success in helping Louisiana homeowners receive the justice they deserve.
An excerpt:
New Orleans attorney Jeffrey Berniard was a refugee from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina last year when he realized that the monstrous storm could contain a silver lining for his practice.
In an article for the Star Telegram and the AP, more information is given on the increased HUD assistance coming through for Texas… to the tune of over a billion dollars:
The federal government is releasing $1.3 billion in federal housing assistance to 62 Texas counties help rebuild from the damage caused by three hurricanes in 2008, the top U.S. housing official announced Friday.
The money is to be spent on producing affordable rental housing, to rebuild critical infrastructure and to support economic revitalization, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said at a Houston news conference
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