Re: Doctors: Post-Katrina environment damages heart

[Guest guest]

WOW, this pretty much says it all, I really dont wish this illness

on anyone, but I'd really like for some of these S.O.B.'s to get it,

and if thats what it takes, let it be. I guess this guy is now on the

insane list with the rest of

us.

>

> Doctors: Post-Katrina environment damages heart

>

> 06:00 PM CST on Tuesday, March 28, 2006

> By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA-TV

>

>

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa060

> 328_wz_katrinaclaims.6d7027d0.html

>

> After spending months as a property insurance claims adjuster in

the

> New Orleans hurricane zone, Tim Bell began coughing and wheezing.

>

> His time in the region ravaged by Hurricane Katrina was punctuated

> by often-horrific sights and smells: Slugde. Mold. Dead animals.

>

>

> Now, after extensive testing, Bell said doctors have diagnosed him

> with congestive heart failure.

>

> According to medical records, doctors believe his condition

resulted

> from exposure to a microorganism, raw sewage or perhaps mold from

> the post-Katrina Louisiana environment.

>

> Bell filed a workers compensation claim through his company and St.

> Travelers Insurance.

>

> " They denied the claim, saying there's no way you can actually

prove

> that that's actually where you picked it up, " Bell said.

>

> The irony isn't lost on Bell, who recommended insurance settlements

> worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to devastated property

> owners.

>

> As a claims adjuster, he knows what's at stake. " It's hard to

> believe that I'm the only one who became ill out in the field, " he

> said.

>

> For now, Bell is continuing to file claims, hoping that—like the

> property owners he helped—he'll eventually be reimbursed for what

he

> lost: his health.

>

> News 8 contacted the Centers for Disease Control and the New

Orleans

> Health Department to learn if there have been other health claims

> like Bell's, but we were unable to identify any that had been

> reported or confirmed by authorities.

>

> St. Travelers Insurance declined comment on this workers

> compensation case citing patient confidentiality.

>

> E-mail jstjames@...

>