State (land) Denies claim of Ill Worker (Carol ) - Version #2

[Guest guest]

METROPOLITAN TIMES;BRIEFLY;MARYLAND

The Washington Times

5-11-1999, pp

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

----

STATE DENIES CLAIM OF ILL COUNTY WORKER

FREDERICK - The state has denied a woman's claim that Frederick County

should help pay the costs of a debilitating illness she said was triggered

by conditions in the county office building where she worked.

The county's attorney argued successfully before the State Workers'

Compensation Commission that Carol 's lifelong respiratory problems

made her unusually susceptible to the building's high levels of humidity and

mold spores.

Mrs. 's reaction to the spores put her in the hospital for three

weeks in 1996 and severely damaged her immune, neurological and muscle

systems, she said yesterday. She hasn't worked since January 1998 and spends

most of her time in bed while her medical bills mount beyond $100,000, she

said.

Three months after she fell seriously ill in May 1996, the county closed the

building and installed a dehumidifier to reduce mold spore readings that had

been tested at more than 10 times the level considered risky for people with

mold allergies or respiratory disease.