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Mold Suspected Of Making Corrections Officers Sick

POSTED: 5:45 pm EDT June 12, 2003

Nearly one hundred corrections officers at the Volusia County Jail have filed worker's compensation claims during the past few months.

Now three officers from the Flagler County Jail have done the same. They all think they can prove that it's their workplace making them sick.

John Hauser struggles just to walk. His muscles and joints ache and his life has been changed forever.

"It makes it hard just to function," said former corrections officer John Hauser.

He used to be able to keep up with the inmates at the Volusia County Jail. He was a senior corrections officer who loved his job.

"It's a great place to work, except for the environment," adds Hauser.

Mold is on ceiling tiles, in the air ducts and even on the floors.

"The first day I was in the building, up on the unit, there was water coming through the ceilings."

His attorney, Mark Zimmerman, took the case.

"I told him it was going to be difficult to convince anybody the environment was causing illness in the jail," said Zimmerman.

But then clients came in by the dozens, and they aren't looking to get rich with a civil suit. They are only filing for workers' compensation.

"To make the workplace a place where they can work without worrying and just to make sure they have medical coverage," said Zimmerman. "Other officers now are in some cases dying of cancer and to me it just gets me right here."

Zimmerman already represents one of the Flagler officers, and says the cases sound similar. In that other case, he's still waiting on scientific evidence. He says Volusia's is already clear.

But Volusia County says its jail is not a sick building, and that there are three studies to prove it.

"If employees have claims and those claims are proven to be illness related to the building," said one County official, "certainly we'll honor those claims but we're not going pay claims that have no merit."

Ultimately a Judge may have to decide and John Hauser says he's up for the fight.

"It's not easy, but I do it on behalf of the other officers that are in there…they deserve better," said a determined Hauser.

The attorney says it probably isn't a coincidence that both jails are going through this at the same time. He says these kinds of buildings are known for having poor ventilation.

Flagler Beach officials will decide soon whether it needs to tear down the police department building because of mold.

The mold made several officers and staff sick. They've been working out of a trailer since last month. Environmental tests show there is mold in the building, and it must be cleaned out.

Commissioners will decide whether to tear down the whole building or spend $350,000 to make repairs.


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