For My Lawyer Friends
It has been announced that more than 20 mobile home manufacturers have agreed to pay $14.8 million to thousands of U.S. hurricane victims who said they were harmed by formaldehyde in the trailers. Why there would be defect in not one but all twenty manufacturers’ products is beyond me but let’s just say it is true. No one should be put in harm’s way (even though these victims had no where else to go) and I get that. I am not sure where the evidence of actual illnesses from the formaldehyde is actually documented but again let’s just say it is there. Lawyers get at least 25% of the money from the class action lawsuit award. Many time it is higher and don’t forget about their fees deducted before the money is split up. For now, however, we will just use the 25% leaving $11.1 million. So here is the best part that I want my lawyer friends to answer. The article goes on to say that the “number of claims could range from 10,000 to 20,000”. Let’s do the math. Divide $11.1 million by 20,000 and you get…….$555!!!! Now, how does that money help anyone? This could even be a lot less when lawyer fees are removed. What purpose did this really serve the little person who may have been injured by formaldehyde? And why doesn’t the article even mention this piddly sum? Shame on MSNBC.
This is an example of the true picture of “to pay fare share”,not that one mentioned on MSNBC every day
Particle board and carpeting used in mobile home manufacture regularly off-gass low levels of formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds for a short while after manufacture. Although there have been multiple claims of injury from formaldehyde, the actual levels are very low and there is really no good evidence that the levels are harmful beyond the irritant nature of formaldehyde vapor. Remember gross anatomy lab? The levels there were infinitely higher than in any mobile home.
The lawyers are probably looking at this math problem a little differently. Let’s see, 25% of $14.8 million is our cut, divided by ten lawyers = 1.48 million for each.
These homes were ALL manufactured under the auspices of each and every regulatory agency that our government could find. EVERY home met their stingent EPA and environmental codes. How could the manufacturer be liable?? Doesn’t our government know what is best for all of us??