In its current form, California Senate Bill 655 is a scam. It is discrimination against those being environmentally disabled by exposure to biocontaminants in water damaged buildings (wdb) and more of the same ole, same ole — gov’t backed insurer fraud (this time, one endorsed into law in October 2015 by Governor Jerry Brown).
It will cause more environmental disability, discrimination and death by unchecked negligence of landords, employers, property managers, builders, school districts, property sellers; and cause more bad faith acts by workcomp insurers, property-casualty insurers, errors and omissions insurers and health insurers. It will cause more litigation — not less.
Here’s how this latest scam works and is mass-marketed by the joined unclean hands of many — both in and out of government.
1. According to CA Senator Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), sponsor of SB 655 in her advertisement of Governor Brown’s endorsement of SB 655, “Newly signed mold bill protects both landlords and tenants” October 14, 2015:
“No more air tests that tenants and their attorneys attempt to use to delay evictions and avoid the payment of rent.”
[This is deadly. Many times landlords — some of whom are not being informed of the danger — cover up a mold problem by painting over it. As a result, it can only be determinied to be adversely impacting air quality and safety by testing. Since when are people in California forbidden to determine if their living environment is hazardous to their health?]
“The mold must be determined by a health officer or code enforcement officer to rise to a level that endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety or welfare of the public or the occupants. No more last minute tenant self-declarations that the mold exists.”
[There is no such animal as an established threshold or permissable exposure level (PEL) before mold and accompanying biocontaminants in wdb cause illness. If someone is exhibiting symptoms of Chronic Inflammatory Response with probablity it is being caused by a wdb (CIRS-WDB) the underlying problem needs to be found and mitigated]
“The California Apartment Association worked with Sen. Mitchell to add these protections to the law.”
[the “nonprofit” CAA and their political action committee CAAPAC lobby heavily and contribute to politicians’ campaigns on behalf of the financial interests of landlords, property managers and their insurers]
2. No help will be coming for those disabled by the negligence of others from the “health officers” of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). This California state agency is still mass-marketing a debunked and deadly linear-no-threshold (LNT) model, the “Veritox Theory“. The greatly flawed risk assessment model (which claims to prove mictrobial toxins in wdb can never reach a level to harm) was first fraudulently promoted as legitimate science by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) in 2002.
In 2005, Governor & University of California Regents’ President, Arnold Schwarzenegger, endorsed the insurer fraud scam into California public health and work related policy. From the CDPH website, “Mold in Indoor WorkPlaces” (see page 4)
“Physicians can refer to the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) statement, Adverse Human Health Effects Associated with Molds in the Indoor Environment.”
“Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor State of California; Kimberly Belshé, Secretary Health and Human Services Agency; Sandra Shewry, Director Department of Health Services; John Rea, Acting Director Department of Industrial Relations”
3. The ACOEM Mold Statement “Adverse Human Health Effects Associated with Molds in the Indoor Environment” was authored by Bruce Kelman (old tobacco scientist), Brian Hardin (retired deputy director of CDC NIOSH and co-owner of Veritox, Inc. with Mr. Kelman) and Andrew Saxon of UCLA. All three men are prolific expert defense witnesses in toxic torts. Their paper, which was promoted to be the scientific understanding of all ACOEM physicians, was sunset by ACOEM in February of 2015.
Even though the California Department of Public Health continues to promote the scientific fraud of ACOEM, the occupational physician “nonprofit” trade association of ACOEM itself is no longer promoting it.
As quoted from the March 9, 2015 WorkCompCentral announcing of the scientific/insurer fraud’s retirement from policy: “ACOEM Takes Down Position Paper commonly Used to Defend Against Mold Claims”
[Sharon] Kramer said the sunsetting that appears to have occurred takes away any weight the paper might hold as a defense against workers’ compensation claims where the claimant is seeking benefits for mold-related illness…’It was a litigation defense argument right from the get-go,’ she said…. [Dr. Ritchie] Shoemaker said there are several ways to show that a patient has been exposed to the inhalation of mycotoxins, which mold produces.…’After 2003, there were no cases that I participated in where defense did not quote ACOEM,”
4. SB 655 in conjunction with the CDPH still promoting “garbage science” over the mold issue most likely explains the odd HuffPo blog by someone who has never written anything over the mold issue, Blair King, Ph.D. This recent policy under SB 655 falsely being promoted as to the benefit of both “landlord and tenants” explains the marketing need for the November 4, 2015 deceptive HuffPo article by self-proclaimed “evidence based science” blogger, Mr. King, “The Truth About Toxic Mold”
For reference is support of his Untruth about Toxic Mold, Mr. King cited a key marketing-statement from the now retired ACOEM Mold Statement without disclosing it was from the retired position statement of ACOEM.
“As for the mycotoxins, the research is also clear: Current scientific evidence does not support the proposition that human health has been adversely affected by inhaled mycotoxins in home, school, or office environments (Hardin Kelman and Saxon, 2003)”
[quoting from “Adverse Human Health Effects Associated With Molds in the Indoor Environment” while providing a link which conceals the LNT Veritox Theory foundation for the fraud in support of the false concept that it is proven mycotoxins in wdb could never reach a level to harm. See link from Europe that Mr. King chose above “Hardin Kelman and Saxon, 2003“]
5. When caught marketing the debunked risk assessement model and questioned on Twitter about Mr. King’s attempt to resurrect the dead and deadly fraudulent Veritox Theory as legitimate science, the following exchange occurred:
Question from MoldRevolution (Sandy Wolfe): ”Blair do you care to retract your article or at least correct it?”
Blair King’s Reply: “The article that says the exact thing as the CDC and CA Dept of Health? No thanks, I’m good”.
6. It’s sad, but predicable that the gov’t backed and debunked insurer fraud by misapplication of a fraudulent risk assessment model – the Veritox Theory – continues to rear its ugly head long after being widely and publicly discredited many times over.
To again quote Dr. Shoemaker from the March 9, 2015 WorkCompCentral article:
“They don’t have anything else,’ Shoemaker said. ‘The British were throwing rocks at Washington as he crossed the Delaware River because the Hessians were too drunk to fire their muskets.”
7. This week’s communication with the office of California Governor Jerry Brown re: California’s criminal role in mass marketing insurer fraud over the mold issue via aiding the use of the debunked Veritox Theory to continue in policy, courts and physician miseducation:
“In a message dated 11/18/2015 12:30:27 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, governor@governor.ca.gov writes:
Re: Do Something About the Corruption in the California Courts
Thank you for contacting Governor Brown regarding your experiences with a California Court Judge. The matter you discussed falls under the jurisdiction of the Commission on Judicial Performance. In order to ensure your concerns are properly addressed, please contact their office directly at:
Commission on Judicial Performance
455 Golden Gate Avenue
Suite 14400
San Francisco, California 94102
(415) 557-1200
cjp.ca.gov
We hope you find this information useful, and thank you again for contacting our office.
Sincerely,
Constituent Affairs
Office of Governor Jerry Brown”
Reply: “In a message dated 11/18/2015 12:50:40 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, SNK1955@aol.com writes:
NO! No more buck passing. People are dying.
Katy's Exposure 