ERP - Environmental Risk Professionals

Legionella

Legionella, a bacterium, can thrive in water-containing systems like air conditioning, water heating and cooling, plumbing, misters, and water features. Poorly maintained systems and inadequate corrosion control or sanitation can result in Legionella growth and dispersal through mist and airborne droplets. Exposure can result in illness, including Legionnaires’ disease, a form of potentially fatal pneumonia.

Asbestos and Lead

Older buildings may contain asbestos-containing material (ACM) and lead. ACM may be present in duct insulation, piping, furnaces, boilers, tanks, and fireproofing insulation. Lead could also be present in paint or pipes. Tort claims may result from accidental disturbance or alleged exposure during renovation, construction, or interior remodeling. Lead in pipes can get into drinking water, and exposure can cause significant bodily injury. Exterior lead-based paint can also leach into the soil around the structure, resulting in cleanup liability.

Maintenance Equipment Fluid Leaks

Equipment for grounds maintenance, such as mowers, aerators, tractors, and utility vehicles, uses fuels, oils, and hydraulic fluids. Spills and leaks can also occur from a rupture or malfunction of equipment, an accident involving the equipment, or during on-site storage, maintenance, loading, and unloading of fuel and fluids into equipment.

Chemical Application

Misuse, over-application, improper storage, and spills or leaks of pool treatment chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and insecticides can create cleanup liability and health hazards to third parties. Leaks or spills from improper storage and handling could contaminate drinking water sources or damage ecosystems or aquatic life if the chemicals migrate to surface waters or wetlands.

Underground Storage Tanks

Underground storage tanks (USTs) typically store materials such as petroleum products and chemicals. A release from a UST system can contaminate soil and groundwater and migrate off-site to neighboring properties resulting in cleanup and property damage claims.

Aboveground Storage Tanks

Aboveground storage tanks and other outside chemical storage areas present a risk for pollution during heavy rainfall events. Improper or lack of adequate secondary containment can allow spills or leaks of chemicals to be carried off and leach into the underlying soil and groundwater or migrate off-site or into surface waters. Spills can also occur during the loading and unloading of chemicals into aboveground tanks or containers.

Coastal Flooding and Pollution Migration

Coastal areas experience large destructive storms that can overflow sewage systems, damage buildings, and cause flooding that can impact fuel and chemical storage areas. These can lead to mold growth, contamination of condominium units, and impacts to soil, groundwater, and surface water media.

Legacy Contamination

Existing soil or groundwater contamination may be present on, under, or adjacent to a property from historic on-site operations or migrating on-site from adjacent properties. Contamination can result in vapor intrusion and potential bodily injury to residents. Condo associations can incur cleanup and third-party liability for pre-existing conditions.

Water Intrusion and Mold

Coastal areas are prone to higher humidity and precipitation. Due to moisture intrusion or elevated humidity, mold and fungi could develop in buildings, resulting in third-party bodily injury, property damage, and cleanup claims.

Environmental Pollution Liability Can Provide Coverage For

On-site cleanup of new and pre-existing pollution conditions

Off-site cleanup of new and pre-existing pollution conditions

Third-party claims for bodily injury and property damage

Third-party claims for cleanup

Both sudden and gradual pollution conditions

Aboveground and underground storage tanks

Non-owned disposal sites

Business interruption resulting from pollution conditions

First and third-party transportation pollution liability

Mold, bacteria, viruses, legionella, and more

Loading and unloading

Defense of third-party claims

Illicit abandonment

Natural resource damage

Claims Scenarios & Examples

A retired woman sued her HOA after becoming ill with Legionnaires’ disease after using the community center’s showers following a yoga class. She alleged negligence in the maintenance of the community center’s facilities. Test results revealed that the community center’s water systems harbored Legionella bacteria, likely proliferating in the warm, stagnant waters of the showers and plumbing infrastructure. The woman, who spent weeks in the hospital resulting from her illness, was awarded over $250,000, which was paid by the HOA’s insurance carrier.

A community association regularly used phosphorus-rich fertilizer to maintain the community lawns. During a heavy rainstorm, some phosphorus migrated into a pond on the next-door property, resulting in algae bloom and harming the organisms in the pond. Property damage and cleanup surpassed $55,000.

A family purchased a condominium unit as a vacation home. A major sewage backup occurred, spilling sewage into rooms and onto the unit’s floor. The unit was uninhabitable after this. The association hired a restoration company to perform emergency cleanup and water extraction, but the family was not satisfied with the cleanup. The family sued the condominium association for failure to maintain and repair the common area plumbing that caused the backup and failure to appropriately remediate their unit. The association was liable, and the family was awarded over $30,000.

After a series of roof leaks in her condo unit, a woman started to experience health issues. When investigated, it was found that the chronic water damage in her unit had led to mold growth behind the walls. The woman sued the association responsible for the roof maintenance to remediate the mold and water damage in her unit. She recovered $350,000.

A man who lived in a condominium complex was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder exacerbated by the condo association’s pesticides sprayed on the landscaping. The man requested several times that the association stop spraying the pesticides, but it refused to change its policies. Due to the severe reaction he claimed to have had to the toxin, they filed a bodily injury lawsuit against the association seeking monetary damages and civil penalties.

A condominium association hired a carpenter to renovate a common area of the building. The carpenter was unaware that the mastic in the flooring contained asbestos. During the work, asbestos fibers were released around the common hallways and stairways and spread in the HVAC system to some units. Due to the release, a comprehensive abatement of the building was needed to ensure it was all cleaned up. The carpenter’s general liability policy had an asbestos exclusion, and they did not have the financial resources to pay for the cleanup. The condominium association had to pay the cleanup costs.

A condominium resident sued the condo association after being diagnosed with Legionnaires’ Disease. According to the lawsuit, the man used the spa facilities, where he was allegedly exposed to Legionella bacteria in the spray and mist. Inspections of the facility found that the condo association was not performing regular spa maintenance. The flow meter was stuck, so the spa was not adequately chlorinated.

After experiencing health issues from toxic mold in their condominium units, three families sued the condo association for failing to fix the leaky pipes. They settled for $545,000.

An association excavated an area to repair piping when an unknown underground storage tank was found. An investigation determined that oil had leaked from the tank and had contaminated soil and groundwater on the site. They also found that the contamination had migrated to the neighboring property. Investigating the extent of the contamination cost over $30,000, and the cleanup costs surpassed $175,000.

A young family living in a condominium complex began to feel sick. The father felt ill, the three-year-old son got pneumonia, and the mother and one-year-old son were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ Disease. Around that time, the condo association had notified residents that Legionella bacteria had been discovered in the cooling tower, and they were shutting down the condominium complex’s HVAC units. The young family moved and sued the association for negligence, seeking $850,000 for damages.

Property Types

Condominium Associations in Coastal Areas

Environmental Exposures May Include: