[StBernard] Testimony Begins In Trial Over FEMA Trailer Fumes

[Westley Annis]

Testimony Begins In Trial Over FEMA Trailer Fumes
Lawsuit Claims Government-Issued Trailers Had Formaldehyde
NEW ORLEANS - WDSU .com

Jurors began hearing testimony Monday in the first trial over whether Gulf
Coast storm victims were exposed to potentially dangerous fumes while living
in government-issued trailers.


Those thousands of trailers were handed out in the months after Hurricane
Katrina.

A New Orleans woman and her 12-year-old son are the plaintiffs in the case.

Alana Alexander said her son, Christopher Cooper, has had asthma since he
was 3 years old, but his lawyers told jurors they plan to prove that
Cooper's exposure to formaldehyde can cause nasal cancer. Lawyers also said
doctors already see changes in his nose that could cause him to develop
cancer.

"They lived in a FEMA trailer that was provided to them by Gulf Stream,"
said plaintiff's attorney Gerald Meunier. "They're each making claims in
this case against the manufacturer, Gulf Stream, as well as well as the
subcontractor Fluor Enterprises that had the agreement with FEMA to set up
these trailers."

The plaintiffs' lawyers told jurors that Gulf Stream knew the trailers had
dangerous fumes and did nothing to warn people.

They also claim that because Fluor installed the trailer incorrectly, it
caused more formaldehyde to be released inside the trailer.

Lawyers for Gulf Stream argued that Cooper's mother never complained about
her son's asthma during the 19 months they lived in the FEMA trailer.

Lawyers for Fluor Enterprises said they hired subcontractors who correctly
installed the family's FEMA trailer.

The first witness to take the stand Monday was Cooper's 15-year-old sister.
She told jurors that her brother's asthma was worse while they lived in the
FEMA trailer.