Doctors: Post-Katrina environment damages heart

[TexasStooge]

By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8

After spending months as a property insurance claims adjuster in the New Orleans hurricane zone, Tim Bell began coughing and wheezing.

His time in the region ravaged by Hurricane Katrina was punctuated by often-horrific sights and smells: Slugde. Mold. Dead animals.

Now, after extensive testing, Bell said doctors have diagnosed him with congestive heart failure.

According to medical records, doctors believe his condition resulted from exposure to a microorganism, raw sewage or perhaps mold from the post-Katrina Louisiana environment.

Bell filed a workers compensation claim through his company and St. Paul Travelers Insurance.

"They denied the claim, saying there's no way you can actually prove that that's actually where you picked it up," Bell said.

The irony isn't lost on Bell, who recommended insurance settlements worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to devastated property owners.

As a claims adjuster, he knows what's at stake. "It's hard to believe that I'm the only one who became ill out in the field," he said.

For now, Bell is continuing to file claims, hoping that—like the property owners he helped—he'll eventually be reimbursed for what he lost: his health.

News 8 contacted the Centers for Disease Control and the New Orleans Health Department to learn if there have been other health claims like Bell's, but we were unable to identify any that had been reported or confirmed by authorities.

St. Paul Travelers Insurance declined comment on this workers compensation case citing patient confidentiality.

[bevgo]

maybe thats why I am having chest pain.

[Cookiely]

I would think the stress was conducive to the CHF rather than anything environmental.

[Dionne]

There are thousands of us here in this region with both respiratory and stress related medical conditions. Antibiotics and anxiety meds are common place. Anyone experiencing these problems should seek medical advice immediately. Problems like these do not fix themselves.

[SouthFloridawx]

What good is insurance for if you cant use it. I mean come on we pay these outragous fee's on monthly insurance premiums. The insurance companies are not the one's getting screwed around here it's us. Please they say if we can use the money we have put into an insurance policy for years and years. If the man has congestive heart failure please let him use the damn policy and say have a nice day mr. insurance adjuster guy cause you have given us a bunch of money in the past and we have made some interest off your money so - HERE YOU GO - take the money. I mean come on sometimes there are things on the earth that really peave me off and insurance companies are one of them. I understand there are peopl who try to con insurance companies and that is wrong to do. I mean clearly here we have a case of someone who has been through and area that is not in good condition, on that can cause much stress on a person. GIVE HIM HIS MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CajunMama]

South, this is a workmans comp case...not a regular insurance case. It's different than regular health insurance.

[SouthFloridawx]

South, this is a workmans comp case...not a regular insurance case. It's different than regular health insurance.

oh

I stand by my convictions on the insurance part then. sorry guess i didn't see that part as I was very angry about insurance companies. Workers comp is a different story, they are not very nice either.