The woman who filed a class action lawsuit against the makers of FEMA trailers is now dead. In her suit, 47-year-old Desiree Collins claimed the high levels of formaldehyde found in those trailers made her sick. WAFB's Avery Davidson shows us how her death could impact the case.

C-7 looks like any other travel trailer at Renaissance Village, but the person who lived there did something that could impact everyone else who lives here. Desiree Collins filed a federal class action lawsuit against the companies which made these trailers. In her suit, she claims high formaldehyde levels in the trailers made her sick. On July 2nd, Collins died of lung cancer. She was 47.

Justin Woods says, "We are attempting to have additional testing done to sort of narrow down and see if there's any link between Ms. Collins's lung cancer and her exposure." People who live in Renaissance Village have little doubt that formaldehyde is getting them sick.

Josie Brown says when she went to the hospital, nurses asked her a strange question. She says, "They was asking me, 'Did I work around dead people,' and I told them, 'No.' They told me I had like embalming fluid."

Collins's attorney, Justin Woods says he doesn't want hurricane evacuees to jump to any conclusions about their own health because of Collins's sudden death. He says, "We definitely don't want to create any sort of panic. We don't want to be irresponsible about our pursuing this litigation."

Woods says the suit will go on, with Collins's husband and children now serving as the plaintiffs. He says because similar suits are filed in New Orleans and Mississippi, there must be a hearing to decide which federal court will hear the case. FEMA is not a defendant in this suit.

Reporter:  Avery Davidson, WAFB 9NEWS

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