Can the Carmack Amendment be used to knock out claims of personal injury? Normally, Carmack applies only to damaged or lost cargo. But a Massachusetts court has held that the Carmack Amendment prevents a plaintiff from recovering personal injury damages from pesticides used in a warehouse in which her belongings were being held. In Alessandra v. Mullen Brothers, Inc. and The Terminix International Company, L.P., 1999 WL 959684 (Mass. Superior Court. Sept. 22, 1999), the plaintiff contracted with Mullen to transport her personal belongings from Troy, New York to a warehouse for future transport to Massachusetts. Terminix applied pesticides to Mullen’s warehouse and to the plaintiff’s belongings. While unpacking in Massachusetts, the plaintiff allegedly "experienced an immediate, severe physical reaction" requiring medical attention. She eventually claimed that the exposure caused her to develop multiple chemical sensitivity, completely disabling her. She filed suit for her injuries in
