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I have a mold exposure illness because of my landlord

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Keith502

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kentucky

I moved into an apartment in August of 2013. In July of 2014, I had a bad problem with my plumbing in the apartment. My toilet began to overflow large amounts of water. The toilet did this all by itself without me having to flush. There was so much water that it flooded nearly half of the apartment with filthy toilet water and raw sewage from the toilet bowl. (Before the toilet malfunction, I had a problem with dirty bath water from an upstairs apartment coming up through the drain in my bathtub and filling it with dirty water.) I called the landlord and he sent a plumber to fix the plumbing problem with the toilet. However, after the plumbers fixed the toilet, my carpet was still drenched with toilet water. I volunteered to clean up the water with my wet/dry vacuum and my landlord consented and took no further action. Several months later the same toilet problem occurred again. Again, the landlord sent a plumber to fix the toilet; but this time I asked him to clean up my dirty, flooded carpet. He said he wasn't feeling well at the time and asked me to do it instead. I complied, and the landlord took no further action.

A few months afterwards, in October of 2015, I started having a mold problem. I smelled a moldy odor in my apartment and various belongings became covered in a green mold, but the mold would only appear in areas where the flood waters had spread to. I called the landlord about it and he sent a specialist to inspect the mold. He looked for mold in the walls but said he couldn't find any mold there. I told him that the mold appeared to be coming from the floor. Eventually, the specialist pulled up the carpet and disinfected the floor underneath. He told me that he found a large amount of mold underneath the carpet but managed to kill all of it.

In April of 2016, I was at work one day and had a sudden difficulty breathing, even though I have no history of asthma or breathing problems. I went to an emergency room and it was suggested that I was suffering from acute bronchitis. I incurred a hospital bill of about $1,200 and also paid for antibiotics and an asthma inhaler, which amounted to $57. At this time, I did not notice any mold in my apartment. However, in August of 2016, I began having serious breathing problems again which seemed to intensify the longer I stayed in my apartment, but I was unsure as to the cause. Shortly after, I began to smell a moldy odor in my apartment. I called the landlord and he sent the same mold specialist to inspect the apartment. This time, the specialist claims he did not notice any mold. Later, the landlord offered to pull up the carpet and disinfect the floor again but I decided it was safer to just move out, which I did at the end of September. My landlord did not return my security deposit because I failed to give 30 days notice before my departure.

Ever since I moved out, I have had to throw out some of my belongings that had visible mold on them, and almost all of my property has a moldy smell on it. But more importantly, my respiratory health has seriously deteriorated. I have had serious breathing trouble, and have had to use my asthma inhaler on a daily basis. I have also been taking various dietary, herbal and therapeutic methods to purge my lungs of the mold. I have improved since I moved out of the apartment but am still suffering. I have also had to dispose of some of my belongings that have mold spores on them and I may have to dispose of many more of them.

I believe my landlord is exclusively responsible for the mold that appeared in my apartment because of his negligence. I have done some research on what to do when there is a flooding in a building, and I have learned that in such a situation it is necessary to immediately pull up the carpet and the carpet pad underneath and to allow the floor to thoroughly dry before replacing the new carpet. However, my landlord did not do this. He didn't dry the carpet itself, or even clean or disinfect it, even though it was soiled with dirty toilet water and raw sewage. He actually did nothing at all with my carpet until after the mold appeared months later.

I would like to file a personal injury lawsuit against my landlord in order to compensate for my pain and suffering, my hospital bill, my belongings that I had to dispose of, the expenses I have paid to remedy my illness, and also future medical expenses that I may have to pay in order to get well. Do I have a case against my landlord?
 


quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kentucky

I moved into an apartment in August of 2013. In July of 2014, I had a bad problem with my plumbing in the apartment. My toilet began to overflow large amounts of water. The toilet did this all by itself without me having to flush. There was so much water that it flooded nearly half of the apartment with filthy toilet water and raw sewage from the toilet bowl. (Before the toilet malfunction, I had a problem with dirty bath water from an upstairs apartment coming up through the drain in my bathtub and filling it with dirty water.) I called the landlord and he sent a plumber to fix the plumbing problem with the toilet. However, after the plumbers fixed the toilet, my carpet was still drenched with toilet water. I volunteered to clean up the water with my wet/dry vacuum and my landlord consented and took no further action. Several months later the same toilet problem occurred again. Again, the landlord sent a plumber to fix the toilet; but this time I asked him to clean up my dirty, flooded carpet. He said he wasn't feeling well at the time and asked me to do it instead. I complied, and the landlord took no further action.

A few months afterwards, in October of 2015, I started having a mold problem. I smelled a moldy odor in my apartment and various belongings became covered in a green mold, but the mold would only appear in areas where the flood waters had spread to. I called the landlord about it and he sent a specialist to inspect the mold. He looked for mold in the walls but said he couldn't find any mold there. I told him that the mold appeared to be coming from the floor. Eventually, the specialist pulled up the carpet and disinfected the floor underneath. He told me that he found a large amount of mold underneath the carpet but managed to kill all of it.

In April of 2016, I was at work one day and had a sudden difficulty breathing, even though I have no history of asthma or breathing problems. I went to an emergency room and it was suggested that I was suffering from acute bronchitis. I incurred a hospital bill of about $1,200 and also paid for antibiotics and an asthma inhaler, which amounted to $57. At this time, I did not notice any mold in my apartment. However, in August of 2016, I began having serious breathing problems again which seemed to intensify the longer I stayed in my apartment, but I was unsure as to the cause. Shortly after, I began to smell a moldy odor in my apartment. I called the landlord and he sent the same mold specialist to inspect the apartment. This time, the specialist claims he did not notice any mold. Later, the landlord offered to pull up the carpet and disinfect the floor again but I decided it was safer to just move out, which I did at the end of September. My landlord did not return my security deposit because I failed to give 30 days notice before my departure.

Ever since I moved out, I have had to throw out some of my belongings that had visible mold on them, and almost all of my property has a moldy smell on it. But more importantly, my respiratory health has seriously deteriorated. I have had serious breathing trouble, and have had to use my asthma inhaler on a daily basis. I have also been taking various dietary, herbal and therapeutic methods to purge my lungs of the mold. I have improved since I moved out of the apartment but am still suffering. I have also had to dispose of some of my belongings that have mold spores on them and I may have to dispose of many more of them.

I believe my landlord is exclusively responsible for the mold that appeared in my apartment because of his negligence. I have done some research on what to do when there is a flooding in a building, and I have learned that in such a situation it is necessary to immediately pull up the carpet and the carpet pad underneath and to allow the floor to thoroughly dry before replacing the new carpet. However, my landlord did not do this. He didn't dry the carpet itself, or even clean or disinfect it, even though it was soiled with dirty toilet water and raw sewage. He actually did nothing at all with my carpet until after the mold appeared months later.

I would like to file a personal injury lawsuit against my landlord in order to compensate for my pain and suffering, my hospital bill, my belongings that I had to dispose of, the expenses I have paid to remedy my illness, and also future medical expenses that I may have to pay in order to get well. Do I have a case against my landlord?
It will not help you that you handled the original cleanup yourself or that the health department was never called or that you stayed in the rental unit or that you had more severe health symptoms once you removed yourself from the environment you are claiming affected your health. You should have noticed an improvement instead.

Having an attorney in your area review the facts is always an option but I do not see that you would have an easy time with a lawsuit.

Good luck.
 

Keith502

Junior Member
It will not help you that you handled the original cleanup yourself or that the health department was never called or that you stayed in the rental unit or that you had more severe health symptoms once you removed yourself from the environment you are claiming affected your health. You should have noticed an improvement instead.

Having an attorney in your area review the facts is always an option but I do not see that you would have an easy time with a lawsuit.

Good luck.
Actually, my breathing was at its worst while I was living in the apartment. I could feel the mold spores entering my airways and I was frequently gasping desperately for air. My breathing did briefly improve immediately after I moved out and removed myself from the mold spores, but apparently the mold toxins were in my body by that time and were beginning to affect me.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Actually, my breathing was at its worst while I was living in the apartment. I could feel the mold spores entering my airways and I was frequently gasping desperately for air. My breathing did briefly improve immediately after I moved out and removed myself from the mold spores, but apparently the mold toxins were in my body by that time and were beginning to affect me.
First, most molds are not toxic. You might have a sensitivity greater than others to mold, however, and you did mention you had bronchitis and used an asthma inhaler when you had difficulty breathing at work.

When there is an allergen present, it is smart to remove yourself from the environment that is causing you problems or consult with your allergist for additional treatment. You chose to remain in the apartment.

As I said earlier, you made several errors. Your apartment flooded and you voluntarily took on the task of cleaning. You failed to have the resulting mold tested by the health department. And you said yourself that your breathing worsened after you left ("respiratory health has seriously deteriorated").

The flooding should been taken care of by professionals at the start, instead of you doing the cleaning. That is, unfortunately, on you and not your landlord (who could have believed you knew what you were doing).

I do not see that you have a legal action to pursue that would be successful, based on what you have said here. If you want to consult with an attorney in your area for a more thorough review, that attorney may see something that I do not see.

Good luck.
 
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Keith502

Junior Member
First, most molds are not toxic. You might have a sensitivity greater than others to mold, however, and you did mention you had bronchitis and used an asthma inhaler when you had difficulty breathing at work.

When there is an allergen present, it is smart to remove yourself from the environment that is causing you problems or consult with your allergist for additional treatment. You chose to remain in the apartment.

As I said earlier, you made several errors. Your apartment flooded and you voluntarily took on the task of cleaning. You failed to have the resulting mold tested by the health department. And you said yourself that your breathing worsened after you left ("respiratory health has seriously deteriorated").

The flooding should been taken care of by professionals at the start, instead of you doing the cleaning. That is, unfortunately, on you and not your landlord (who could have believed you knew what you were doing).

I do not see that you have a legal action to pursue that would be successful, based on what you have said here. If you want to consult with an attorney in your area for a more thorough review, that attorney may see something that I do not see.

Good luck.
When I went to the emergency room, I told the doctor there had been mold in my apartment previously and he suggested that I had acute bronchitis that was probably caused by the mold. He gave me a prescription for antibiotics for the mold and for an asthma inhaler in case I had any more trouble breathing. I had no previous history of asthma or any other respiratory problems before this incident.

When I said that my health deteriorated, I meant it deteriorated compared to normal circumstances. Also, the fact that my breathing got worse some time after moving out could very well mean that I acquired an infection in the apartment that took some time to fully manifest.

At the time, I did not know that the flooding needed to be professionally cleaned. I only found that out months after moving out. My landlord was fully aware of the severity of the flooding in my apartment; I don't understand why he wouldn't have been the one responsible for having professional cleaning done. I can't be expected to ask him for something that I didn't know was necessary.
 

quincy

Senior Member
When I went to the emergency room, I told the doctor there had been mold in my apartment previously and he suggested that I had acute bronchitis that was probably caused by the mold. He gave me a prescription for antibiotics for the mold and for an asthma inhaler in case I had any more trouble breathing. I had no previous history of asthma or any other respiratory problems before this incident.

When I said that my health deteriorated, I meant it deteriorated compared to normal circumstances. Also, the fact that my breathing got worse some time after moving out could very well mean that I acquired an infection in the apartment that took some time to fully manifest.

At the time, I did not know that the flooding needed to be professionally cleaned. I only found that out months after moving out. My landlord was fully aware of the severity of the flooding in my apartment; I don't understand why he wouldn't have been the one responsible for having professional cleaning done. I can't be expected to ask him for something that I didn't know was necessary.
Those are all arguments you can use. How successful they would be in court is something I can't tell you.

Do I think the landlord handled the cleanup properly? He certainly didn't handle it as I would have. But I do not find you blameless, either. You volunteered to clean up the apartment and you stayed in the apartment far longer than I find reasonable under the circumstances.

You can have all facts personally reviewed by an attorney in your area who might see things differently than I.

I hope your health improves rapidly in your new residence. Good luck.
 

NIV

Member
I agree with quincy. One question I might ask is, what were the "antibiotics" prescribed for?
 

Keith502

Junior Member
I agree with quincy. One question I might ask is, what were the "antibiotics" prescribed for?
I think the antibiotic was Azithromycin. I think the doctor prescribed it only because I mentioned that I had a previous mold problem in my apartment and the mold may have been the cause. The doctor didn't actually test me for a mold infection.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I think the antibiotic was Azithromycin. I think the doctor prescribed it only because I mentioned that I had a previous mold problem in my apartment and the mold may have been the cause. The doctor didn't actually test me for a mold infection.
That your doctor did not connect through tests the mold exposure to what ailed you is another problem you will have in supporting a case against your landlord.

There is no question that your living conditions were bad. It is a question of whether the landlord is responsible for your health issues and I don't think you can prove he is.

Review all facts with an attorney in your area, though, for a better determination.

Good luck.
 

NIV

Member
I think the antibiotic was Azithromycin. I think the doctor prescribed it only because I mentioned that I had a previous mold problem in my apartment and the mold may have been the cause. The doctor didn't actually test me for a mold infection.
My question had to do with quincy's response. Putting on my internet doctor's hat, I don't think you got focused treatment for fungal bronchitis. While, unlike many other antibiotics, Azithromycin has some fungal effect, it is not really the first thing to try. Remember, you have to link the damage you suffered to the mold of your prior apartment. There is nothing in your posts that make that link when considered against treatment that is not specific for mold or fungal bronchitis.
 

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