Friday, March 29

Family sues HOA after woman dies because of toxic mold infestation at an apartment complex in Houston

The family of a Houston woman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Harris County District Court after they say a toxic mold infestation took over the woman’s home when the homeowners association failed to make sure repairs were done correctly. The woman later developed cancer and died because of the mold the lawsuit alleges.

The woman’s troubles began during Hurricane Harvey back in August 2017. At one point during the hurricane, water entered the woman’s home and caused damages.

The woman then reported the water damage to the homeowner’s association, Cambridge Court Owner’s Association as well as the management company for the complex, Creative Management, Co.

The management and the owner’s association then sent a maintenance team to repair the damage from the water.

The lawsuit alleges that the maintenance team did not properly remove wet materials and water from the home. This allowed the toxic mold to grow inside the woman’s home.

Fast forward to December 2020, and heavy rains began falling once again in the Houston area. During this particular rainfall, the woman noticed that water was coming into her home near a bay window, which was not fixed when the original damage occurred. She then showed the on-site maintenance company where the water was coming through.

At this point, the management company hired a 3rd party, Telluride Construction to come asses the issue and see what needed to be replaced. Telluride, who is also named in the lawsuit identified mold growth and began to make repairs to prevent water from coming in. Telluride, however, did not recommend a mold inspector or remediation nor did they work to remove the mold they identified and even came back because the water was still coming in from the same spot that they repaired.

The woman, who was experiencing symptoms that may have been related to mold after consulting with her doctor decided to do a Home Test Kit and collected samples from around the home, including the bay window. The test confirmed there were high levels of toxic molds inside her home.

Eventually, Telluride came back for mold removal. According to the lawsuit, the workers were not wearing any protective gear or masks, and the ”foreman eyeballed the repair to determine how much drywall was contaminated by mold”. (More mold was eventually found behind the drywall they replaced).

The woman was eventually able to leave the home and start repairs on the condominium out of pocket in February of 2022, but by then it was too late. Her cancer had become progressively worse and she eventually lost her life in May of the same year.

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