 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Swift v. Allied Pest Control8/31/2001
OPINION Rendered on the 31st day of August, 2001.
In April of 1995, Plaintiff-Appellants Frank and Fran Swift contacted Defendant-Appellees Allied Pest Control to treat their home for termites pursuant to their contract. Allied sent two technicians to the Swift residence on Friday, April 7, 1995. The Allied technicians sprayed the perimeter of the home and then drilled a hole in the mud room steps and sprayed pesticide into the hole. Instead of spraying into the soil, the pesticide ran behind the basement wall paneling and into the Swifts' craft room. While one technician was spraying the pesticide, the other, Brian Anderson, stayed in the basement to make sure it did not leak into the home. Brian Anderson testified that he did not hear, see or smell the pesticide in the basement prior to leaving the home that day.
Before the technicians left the Swift home, Mrs. Swift noticed a strong odor, so she asked the technicians if it was safe to stay in the house. They advised her that it was. The following morning, Mrs. Swift entered her basement to a very strong odor and discovered the carpet in her craft room, as well as boxes sitting on the floor, were saturated with pesticide. She attempted to phone Allied, but received no answer. Mrs. Swift contacted Poison Control who advised her to open the windows and blow fans on the affected area, which she did. In addition, she and Mr. Swift donned rubber gloves and began moving the damaged boxes and other contents out of the craft room and onto plastic in another room.
On Monday, April 10, 1995, the Swifts contacted Allied and the Department of Agriculture and advised them about the spill. Dale Crumrine, an employee of Allied, came out a few days later and sprayed a mist of bleach mixture on all of the affected surfaces. He claims he was advised by the manufacturer of Dursban, the chemical spilled in the home, that this was the proper method of cleaning a spill.
While he was at the residence, Mrs. Swift asked Mr. Crumrine for information on Dursban, which he provided. According to Mrs. Swift, these documents explained that the affected areas of the home needed to be scrubbed down with a bleach mixture in order to remove the chemical. In addition, Tim Anderson with the Department of Agriculture inspected the home after Allied had "cleaned" the affected area and found that the chemical was not properly cleaned and removed.
In the meantime, the Swifts also contacted their homeowner insurance company who had Servicemaster remove the carpet and clean the area. Additionally, Mr. Swift scrubbed it down with bleach and repainted the surfaces. The Swifts also sifted through the boxes that had been in the craft room to inventory personal property damaged by the chemicals.
Immediately following the spill, both Swifts began experiencing several health problems, including diarrhea, severe headaches, lightheadedness, sinus infections, and foot-dragging. In addition, a few weeks after the spill, Mrs. Swift developed Bells palsy, a paralysis of one side of her face. As time went on, the headaches, diarrhea, foot-dragging and Bells palsy subsided, but the Swifts continued to experience severe lack of energy and memory loss. They visited several doctors for treatment and diagnosis, some of whom testified at trial. The experts who testified for the Swifts claimed the Dursban caused all of the symptoms they had experienced and diagnosed them with various specific illnesses, including toxic encephalopathy, peripheral neuropathy, immune impairment, impaired detoxification, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia. Conversely, the Allied experts testified that there were several other probable causes for the symptoms, in
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Ohio Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
By using the system, you agree to TERMS OF SERVICE
|