Pa. woman who allegedly got laryngitis from pesticide sues N.J. exterminator

A Bensalem, Pa. woman has filed a personal injury lawsuit against a New Jersey-based pest extermination company, alleging she developed laryngitis and other ills and injuries as a result of having been exposed to pest control chemicals that were pumped by the defendant into her apartment complex while she slept.

Bensalem attorney Marshall E. Kresman filed the injury claim May 2 at Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court on behalf of Debi Kim and her husband, Steven.

Listed as defendants in the lawsuit are Pennsauken, N.J.-based Allstate Management Corporation, Franklin Commons LTD Partnership, Ward-Off Exterminating and Small Animal Control, Inc. and Ward Nunemaker.

According to the complaint, Debi Kim was asleep in her apartment at the Franklin Commons complex back on Sept. 9, 2010, when she became sick from chemical agents that were released into the air by defendant Ward-Off, which was under a pest control contract with Allstate, which manages the property.

The lawsuit claims that Nunemaker released chemical agents in the form of “noxious and/or toxic gasses and/or vapors from a pest exterminating bomb in the apartment building,” and as a result the plaintiff suffered laryngitis, pharyngitis, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety reaction, and a severe shock to her nervous system.

Kim had to spend various sums of money to cure her from her injuries following the incident, the suit claims.

The complaint accuses the defendants of negligence for releasing the dangerous chemicals into the air knowing they could cause injury; failing to adequately inspect for, warn or discover occupants within the building prior to releasing a chemical agent; failing to use the proper amounts of the chemical agent for the size and space of the area in which it was to be released; failing to properly ventilate the building before, during and/or after releasing the chemical agent; and violating state and municipal codes and regulations regarding the use of pesticides in the interior of dwellings.

The lawsuit also contains counts of strict liability, breach of warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, breach of warranty of habitability, and loss of consortium.

The plaintiffs demand damages in a sum not in excess of $50,000, together with interest and the costs of the suit.

 

The case ID number is 120403844.