Family sues over student’s illness caused by mold at Horry County elementary school
Horry County School failed to remove mold from one of its elementary schools, causing a student to fall ill from the toxin, a family claims in a lawsuit.
Tamara Broach, who is guardian to an unnamed student, filed the lawsuit this week in Horry County court. It names St. James Elementary and Horry County School as the defendant.
Horry County Schools spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said the district does not comment on pending lawsuits.
Mold at St. James Elementary School was a focal point among parent groups in 2019. Several parents spoke out at a meeting and made demands to fix the building.
The unnamed student in the lawsuit was enrolled at the school from 2017-19. While attending the school, the student half headaches, sore throats, mouth sores, fatigue, depression and general malaise.
The student got medical treatment and blood work revealed infections and exposure to mold, the suit states.
Several other students also got sick because of the mold, the suit contends. There are also other Horry County School buildings that had mold problems.
Horry County Schools knew about water damage and mold at St. James Elementary “for years,” but did not make repairs or remove the toxin, according to the filing.
“[School districts act like parents] and as such are required to fix unsafe conditions including those caused by mold so that students are not subjected to deadly and unsafe conditions and exposure to toxic molds,” the suit reads.
The unnamed student’s family asked officials to move the pupil to another school, but the district told them they would have to pay a transfer fee of nearly $5,000, the suit states. The family eventually paid the money so the student would no longer be exposed to the toxin.
Teachers and other school staff were allowed to transfer to other buildings because of the conditions, the suit states, but the district did not tell future students and parents about the mold in the school.
Horry County School eventually hired a company to remove the mold from the elementary, the suit states. Mold was found again after the first removal and the district had to hire a second company to remove the toxin.
The family contents that Horry County Schools failed to provide a safe environment for the student and covered-up the mold issue from other students and parents. The suit asks for an unspecified amount of money.
