Connecticut Town Pays $500K to Settle School Indoor Air Quality Lawsuit
The original report cites ‘poor building conditions,’ including indoor air quality problems responsible for student injuries and declining health.
Photos by Jeanette Ross
The town of Wilton, Connecticut has recently agreed to pay a $500,000 settlement following a lawsuit regarding the environmental conditions, namely, the poor indoor air quality at a local school. In the original complaint, parents alleged that their children had been harmed by poor building conditions, though the extent of the injuries are not specified in the lawsuit, according to The Register Citizen.
Mold, Poor Ventilation and Heavy Mold Alleged
Having begun back in 2015, the Lowtherts claimed that “wet building conditions, poor ventilation, mold, high carbon dioxide and poor indoor air quality were well known to the Defendants, their teachers, staff and administrators at the Miller-Driscoll School and throughout the Wilton Public School system for a number of years,” which led to “injuries” to their children, who are also named as plaintiffs.
After an extensive executive session among the Board of Selectmen, Board of Education and Board of Finance, the town authorized a settlement worth up to $450,000 in payment to Marissa and Chris Lowthert, relating to a lawsuit dating back to 2015 in which the town, school board and other officials were named as defendants. An additional $50,000 will be paid to the plaintiff by the town’s insurance carrier as well.
“Current and past elected board members, current and past town employees, Trial Counsel Thomas Gerard and members of his firm, Board of Education counsel Jessica Richmond Smith and Town Counsel Ira Bloom have collectively spent significant hours and effort over the last eight years related to this lawsuit,” First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice said.
“We have consulted extensively with our lawyers, either as a board or as represented by the appropriate board chairs. We deny liability, but understand the risks associated with any jury trial and, upon the recommendation of trial counsel, we have chosen to settle this lawsuit.”
Both Vanderslice and the law firm Ford & Harrison LLP, who represented the Lowthert family, did not provide further comments, according to the original article.
This article originally appeared in CS sister publication DesignWell and has been edited.
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