COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — The parents of more than 30 Ohio State University students have filed a lawsuit against the university, alleging poor living conditions at a dorm building on its campus.
The lawsuit describes the building in question, Lawrence Tower, as a ‘toxic time bomb,’ claiming that students living there were becoming sick due to mold.
This was a toxic time bomb. I mean, mushrooms don’t grow overnight. And one of the rooms is literally growing mushrooms out of the wall. – Jedidiah Bressman, an attorney for more than 30 OSU families.
According to the lawsuit, students found mushrooms sprouting from the walls and said mold was found in the ceilings and HVAC units.
“No parent of a first-year college student should wonder whether his or her child will be subjected to a sickening, mold infested dorm.” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also claims students who lived in Lawrence Tower were battling constant cough, respiratory issues, and brain fog.
“The place where they were supposed to be the safest and most secure, they were getting sicker,” Bressman said. “They were stuck in a mold infested room.”
An OSU parent, who was included in the lawsuit but asked we keep her identity hidden, told ABC6 her son was sick all throughout the fall semester.
“He was sick from the get go,” the parent said. “Two weeks into living there, he was sick until the day we moved him out. He would talk to us all the time about how he was sick of being sick, and he didn’t know what was wrong.”
OSU had initially claimed the issues arose from a plumbing leak and only affected 40 rooms before moving all 500 students out of Lawrence Tower. The lawsuit said that even after students were moved out, the university claimed the building was safe, but precautions were being taken.
No students are living there during the spring semester.
The complainant said Lawrence Tower is considered a ‘Rate 1’ dorm and that parents paid a premium to house their children there. The lawsuit argues that the university failed to acknowledge that students were knowingly placed in an unhealthy environment.
“Because they were paying a premium, they were expecting to be living in the best space possible,” Bressman said. “I am paying five grand a semester when I could have been paying three that wasn’t mold invested.”
In 2009, OSU purchased the building, which used to be a hotel, and renovated it into the dorm building. The lawsuit said the university finished the renovations in a year, though admitted they had tried to rush what complainants say should have been two years’ worth of work.
The lawsuit is seeking at least $1,000 per student.
“I know there were other students who were sicker than my son, and it would be great if they could pay for their medical bills as well,” an OSU parent said. “If there is anything that happens in the future due to these living conditions, if some of these kids have long term respiratory issues, I think Ohio State should be held accountable for that too.”
They don’t want this to happen to anyone else. This is hopefully a once in lifetime thing that Ohio State will have to deal with and then they will fix the issue and everything will be fine. – Jedidiah Bressman,
ABC 6 News reached out to Ohio State for a comment. A spokesperson said they do not comment on pending litigation and referred us to statements the university made during the fall.
“They (Ohio State University) owe every family the truth,” Bressman said. “When did this really happen? What do they really know? And what did they put their students in?”