Last July, an 82-year-old woman, Elizabeth Ashbaugh, tragically died shortly after her apartment complex was treated for bed bugs. Now, her family is “suing the pest control company as well as the owners of the Houston apartment complex, Laurel Point Senior Apartments, in which the woman resided,” on allegations that the “bedbug extermination treatment killed her.” The lawsuit also accuses both parties of failing “to consider Ashbaugh’s safety” when conducting the extermination.
Last July, an 82-year-old woman, Elizabeth Ashbaugh, tragically died shortly after her apartment complex was treated for bed bugs. Now, her family is “suing the pest control company as well as the owners of the Houston apartment complex, Laurel Point Senior Apartments, in which the woman resided,” on allegations that the “bedbug extermination treatment killed her.” The lawsuit also accuses both parties of failing “to consider Ashbaugh’s safety” when conducting the extermination.
Traditionally bedbug infestations are tackled “with a combination of aerosol spray and heat treatment.” In order to completely exterminate bed bugs, the heat treatment “must be raised to at least 118 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes,” according to the University of Minnesota. Typically, a full, successful treatment takes up to six hours to complete.
It’s the heat treatment in particular that Ashbaugh’s family claims “caused the temperature in her apartment to rise to a scorching 139 degrees and ultimately kill her.” According to the negligence lawsuit that was filed earlier this week in Harris County, the apartment’s extreme heat caused hyperthermia. Unlike hypothermia, hyperthermia is a life-threatening condition that “causes the body to go to an abnormally high temperature until it can no longer function properly, a problem which is especially risky for older adults.”
But how did the tragic death occur? Wasn’t Ashbaugh informed of the dangers associated with the extermination treatment and re-entering their apartment too soon? Well, not really. According to the lawsuit, “Elizabeth and her husband, William Ashbaugh, weren’t home when Certified Termite and Pest Control company treated their apartment.” They were never made aware of the pest control treatment before re-entering their apartment later that fateful day, and shortly after re-entering, both Elizabeth and William “began to lose consciousness.”
The lawsuit states that “an ambulance had to be called and both Elizabeth and William were rushed to the hospital. That evening…Elizabeth Ashbaugh passed away.”
This isn’t the first time a bedbug treatment has gone horribly wrong. In fact, according to reports, several “house fires in the U.S. And Canada have been caused by heat treatments.” Even home pest control treatments have their share of risks. For example, “a woman tried to kill the pesky bugs using a do-it-yourself alcohol treatment and caused her multifamily home to become engulfed in flames.” In that particular incident, “three people had to be taken to the hospital, and 10 people in total were displaced.”
What do you think? Were Laurel Point Senior Apartments and Certified Termite and Pest Control negligent by not informing the Ashbaugh’s that their apartment had just been treated for bedbugs before they re-entered?
Sources:
Woman Died Due to Extreme Heat From Bedbug Treatment, Negligence Lawsuit Claims
Houston woman dies from bedbug treatment that heated apartment to nearly 140 degrees, family claims
Join the conversation!