Бывший студент ГВВ подал в суд на университет, требуя 10 млн долларов из-за затопления и плесени в общежитии

A former GW student is suing GW for negligence, alleging the University caused him injury by failing to address plumbing and health safety issues while he briefly resided in Mitchell Hall in 2023. In an 11-page complaint filed Sept. 3 in the D.C. Superior Court, Adam Johnson of Fairfax, Virginia, requests the court order GW pay him $5 million in compensatory damages and an additional $5 million in punitive damages. Johnson’s lawyer alleges he sustained permanent “debilitating” physical and psychological injuries as a result of persistent flooding in his Mitchell Hall Room, which GW failed to address and resulted in him falling ill, incurring medical expenses and enduring emotional suffering.  In the complaint, Johnson’s lawyer charges the University with negligence, a separate count of gross negligence, a third count of breach of implied warranty of habitability and a fourth count of negligent infliction of emotional distress.  Johnson’s lawyer declined a request for comment and GW officials did not return an immediate request for comment. Johnson could not be reached for comment.  Johnson began living in Mitchell Hall in late August 2023 — two years prior to when officials took the dorm offline for renovations — residing in a single suite with a private bathroom containing a toilet and shower. Officials coordinated Johnson’s housing assignment through the Disability Support Services office, according to the complaint. Johnson in the complaint states in late August 2023 he noticed water leaking from his air conditioner and his toilet being unable to flush. He said he reported both of these issues to GW maintenance staff. Then Johnson’s suite flooded on Sept. 6, 2023 after he flushed the toilet and water began to overflow from the base and backflow of the toilet, as well as out of the shower drain, extending into Johnson’s bedroom, according to the complaint. After the flooding, Johnson immediately called GW’s on-site repair facilities to report the flooding, but officials did not take any immediate actions to repair or clean up the flood, instead telling Johnson to continue residing in his suite and instructing him to use the communal restrooms in Mitchell Hall, according to the complaint.  On Sept. 15, 2023 the complaint states Johnson’s parents detected a “foul smell” of mildew or fungus in his room and immediately moved him out of Mitchell Hall. On Sept. 16, 2023, a Fairfax hospital admitted Johnson for treatment “related” to his adverse health impacts stemming from residing in the Mitchell Hall suite over a week after his dorm room flooded, according to the complaint. Over a week after the flooding and Johnson’s subsequent hospitalization, GW assigned him a new dorm, and he “attempted” to return to his studies, but ended up submitting a request for medical leave in November 2023 because of his “ongoing symptomatic condition,” according to the complaint. Johnson then attempted to return to GW on two separate instances since requesting medical leave, however, he was unable to continue his studies because of the injuries.  “As a result of this incident, Plaintiff has sustained serious, debilitating, and permanent personal injuries, including but not limited to physical and psychological injuries, which have resulted in medical expenses, physical pain and suffering, and mental anguish,” Johnson’s lawyer wrote in the complaint.  The complaint also details “economic damages” stemming from damage and loss of Johnson’s personal property, his tuition and other pitfalls related to his “forced” withdrawal from GW.  Johnson’s lawyer argues that GW breached its duty to ensure Mitchell Hall was in a “safe and habitable condition” and was negligent in failing to inspect and maintain the plumbing within Johnson’s room, by failing to respond to notice of a plumbing defect in a timely manner and by allowing the “hazardous” condition of the room to persist while Johnson continued to reside within it.  A dozen residents of Mitchell Hall told The Hatchet in 2024 they noticed mold within their dorm rooms, along with the building’s kitchens and common spaces. At the time, a Mitchell Hall resident described developing a cough and a sore throat shortly after moving into her Mitchell Hall room. The student said a doctor later diagnosed her with a “severe” mold allergy and said she was forced to temporarily relocate to a hotel. In 2019, officials relocated summer Mitchell residents after maintenance workers discovered mold on the fourth and seventh floors. Displaced residents relocated to Thurston Hall for the rest of the term and received a $525 housing credit as reimbursement. Johnson’s lawyer has requested a jury trial in the case and an initial scheduling hearing has been set for early December.