A formerly unhoused woman who took years to rebuild her life experienced a major setback, when an allegedly unaddressed cockroach infestation left her in the hospital.
As soon as Brandi Bulanda moved into her unit in a London and Middlesex Community Housing apartment building in London in December 2022, she complained about a hole in her kitchen wall that was exacerbating a cockroach infestation in her home, as reported by the National Post.
Bulanda testified in a hearing Thursday that the public housing unit sent pest control in December, May and August, after Bulanda underwent surgery because she woke up and could not hear out of one ear. She went to her doctor and found a cockroach had become embedded in her ear canal.
She left her home and moved into her mother’s basement the next week. She also moved her furniture and electronics into a storage unit, all of which were destroyed by the pest control spray, but eventually lost everything when she could not afford to keep the unit.
“I tried so hard to get up on my feet. I thought I had made it and it got ripped out from me,” Bulanda told the court, per the National Post. “My independence, my stability, my mental state, my anxiety, my health, my involvement with the community. It felt like I was being bashed down constantly. I’m still trying to pay off a debt, completely financially torn.”
Bulanda is seeking $20,000 for lost property and wages, money she spent on pest control and attempts to plug the holes herself and medical bills.
“She suffered considerable hardship both financially and emotionally,” her representative told the court, according to the National Post.
The building’s property manager defended their actions by telling the court pests are not considered as urgent as fire safety, water, heating and other issues the small staff of seven to nine people handles. Its representative also told the court the agency acted sufficiently to repair the “cosmetic problems” in her unit and there was no need for her to discard her items.
“She failed to demonstrate how these minor pest issues caused the amount of damage claimed to furniture,” the paralegal added.
Bulanda will hear the court’s decision sometime this month.
