An employee at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Hillsboro has filed a lawsuit alleging the county government was negligent when mold was abated in that building.
Lynn Wideman of Hillsboro, who has worked as a state-employed court clerk in the building since 2016, filed the suit July 15 in Jefferson County Circuit Court.
In the suit, she alleges that Jefferson County officials failed to tell her or other Courthouse employees about high counts of mold spores and failed to move her work station to a safer area.
The suit also claims that mold remediation work in the building was not done properly, so she and others in the building were exposed to high levels of mold spores and other airborne hazards.
Because of this exposure, according to the suit, Wideman began to suffer from severe health problems, including breathing issues, rashes, blurred vision, headaches and lesions that led to scarring.
The suit seeks $25,000 in damages plus court costs and requests a jury trial.
The case has been assigned to St. Louis County Circuit Judge Joseph L. Walsh III. No trial date has been set.
County Executive Dennis Gannon said he had no comment about the ongoing litigation.
The Jefferson County Courthouse, 300 Main St., was built in 1863 and has had several updates and additions. For most of its life, the building housed most county government departments and offices, but now, it primarily provides space for the 23rd Circuit Court operations, including courtrooms, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Circuit Clerk’s Office.
However, the building has been deemed inadequate and renovations are considered too costly. County officials are considering financing options for a new Courthouse complex.
In her lawsuit, Wideman alleges that after mold was discovered in the Courthouse building, the county hired an “unqualified” company to remediate it.
In October 2019, according to the suit, an air testing company found high levels of toxic spores, including near Wideman’s work area, and that county officials failed to tell her of those problems and didn’t move her elsewhere.
The case also alleges that the county was “negligent and careless” by not monitoring the health of employees after the mold was found. Court documents state that Wideman’s injuries are “permanent and progressive” and that her ability to work in her full capacity has been limited.
Attorneys for Wideman did not return a request for comment.
The Jefferson County Council voted Aug. 23 to hire the Hellmich, Hill and Retter law firm in Kirkwood to defend the county in the case.
County Counselor Wes Yates said the firm has represented the county in several insurance cases in the past and its expertise is needed in this situation because the county’s liability insurance carrier, the Missouri Public Entity Risk Management Fund (MoPERM), has said it would not cover the costs associated with environmental issues.
In a motion to dismiss the case, attorney Blake Hill of the Hellmich firm argued that the county cannot be sued in this case because of the doctrine of sovereign immunity, which shields the government from being sued without its consent except in certain situations.
If a public property is in dangerous condition at the time someone is injured or the dangerous condition caused an injury, that situation could fall outside the sovereign immunity doctrine, but Hill’s motion to dismiss noted that Wideman’s attorneys made no mention of a waiver under the “dangerous condition” clause in their filing, and that such a request is necessary.
Walsh has scheduled a virtual hearing in the case for Sept. 27.