A student at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, Missouri, is suing the school after she claims exposure to toxic fumes during a construction project on campus led to her giving birth 16 weeks prematurely.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Greene County Circuit Court on behalf of an unnamed 17-year-old and her infant son, said the student was enrolled in a math class this fall on the third floor of a school building, above an area under renovation due to water damage, according to the Springfield News-Leader.
The lawsuit claims the college and construction contractor failed to protect students by not monitoring air quality, relocating classrooms, sealing the work area, or using ventilation and negative air pressure to limit exposure to toxic fumes, the outlet reports.
The student claims her pregnancy was normal as of a September 23 checkup, but less than a week later, on September 29, she was exposed to “overwhelmingly severe” toxic fumes in class during the renovations…