When Kaitlyn Foster moved into a one-bedroom apartment at the St. James Apartments in Tacoma three years ago, she was excited to have a place of her own, free of roommates. But quickly after she moved in, she said, that joy changed to pain when she began experiencing debilitating symptoms: fatigue, nausea, headaches, cramps, stiffness and weakness in her lower extremities that only seemed to worsen in the following months.
Foster is suing The Neiders Company , which owns the building at 821 S. Yakima Ave. in addition to 30 other apartment complexes in the Tacoma area, for allegedly failing to fix broken water pipes in a timely manner, which she said led to mold exposure.
As a result of that exposure, one of Foster’s lawyers said she was bedridden during the worst of her illness and was later diagnosed with chronic inflammatory response syndrome, a medical condition often triggered by exposure to biotoxins like mold. Foster, who now lives in California and is 34, now has to use a walker and said the experience uprooted her life and career.