Virginia Beach apartment complex’s negligence led to loss, damage of a child’s medical equipment, according to lawsuit

April 27--VIRGINIA BEACH -- A mother wants a jury to decide whether her former apartment managers should pay for her son's medical equipment, which was lost and damaged during Hurricane Matthew and its aftermath.

Carmen Welsh lived in a townhome in Waypoint at Lynnhaven with her 4-year-old son, Anthony Turner, who has cystic fibrosis. Anthony had a customized medical bed and other equipment that helped clear his airways to help him breathe.

He's been without that equipment since October, sleeping on an air mattress in a new apartment and making frequent trips to the hospital to deal with breathing complications.

After Hurricane Matthew, Waypoint residents were moved to hotels while workers cleaned up. But when crews found asbestos, the apartment company terminated leases and blocked off homes. Many residents couldn't retrieve belongings untouched by flooding or asbestos.

The property remains closed off and patrolled by security guards. Former residents who signed a waiver to get their things had to be escorted to their old homes.

A jury trial in Circuit Court means Waypoint will need to be clear about what happened in the weeks residents weren't allowed back in their homes, said Sarah Black, litigation director at Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia and Welsh's lawyer.

"I can have a jury really determine if they think Waypoint did something wrong," Black said.

A trial date hasn't been set.

According to Welsh's court filing, Waypoint's crews "negligently cut through drywall on the first floor of the unit" and released asbestos into Welsh's home. Workers "rummaged through, removed and willfully damaged and destroyed" Welsh's personal items, the filing states.

It took Welsh years to get the custom medical equipment for Anthony. Most of it isn't covered by insurance, Black said, but Welsh did get a new, $26,000 cough-assist machine because it was covered under a warranty.

Eight other former Waypoint residents filed lawsuits against the apartment complex in General District Court, each seeking the replacement of items totaling $25,000 or less.

Welsh's case went to Circuit Court because her total damages were $33,000. Cases asking for more than $25,000 have to be tried in Circuit Court.

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