Mother of Woman Who Died Sues Firms Linked to Fumigation

The mother of a 36-year-old Toluca Lake woman who fell into a coma and died after a building next door to her home was fumigated has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against firms that manufactured and applied the pest killer.

The suit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages from the death of Sandra Cornwall Mero, who died last month after she was discovered unconscious in her home March 8.

Seven pipes connected Mero’s home to a studio just 15 feet away that was being fumigated with toxic methyl bromide, according to Larry Feldman, Mero’s lawyer, who is now representing her mother, Violet Cornwall, in the wrongful-death suit.

Family members have stated that a doctor found 27 ppm of methyl bromide in the victim’s blood--above the lethal dose of 24 ppm.

Named as a defendant in the suit is Robert Evans, owner of the Evans Exterminating Co. of Burbank, which used the gas on the neighboring structure.

Evans could not be reached for comment but has previously stated that the studio was inspected before fumigation and was completely enclosed with a tent.

In addition to Evans’ firm, the lawsuit, filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, names her landlady, Sally Stevens, Niklor Chemical Co. Inc. and Soils Chemicals Corp. as defendants.

John Wilhelm, a corporate officer for Niklor, declined to discuss the details of the case other than to say, “It’s definitely a tragedy.”