A wrongful death lawsuit filed on August 11 alleges that toxic fumes and construction dust from the building of a swimming pool at Morro Bay High School led to the death of a teacher who had been exposed to the substances for weeks. The suit was filed by Edwin Van Fleet, husband of the deceased teacher, Judith Van Fleet, against Nadar Inc., the contracting and engineering firm hired by the San Luis Coastal Unified School District.
Judith Van Fleet, who taught at the high school for nearly 25 years, died in 2024 following years of declining health. Her husband's lawsuit claims that she developed serious health complications after being exposed to diesel emissions and dust generated by the pool construction project for approximately 20 days. The excavation site for the pool was located immediately adjacent to her classroom.
According to the lawsuit, the Air Pollution Control District's recommendations for the project included avoiding dust and emission-generating activities while school was in session. However, the complaint alleges that Nadar Inc. continued excavation work while Judith Van Fleet was teaching and failed to implement required mitigation measures, such as dust control, idling restrictions, or air quality monitoring.
Between August 19, 2016, and September 13, 2016, Judith Van Fleet was allegedly exposed to dust, fumes, and diesel emissions in her classroom. The lawsuit states that she immediately began experiencing symptoms, including a cough, wheezing, difficulty breathing, sinus congestion, headaches, a hoarse voice, weakness, memory loss, and cognitive decline. On September 11, 2016, she sought medical attention for breathing difficulties and received oxygen and an inhaler before returning to work the next day.
While at work following her clinic visit, she reportedly experienced sudden cognitive difficulties, such as trouble remembering students' names and difficulty following her lesson plans, which the filing attributes to excessive exposure to dust and emissions. Her symptoms progressively worsened over the following months, leading to her early retirement in 2017.
Multiple doctors evaluated Judith Van Fleet. A pulmonologist diagnosed her with occupational asthma, vasomotor rhinitis, and hypersensitivity to dust. A neurologist diagnosed a persistent cognitive disorder and recurrent headaches. A subsequent neuropsychological evaluation reportedly found severe global cognitive deficits affecting memory, language, visuospatial skills, concentration, processing speed, reasoning, naming, math calculation, and verbal initiation. The lawsuit notes that she performed at a third-grade level on mathematics testing, despite having taught the subject for over two decades.
By June 2024, Judith Van Fleet was reportedly immobile, bedbound, incontinent, unable to speak, and required 24-hour care. She died on August 12, 2024, at age 74. Her death certificate lists the immediate causes as respiratory failure and hypoxic encephalopathy.
The lawsuit seeks damages for wrongful death, strict liability failure to warn, strict liability design defect, loss of consortium, and a survival action. The Daily Mail has reached out to Nadar Inc. for comment.