Legal Question in Civil Litigation in North Carolina

Plumber misdiagnose and treatment of problem.

I had a plumber do work on a rental in NC. They missed the orginial problem, assumed it was fixed. Called back in 4 months to a new leak. New guy comes out cause last guy was fired for messing up jobs. Cuts hole in the wall and sees a major leak. He then calls his boss and leaves. His secretary calls me and says they are getting with the owner to see what they can do to repair the mess up of the previous plumber. Boss calls back 1 month later and says there is no problem(plumber and boss met to see if the damage was caused by them, then says there was no problem), drains the line for free(never charged), plumber that saw the leak says there never was a leak. The leak created a 15 diameter of mold in the crawl space. Severe damage to subflooring and cabinets. $1600 charge to remediate the mold. Tenants in the property are now having medical problems from the mold. So do I have any recourse against the plumber for failing to property treat and diagnose the problem?


Asked on 8/22/06, 6:02 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
John Kirby Law Offices of John M. Kirby

Re: Plumber misdiagnose and treatment of problem.

You probably have a claim, assuming that you can prove that the leak which they failed to discover caused this mold, which may be your biggest problem. At this point, you may have a real problem of proof. There are potentially several causes of excessive moisture (which can lead to mold). It sounds as if the plumbers are clamming up. Any statements by the second plumber or the secretary may be admissible and may help you, if they essentially admitted fault, but this would raise some evidentiary issues. You may want to consult an attorney about this matter, and gather and collect any evidence you can (e.g. documents, photographs). And you may have a real problem towards your tenants. You have an obligation as a landlord to keep the premises fit and habitable, and the presence of excessive mold may violate this duty. (Mold is of course a thorny issue in and of itself, as we are all exposed to mold every day. But excessive levels of mold can be dangerous.)

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Answered on 8/23/06, 10:27 pm
James McKinnon McKinnon & Associates, PLC

Re: Plumber misdiagnose and treatment of problem.

Yes you should have recourse against the plumber. But your tenants may have recourse against you if you rented to them with knowledge of the mold problem.

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Answered on 8/22/06, 6:50 pm


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