City executive sues plumbers after £1m house ‘made family seriously ill'
A former City executive has filed a legal claim against the plumbers who allegedly fitted faulty pipes that leaked excrement through her £1 million home, making her family seriously ill.
Danielle Mensah, 45, is also suing the developers who sold her the five-bedroom home in Beckenham, Kent, a decade ago.
Mrs Mensah, who has been named in the top 100 women in the City, claims a botched soil pipe from the bathroom toilet caused a build-up of waste that made her whole family unwell.
The case alleges that exposure to the waste left the family with chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) – a condition not recognised in mainstream European medicine.
The family said the offending soil pipe was hidden by boxwork and a wall, but still omitted toxins and mould which over time caused symptoms including fatigue, frequent urination, headaches, blurred vision, diarrhoea and vertigo.
Mrs Mensah and her husband, Daniel, have initiated a claim of more than £200,000 against plumbers RG Evans and developers Linden Home.
The couple, who are parents to children aged eight and two, moved into the development of 48 detached houses in May 2015.
According to their High Court claim, both started to develop strange, debilitating symptoms.
Mrs Mensah, who now works as a leadership coach, is said to have started experiencing fatigue and blurred vision, while needing to get up 15 times each night to go to the loo, alongside headaches, cramping, vertigo and cognitive problems which cumulatively caused her to take time off work in 2020.
She claims to still require treatment for digestive issues, tiredness, insomnia, weakness, headaches and a deficient working memory, as well as anxiety about being reinfected.
Her 40-year-old husband also suffered insomnia, frequent urination and fatigue, as well as mood swings, constipation and sweating, but has seen his condition improve from treatment such as cognitive behavioural therapy.
Mr Mensah first noticed staining in an en suite bathroom in 2020. A tradesman then allegedly found that the soil pipe had not been solvent-welded and was propped up by plasterboard rather than being fixed by a bracket.
Readings conducted by a company called Building Forensics Report found potential contamination from black water and levels of potentially toxic bacteria were between 10 and 100 times the usual level, according to court documents.
A survey using a 'Mouldscope'' revealed a 'red' high mould concentration in all rooms bar one, with none showing the green expected for a residential property, the couple claimed.
The family said they were advised to sell their home, moving out in November 2020 and into temporary accommodation.
The family has accused both the plumbers and developers of negligence and breach of contract or duty, and are seeking damages for their injuries and the distress and inconvenience caused.
Vistry Group, Linden's parent company, has said: 'This matter is the subject of active court proceedings and, on that basis, we decline to comment.'
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