INDIANAPOLIS -- A south side mother has filed a lawsuit against her apartment complex alleging they are responsible for her 5-year old daughter losing her leg to a flesh eating bacteria.
Lauraine Lyles filed suit against Bradford Lake apartments Thursday in Marion County Superior Court, accusing them of failing to clean up exposed raw sewage on the playground.
Lyles’ daughter Jameila, 5, was playing on September 15 when she fell and scarped her leg, according to the complaint.
Within days, Jameila, who her mother did not want to appear on camera, could barely walk.
“Her leg was really, really swollen and purple and blue, and it was draining blood,” said Lyles. “I tried to clean it up, but it would not stop bleeding.”
Lyles rushed her daughter to the emergency room.
Doctors were able to save Jameila, but not her leg, and the 5-year old spent a month at Riley Hospital.
“I took it very hard, but she’s coping very well,” said Lyles. “We’re just dealing with it day by day.”
The day after Jameila was released from the hospital, Lyles contacted Indianapolis attorneys Dan Chamberlain and Richard Batesky.
The lawsuit alleges the apartment complex, Bradford Lake, was negligent in maintain the property in a reasonably fit and safe condition.
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“It’s a horrible thing for anyone to go through, let alone a 5 year old,” said Lyles’ attorney Dan Chamberlain. “We are going to help her get her life back together, whereas the apartment complex didn’t do anything to help her. We are going to do everything we can to make this place is safe.”
Chamberlain and Batesky said in their 50 years of experience, they’ve never seen anything like what happened to Jameila.
“When you hear about phantom pains in a 5 year old little girl, it’s just hard to understand,” said Batesky.
The health department issued an emergency order to Bradford Lake earlier this month for raw sewage in a different area of the apartment complex.
Marion County Public Health Department spokesperson Curt Brantingham said that sewage problem was corrected.
“I am told that the order for the sewage was properly repaired within the 24-hour timeframe of the emergency order and the matter was closed upon re-inspection,” said Brantingham.
Lyles’ attorneys allege Bradford Lake apartments violated the lease agreement, and say Jameila “suffered physical pain, mental suffering, and the loss of the enjoyment of life from her personal injuries.”
Call 6 Investigates was unable to reach the property manager for comment on the phone Thursday.
When Call 6 Investigates Kara Kenney stopped by Thursday, the workers at the apartment office did not know anything about the lawsuit.
The Community Reinvestment Foundation, a management company for Bradford Lake, did not respond to a request for comment.
“It was preventable,” said Chamberlain. “They had the knowledge. They received the payments for rent. They had the responsibility to make sure these kids were safe, and they didn’t do it.”
Lyles hopes to prevent other children in the apartment complex from becoming ill from raw sewage.
“A lot of people don’t even wear shoes on the playground,” said Lyles.
