Peyton McCaughey, age 10, is now unable to feed himself, and has difficulty forming thoughts and speaking. He has also lost the use of his left arm and leg. The once witty and athletic boy has lost 90 percent of his motor skills.
According to the McCaughey family’s attorney, Bill Williams, Peyton and his entire family fell ill soon after a Terminix subcontractor, Sunland Pest Control, sprayed their Palm City home for termites on August 14, 2015. The family was told it was safe to return to their home two days later, on August 16.
By that evening, everyone, including the parents, Lori and Carl McCaughey, 10-year-old Peyton, and their seven-year-old daughter were sick and vomiting, said the boy’s uncle, Ed Gribben, but Peyton was worse.
According to KTLA5.com, Gribben told CNN that Peyton had trouble standing and speaking, so the family took him to a local clinic, and the doctor immediately suspected poisoning from fumigation.
Greg Martini, director of public relations at the Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath law firm, which is working with the family, says there are lots of things to cover, including who was involved and what type of chemical was used.
ABC News interviewed Gribben, but he declined to go into detail on Peyton’s condition now. When contacted by ABC News, a spokesman for the Terminix company said they were reviewing the incident. The spokesman did say that the gas normally used for fumigation is called sulfuryl fluoride.
Dr. Shan Yin, the medical director of the Cincinnati Drug and Poison Control agency told ABC that cases of pesticide poisoning due to fumigation are incredibly rare. Sulfuryl fluoride is an odorless gas, and exposure can lead to dizziness and headache and vomiting in mild cases.
“Because there’s no antidote and no specific treatment, you need to get out of the environment,” Yin said of how doctors handle pesticide exposures. Yin added that in some specific cases, it “can cause seizures and can cause neurologic symptoms.”
The Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services announced on Friday it “is investigating in collaboration with the (federal) EPA and the (state) Department of Health.” The agency released a statement saying: “While our investigation is ongoing, we are issuing a Stop Work Order prohibiting (Sunland Pest Control) from conducting any fumigations at this time.”
This is the second incident this year involving Terminix being linked to brain injuries and neurological damages from the use of a pesticide. In April Digital Journal reported on a Delaware family of four, who became violently ill after renting a vacation villa on St. John, in the Virgin Islands in March. The EPA says the use of methyl bromide is to blame in this incident.
