Terminix pesticide’s parent company has reached an agreement with a family that was poisoned while staying at a vacation condo in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The agreement calls for an $87 million payout on top of the $3 million the company has already put out for its insurance deductible.
Stephen Esmond became paralyzed in March 2015 soon after checking into a condo on St. John that was located above another unit in which Terminix exterminators had sprayed an odorless neurotoxin called methyl bromide. His teenage sons were hit hard as well, and remained in critical condition for weeks after the exposure.
Their mother, dentist Theresa Devine, fared better and was discharged soon after the exposure. The family was airlifted to Philadelphia hospitals for treatment.
Something important to note—the neurotoxin methyl bromide that did all of this damage was illegally applied. The company was not legally supposed to do that—for this very reason. Methyl bromide has been banned from indoor use since 1984! While Esmond regained the ability to move, he has suffered profound lasting affects.
Last September, the family met Pope Francis during his visit to Philadelphia. At that time, Esmond, an administrator at the Tatnall School in Wilmington, still suffered from tremors, struggled to speak, and had difficulty turning the pages of books, Maron told CNN.
The boys - who had been students and athletes at Tatnall - spent weeks in medically induced comas. They were conscious but could barely move, Maron told CNN last year.
It was reported that Terminix tried to settle with the family for around $10 million a couple of weeks ago. They may have been hoping to get the same deal that the Department of Justice gave them in March.
In a plea agreement, TERMINIX LP and TERMINIX, USVI agreed to pay a total of $10 million in criminal fines, community service and restitution payments. Except for completing one government contract at the Port of Baltimore, TERMINIX LP has stopped using pesticides containing methyl bromide in the United States and U.S. Territories. Under the agreement TERMINIX, USVI will pay $5 million in fines and $1 million in restitution to the EPA for response and clean-up costs at the St. John resort. TERMINIX LP will pay a fine of $3 million and will fund a $1 million community service project in the U.S.V.I. The plea agreement is subject to approval by the district court.
Esmond’s family is making Terminix pay considerably more, and rightly so.