Woman files suit against Hilton Head cleaning company after alleged chlorine gas poisoning

A woman has filed suit against a Hilton Head Island cleaning company in Beaufort County Court, saying she contracted a permanent illness after she allegedly inhaled chlorine gas fumes in August.

The lawsuit was filed by Maria Bustamante on March 1 against Castel Cleaning Company in connection with an incident Aug. 2 when Bustamante was using a laundromat on New Orleans Road at the same time as employees from the cleaning company, the lawsuit said.

Bustamante noticed “smoke billowing into the air inside the facility,” and Hilton Head Fire & Rescue Division firefighters were called to the scene.

According to the lawsuit, firefighters determined that the cleaning company’s employes had mixed chemicals together causing “substantial amounts of chlorine gas to be emitted into the air.”

Though Bustamante escaped the building, she allegedly “inhaled the fumes in a sufficient amount to cause permanent Granuloma,” causing her ability to breathe to become more difficult and resulting in trips to the hospital and to see a specialist, the suit said.

Bustamante alleges the cleaning company is liable for the negligent actions of its employees and that she is entitled to damages, the suit said.

Jason Stevens, Bustamante’s Charleston-based attorney, said on Friday that his office has not yet received a response to the suit.

Attempts to reach Bustamante and Castel Cleaning Company for comment were not successful.

This story was originally published March 10, 2017 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Woman files suit against Hilton Head cleaning company after alleged chlorine gas poisoning."