I live in an apartment in philadelphia. Last Friday my neighbor from the apartment next to mine called our landlord because the toilet in his apartment wouldn't flush. The landlord sent a technician and the technician snaked the pipe at the bottom of the toilet and said the issue shouldn't happen again. The next day my neighbor experienced the same issue and called the landlord for a technician again. The technician snaked the drain even harder and managed to get the water to go down. He said the issue was with the entire plumbing system and it was an issue that would have to be looked into Monday.
Sunday morning around noon both my and my neighbor's toilets, tubs, and sinks started filling up with water. We both called the landlord and they sent a technician out about 30 minutes after my call. The technician said they would need a plumber to look into the issue and they should be here within 2 hours.
The technician left and after 3 hours no technician showed up. I know our neighbor was constantly calling the main office and trying to get someone to come again as the issue continued to get worse. At this point the water pouring out had become sewage. I called the landlord's office again as the sewage was approaching the exit of the bathroom. They said they will get in contact with the technician again and have him reach out to us. After 20 minutes the issue just kept getting worse and I realized that the apartment along with all my belongings might be in danger. I called the office again and stressed that the entire apartment was in danger. They said they would try reaching out to the technician again and hung up.
A few minutes later the technician called back and said he was still waiting for the plumbing company that the apartment used to have someone available. I said that the issue is getting out of hand at this point and someone needs to come over. I had built a dam of towels keeping the sewage in the bathroom and at this point there was about an inch and a half of water. I asked if the technician could at least bring some towels so that we could slow down the water. He said that he didnt have any towels.
My neighbor and I waited for the technician and after about 20 minutes or so someone from our landlord's office called and apologized for the situation and said that the landlord would pay to fix any damage to the apartment, but for now we have to wait for a plumber.
Another half an hour or so passes and the technician showed up again. He walked in to both our bathrooms that were overflowing with sewage and we could tell he was surprised by the severity issue even after we had described it to the landlord. He said there was nothing he could do but try contacting a plumber. After another hour and a half or so a plumber finally showed up, and so did the woman who contacted us from the landlord's office (it took them 6 hours total to get a plumber for the issue). They all told us to put our important belongings up high and they would take care of the damages to the apartment.
At this point I started moving all of my belongings out of the apartment. I asked if there was any way I could get any towels to help slow down the water, and was told that there is nothing they can do but they'll pay for the damages to the apartment whenever the water stopped. At this point I was carrying my most expensive belongings outside planning to store them in my car for safety. No one offered any help and they just watched me walk through sewage for about 2 hours carrying my belongings out.
No one told us the severity of the issue, but the plumber couldn't get the water to stop until there was 6 inches of sewage and the sewage covered the entire bottom floor of the apartment building. Needless to say nearly anything left in the apartment is now trash.
On top of that I've been sick for the past 3 days constantly vomiting and with terrible diarrhea. I've gone to a doctor and I needed to get blood work done to learn the severity of my illness. The test results aren't back yet.
Is this an issue I should persue legal action over? Is the landlord responsible for any more than just the damage to the apartment?
Written By: Elemat
Source: https://ift.tt/2U4NYdr
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