Termite Treatment Leaves 10-Year-Old Boy Fighting for His Life

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In August of 2015, the Palm City home of 9-year-old Peyton McCaughey was fumigated by the well-known pest control company, Terminix.  Terminix, along with their subcontractor Sunland Pest Control (who has since been shut down) fumigated the home as requested and then left a note on the front door saying the home was safe to return to. Nothing could have been further from the truth. In fact, the inside of the home was a toxic wasteland that no one should have been allowed to enter.

Peyton’s Life Will Never Be The Same

The McCaughey’s hired Terminix, who then subcontracted the work to Sunland Pest Control. Owner of the company, Grenale Williams stated he had performed hundreds of jobs for Terminix with no complaints. The family said they began feeling sick almost as soon as they reentered the home.

According to testimony, the McCaughey family stated that Peyton threw up a couple of times during the night and then in the morning seemed to be confused. Mrs. McCaughey called poison control, who stated his behavior was due to dehydration rather than the fumigation chemicals. Peyton’s condition began to worsen, and when he became delirious, he was taken to an Urgent Care clinic where the doctor on duty confirmed their worst fears. Peyton had been poisoned by the chemicals used by Sunland.

Three Weeks In The Hospital After Termite Treatment

Peyton would spend three weeks in the hospital at which point he was diagnosed as being severely brain-damaged with no chances of recovering to enjoy a normal life. Today, Peyton is 10 years old and can be found still wearing his little League uniform, but he is permanently benched as he is no longer able to enjoy those things that normal children his age get to do on a regular basis.

There were a number of mistakes made along the way, starting with the fact Williams failed to check the air quality in the McCaughey’s home before posting the all-clear notice, according to an investigation completed by the Florida Department of Agriculture. At no point, in this case, has Terminix admitted any culpability. In fact, they have categorically denied any responsibility. Sunland however, was shut down by the Florida Department of Agriculture immediately following this incident.

Grenale Williams and the other employee working with him at the time face charges to which they have pleaded guilty, and were sentenced in May of 2016. Peyton has finally begun to show some signs of recovering some of his mental faculties and is enrolled back in school on a part-time basis. He does however, still require intensive therapy on a daily basis. No one knows whether or not Peyton will ever make a full recovery, and Terminix is still strongly denying any responsibility for something that could have easily been avoided.