Former golfer sues KU, claims Jayhawker Towers caused illnesses

A former Kansas golfer is seeking damages from the university after claiming that she became sick because of the living conditions at Jayhawker Towers on campus.

In a lawsuit filed first in Sedgwick County and then transferred to Douglas County, Laine R. Evans — a Wichita resident who graduated from Maize South — said that mold in her room caused “persistent sinus and upper respiratory symptoms, night sweats, fatigue and nausea” in the 2015 fall semester.

The suit states that Evans was seen by an athletic trainer and student health services multiple times before having a tonsil removed over Christmas break. When similar symptoms returned during her second semester, though, the lawsuit says the Evans family had a friend inspect the room, where he “discovered that the entire vent cover was caked with mold, and that there was mold inside the air ducts as well.”

A few days later, Evans took a blood test, her suit says, where she tested positive for a mold allergy. Her lawsuit, filed by Wichita-based attorney Randall K. Rathbun, states that Evans has “incurred in excess of $7,000 in medical bills from her mold exposure” while saying the family seeks a judgment in excess of $75,000.

In its response to Evans’ petition, KU claims that Evans’ injuries and damages were not to the extent that she claimed.

“Nothing the University did or failed to do caused or contributed to plaintiff’s alleged injuries or damages,” KU said in its response.

KU also, in part, stated that it “lacked notice of the conditions alleged” in Evans’ petition.

Evans is currently at Wichita State, where she is one of two seniors on the golf team.

Jesse Newell

Jesse Newell covers University of Kansas athletics for The Star.