Veteran Sues DC Apartment, Says Rat Bites Sent Him to Hospital

A veteran says he owes thousands of dollars in medical bills after rats bit him in his D.C. apartment

A veteran says he owes more than $75,000 in medical bills after rats bit him in his sleep at his northeast D.C. apartment.

Lafayette Wright, 56, said he is suing the managment of Pentacle Apartments because they failed to fix an opening where rats were getting into his apartment. Wright has been a tenant of the apartment since 2010 and said he never had issues with rats until this year.

According to the lawsuit, Wright reported the rats to the apartment on April 27 and maintenance came by to put down rat traps a few days later on May 3. 

Wright, who served 11 years in the U.S. Navy, said he explained to maintenance that they needed to fix the hole where the rats were getting in, but maintenance told him he would have to put in another request.

Rats bit Wright several times one night while he was sleeping, he told News4. 

"I started throwing up, couldn't hold any food down, getting chills,"  Wright said. "My doctor even told me he said, 'I don't know what I'm dealing with here.'"

Wright was diagnosed with "rat bite fever" and has suffered from spinal abscesses, inflammation, extreme debilitation and pain, according to the lawsuit.

He filed a $750,000 lawsuit agains Pentacle Apartments on Tuesday.

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