Man Suffers Collapsed Lung, Develops Sepsis from Black Mold in His Apartment: 'It Was Attacking My Body'

Mar. 15, 2025

Matthew Langsworth says black mold in his apartment was covered up instead of removed, causing severe health issues that eventually landed him in the hospital.Photo:Kennedy News and Media (2)

Kennedy News and Media (2)

A 32-year-old man ended up with a collapsed lung and the near-fatal infection sepsis from inhaling spores due to excessive mold in his apartment.

Matthew Langsworth, who lives in council housing — the UK’s term for public housing — says he first noticed mold in his apartment in 2013 and notified management. Although work was done on his apartment in the English town of Leamington Spa, it “obviously did not eradicate it,” he tells Kennedy News and Media viaThe Daily Mail.“I’ve had continuous intestinal problems and skin conditions,” along with problems breathing, he says.

He alleges the mold was “redecorated over” and covered with paint instead of removed, and that it caused him to develop a condition calledinvasive aspergillosis, which theU.S. Centers for Disease Controlsays is the “most serious” form of infection that the mold can cause.

Black mold in Matthew Langsworth’s apartment.Kennedy News and Media

Kennedy News and Media

Langworth says that his condition took a turn for the worse in August 2023 when he had a leak in his kitchen. His landlord told the outlet repairs included “replacing in their entirety both his kitchen and bathroom and more recently installing new flooring throughout.”

But within two weeks of returning home after the three-month long repair job, he says his lung collapsed from pneumonia and he was rushed to the hospital. Then he developed the life-threatening infection sepsis.

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“The doctors were wiping tears from my eyes because I thought I was going to die,” he said. “The mold has attacked my body. The doctor told me my body was doing its best fighting it and then decided it couldn’t cope anymore.”

Langsworth estimates that 75% of his apartmenthas mold in it, but since the council housing still deems it fit for living, he is not eligible to be placed in a new apartment.

According to theDaily Mail, Langsworth’s landlord confirmed that mold was present in his home, and “we will of course continue to work with Mr. [Langsworth] to complete any further repairs that may be needed and continue to provide further reassurance that his home is free from damp and mold.”

source: people.com