Yuba woman sues mosquito-control district over alleged reaction to spray

A Plumas Lake woman said she suffered a severe allergic reaction when spray from a Sutter-Yuba Mosquito Vector Control District truck reached her as she was in a crosswalk in the south Yuba County community.

Nicole Stricek, 33, said her symptoms included difficulty breathing, bad headaches and a swollen left eye that shut.

The truck was between 5 to 10 feet from her on Aug. 16, she said.

"I had nowhere to go," Stricek said.

She filed a small-claims case on Friday in Yuba County Superior Court against the district and seeks $7,000 for medical costs and other matters.

Ronald McBride, manager of the Sutter-Yuba Mosquito Vector Control District, said in a February letter to Stricek about the district's board of directors voting to reject her claim that "we are sympathetic to your suggestion that contact with the spray" led to the symptoms.

But the quantity of spray is so small that, even if a person did contact the mist, the spray wouldn't cause the injuries that Stricek described, McBride said in the letter.

"We believe the rejection of your claim is reasonably based on science and the law," he wrote.

McBride said the mosquito-conrol district sprays to protect the public from illness including the West Nile virus.

He declined Friday to comment further on the matter because of the legal filing.

CONTACT Ryan McCarthy at rmccarthy@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4780. Find him on Facebook at /ADrmccarthy or on Twitter at @ADrmccarthy.