Woman says city damaged her Inglewood home after maintenance work caused raw sewage flooding

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- A woman in Inglewood says her dream home has become a nightmare after the city's cleaning of sewage lines flooded her home with raw sewage.

"The excitement is turning to me like a bad dream," said Patrina Miller, who told Eyewitness News she's always dreamed of owning her own home.

She finally achieved that last year by buying a home in Inglewood. She was expecting to spend the wonderful holidays with her family.

"I bought this house in July of 2024, excited -- I'm going to have my first Christmas, my first Thanksgiving, my first New Year's. I'm big on family and I love to cook. I couldn't do any of it," Miller said.

That's because she says last September, crews were working on the city's sewer lines and that's when the problems started.

"The toilets just started gurgling and just water everywhere," said Miller.

Suddenly, she says, sewage water started flooding her home.

"The water came out and it came out to here and it stopped right about here, and then it floated out here and a little bit into the kitchen," Miller said.

She reached out to the plumbing company that was contracted by the city to do the work on her street. She was told a company called Mattucci Plumbing was hired to hydrojet the lines.

"The person that came with Mattucci said I didn't have much damage at all," Miller said.

That started a long process. First, she was told to contact their insurance company. Tokio Marine. Then her claim was sent to another insurance company, Philadelphia Insurance, and then to an adjuster.

Documents from the adjuster, Sedgwick Claims Management, claim the moisture was in a limited area and described it as water damage.

"What they were telling me is that what blew back, it was clean water that blew back. And my response was clear water or not, clear water does not have a sewage smell. So if clear water has a sewage smell, it means it's contaminated," said Miller.

Miller had her house tested and the report found multiple types of bacteria present, including E. coli and Enterococcus. For months, Miller has had to live in a different place and pay rent over there, and almost everything is in storage waiting until she can return home.

"We even had mold and bacteria people come in, and there's bacteria everywhere in the house. So how can I live here?" said Miller.

While our ABC7 crew was at the scene, just a block away from her house, construction crews were seen tearing up the street and doing the same type of work that she says was going on in her street. Eyewitness News called the city of Inglewood Public Works Department and they said there are several ongoing projects on the underground water and sewer lines.

The city wouldn't comment about any incidents at Miller's home and deferred to the Inglewood City Attorney's Office, which has yet to respond.

Meanwhile, the city council has rejected her claim. ABC7 also contacted the plumbing company and it said, "We cannot comment on any matter that is the subject of litigation or potential litigation."

While neither the insurance companies nor the adjuster has responded to requests for information, Miller says she has been offered $5,500 to settle the claim.

She says that doesn't resolve the issue of contamination, and she still doesn't want to return to her house until she feels that it is safe.

"I just want my house fixed. I'm not asking for an exorbitant amount of money. I just want what it says to fix my home and to replace my goods," Miller said.

She has now hired an attorney and hopes that by talking about her story, it will help others who are struggling with a similar issue.