Yes, you can sue if your loved died from Legionnaires’ disease (also called Legionella pneumonia) if:
- There is evidence connecting the deadly lung infection to a building’s water system
- Under state wrongful death laws, you are “next of kin,” which generally includes a husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father, grandparent, grandchild, and others
Pritzker Hageman is one of the few law firms in the country with experience winning Legionnaires’ disease lawsuits.
We use DNA evidence to link cases of Legionella pneumonia to contaminated water.
Attorney Eric Hageman
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How to Prove a Legionella Case
To prove a Legionella case, a building’s water system including any cooling towers needs to be tested for Legionella bacteria.
If Legionella bacteria is found, isolates of that bacteria need to be tested to determine the unique DNA pattern of that isolate.
If the DNA pattern matches one from a Legionella isolate obtained from your loved one, that is strong evidence that the building’s water made your loved one sick, and you would the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Compensation from a wrongful death lawsuit can include amounts for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, disability, and other damages.
Legionnaires’ Disease Lawsuit Against Hotel
The Pritzker Hageman Legionella lawyers won a significant recovery for the family of a woman who died after contracting Legionnaires’ Disease at a hotel.
The woman was celebrating her 40th wedding anniversary with her husband at a hotel in Las Vegas when she inhaled Legionella bacteria while using the Jacuzzi in the hotel room. Shortly thereafter, she was hospitalized, and she passed away only a week later, leaving her family struggling to find answers.
Our legal team set out to help the family find those answers. Ultimately, they were able to show that not only was the hotel directly responsible for this beloved woman’s death but that the hotel knew Legionella was present in its water system months prior to the victim’s stay.
When it became clear the hotel could have easily prevented this tragedy by taking reasonable preventive measures, Pritzker and Hageman sought to expose the hotel’s conscious disregard for the safety of its guests.
The most egregious aspect of this case was that the victim and her husband had no way to know of, or prevent, this risk. They could not have known they were putting their lives at stake, simply by staying in a hotel room. On the other hand, the hotel was in position to prevent what happened, but it entirely failed to do so. Our entire case was about holding the hotel accountable for its willful disregard for this woman’s life.
Attorney Eric Hageman
Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreaks at Hotels
Hotels are a common source of outbreaks. In fact, the bacterium was first discovered at a 1976 American Legion Convention where 34 individuals died and over 200 people fell sick after being exposed to the bacterium during their stay at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia.
The family in this case suffered an enormous loss, which was compounded by the hotel’s senseless disregard for the safety of its guests. Although the woman, a mother, wife, sister, and grandmother, could never be replaced, Pritzker Hageman helped force hotel accountability and aided the family on the long road toward healing from such a tremendous loss.
The Pritzker Hageman Legionnaires’ disease lawyers represent people nationwide. We understand the complex legal issues surrounding Legionella lawsuits and have experience handling cases just like yours. We understand the fear and shock that Legionella victims experience and the need to bring negligent parties to justice.
The scary part about these cases is that you never know if you are safe or not. Of course, you assume, when you check into a hotel or a hospital, that there are no hidden dangers, but you have no way to know for sure and there is almost nothing you can do to protect yourself. But these businesses can protect you from dangers like Legionella, and they have the legal obligation to do so.
Attorney Eric Hageman