Legionnaires’ disease (LD), also referred to as legionellosis, is a serious, sometimes lethal pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. The bacteria get into water and, when mist carrying them is inhaled, the bacteria infect the lungs and colonize, causing pneumonia.
Legionellosis cases are reported to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which maintains databases used by health officials to detect outbreaks of disease. Our review of CDC statistics indicates that legionellosis cases are on the rise. In fact, the number of reports of illness per year has almost tripled.
“We have had an increasing number of Legionnaires’ disease cases over the years,” said Attorney Fred Pritzker, who recently settled a Legionnaires’ wrongful death lawsuit against a hotel for over $3,000,000.00. Fred and his Bad Bug Law Team are nationally known for helping victims and their families get compensation from corporate wrongdoers.
There are a number of probable causes of this rise. One of them is new methods of treating water that do not effectively eliminate Legionella bacteria. Another is negligent maintenance of systems by hotels, hospitals and others. “In the cases we have handled, our investigation found evidence of negligence,” said Fred. “Even without this evidence, these businesses are legally responsible and need to compensate victims and their families for personal injury and wrongful death.”
The mortality rate for Legionnaires’ disease is extremely high. In some outbreaks 25% or more of the victims do not survive. This is particularly true for outbreaks involving hospitals. For example, in the recent Legionnaires’ disease outbreak associated with the Pittsburgh VA Hospital, there were five definitely and 16 probably healthcare-associated cases of Legionnaires’ disease, for a total of 21 cases. Five case-patients, or 24 percent, died within 30 days of a positive diagnostic test for LD.
The high death rate is partially due to Legionella’s resistance to certain antibiotics.
You can contact Fred and his Bad Bug Law Team for a free case review here. Ask them about their Legionnaires’ disease lawsuit settlements.
