As of August 15, 2015, the South Bronx Legionnaires’ disease outbreak has sickened 124 people, 12 of whom have died, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
These illnesses were caused by breathing in water mist contaminated with Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease. This water is contaminated in a building cooling tower and breathed in wherever that water mists (faucet, fountain, pool, etc.).
Lawsuit Needed to Get Answers, Compensation and Justice
The owner of the infected building responsible for these illnesses needs to be held accountable, and measures need to be taken to make sure this does not happen again. Lives were lost and survivors endured weeks of illness and continued weakness. Filing a Legionnaires’ disease lawsuit for personal injury or wrongful death is often the only way to get access to some information, to obtain full and fair compensation, and to hold all corporate wrongdoers accountable.
In response to the outbreak, health officials have tested cooling towers for Legionella. Eleven sites tested positive for the bacteria within the “impact” zone, the area where people are getting sick:
- Opera House Hotel at 436 E. 149 St.;
- Concourse Plaza at 198 E. 161st Street;
- Lincoln Hospital at 234 E. 149 St.;
- Streamline Plastics at 2950 Park Avenue;
- Verizon at 117 E. 167th St.;
- Daughters of Jacob Nursing Home at 1150 Teller Avenue;
- Post Office at 558 Grand Concourse;
- Bronx Housing Courts at 1118 Grand Concourse; and
- NYC Department of Education, also called Samuel Gompers High School, at 455 Southern Boulevard.
These buildings and every cooling tower in the impact zone have been disinfected and remediated. Health officials believe this is the reason no new cases have been reported with symptoms onset date after August 3, 2015.
How a Lawyer Can Help You
We encourage you to find a lawyer if you or a loved one contracted pneumonia from Legionella.