With Legionnaires’ Disease cases on the rise in the United States, occupational health and safety experts are increasingly exploring ways to heighten employer awareness of ways to prevent the potentially fatal disease in the workplace.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA):
“It is estimated that in the United States there are between 10,000 and 50,000 cases of Legionnaires’ disease each year. Legionnaires’ disease is a bacterial disease commonly associated with water-based aerosols that have originated from warm water sources. It is often associated with poorly maintained cooling towers and potable water systems.
There are currently no specific OSHA standards for Legionnaires’ disease.”
Because environmental standards governing the control of the legionella bacteria in the workplace are still evolving, OSHA thus encourages workers to become more informed about their right to a safe workplace and to file legal complaints if they feel they have been harmed by workplace hazards like the improperly maintained cooling / water systems responsible for the incubation of Legionella bacteria.
The fact that Legionella in the workplace threatens employee health and productivity is substantiated by the number of healthy employees who fall ill during significant outbreaks, resulting in lost wages and medical expenses. For example, in the serious August 2015 outbreak of Legionnaires’ at the 3,700-inmate San Quentin State Prison in California, three staff members were confirmed to have contracted the disease; twelve unconfirmed cases among prison employees are still being investigated.
If you or a family member has been diagnosed with severe pneumonia, special laboratory tests should be performed to see if this has been caused by Legionella bacteria. If you are diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, your local health department should be notified. In most cases, the health department will not investigate unless there are 2 or more cases within the same time period, so if one of your coworkers was also sickened, that needs to be reported.
You may have the right to pursue compensation beyond workers’ compensation if a company that is not your employer:
- owns the building with the contaminated water system that caused your illness;
- is a business that services water systems; or
- is responsible for a defective product that contributed to the contamination of water with Legionella bacteria.
If so, one of our nationally recognized Legionnaires’ lawyers, Fred Pritzker or Eric Hageman, can help you to strategize the steps you should take to receive the legal compensation you are owed. For a free consultation, please contact our team at 1-888-377-8900 or use our free online consultation form.