New York Legionnaires’ Disease Lawyer

If you or someone you love has been affected by the most recent Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak in New York City, it’s important to know that you may have the right to pursue compensation. Outbreaks occur when water systems are vulnerable to Legionella bacteria – and that usually happens when property owners are negligent. The New York Legionnaires’ Disease lawyers at The Platta Law Firm are here to help you understand your rights and pursue financial justice for the medical bills, loss of income, and suffering you’ve endured.

We’re award-winning New York trial attorneys with 150+ years of combined experience fighting for the injured and grieving families. Knowing our clients are inherently disadvantaged when facing hospital systems, employers, nursing homes, and other powerful defendants, we fight to level the playing field and force meaningful financial recoveries when they matter most. The result: hundreds of millions of dollars recovered for New York injury victims. We can help you achieve favorable results with your Legionnaires’ Disease injury lawsuit, too. Contact our New York City law office at (212) 514-5100 today to schedule your free consultation to learn more.

What Is Legionnaires’ Disease and Why Are There Outbreaks in New York City?

Legionnaires’ Disease is a pneumonia-like illness that occurs when you’re exposed to a bacterium called Legionella. Legionella bacteria like two things: old plumbing systems and warm, stagnant water. This makes large cities like New York City a common target for outbreaks.

Many of the city’s buildings have old plumbing systems that, over time, have corroded and developed mineral buildups. This makes them much more difficult to clean and flush adequately, giving the Legionella bacteria a lot of places to get a foothold and grow. Many systems also have dead ends where water can settle and sit stagnant for long periods of time. Large systems can be difficult to heat evenly, leading to lukewarm temperatures that are perfect for bacterial growth.

It’s usually not enough to just be exposed to Legionella bacteria – infection occurs when contaminated water is aerosolized and inhaled. Again, New York City’s large apartment buildings, hospital systems, and skyscrapers offer the perfect mechanism for this: cooling towers used for mass air conditioning. Rooftop cooling towers use (unintentionally) warm water from susceptible plumbing systems to cool building air. When these cooling towers become contaminated with Legionella bacteria, they can expel contaminated mist and water droplets into the city.

Additionally, older plumbing fixtures like showerheads and sinks, as well as hot tubs and water fountains, can also potentially spray contaminated water. If this water is aspirated – meaning that it’s inhaled accidentally – it can also lead to infection.

In the latest Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak in New York City on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, 92 people were treated for Legionnaires’ Disease. Most of these cases were linked to infected cooling towers or neglected plumbing systems in city nursing homes.

Signs and Symptoms of Legionnaires’ Disease

If you inhale or aspirate Legionella-contaminated water, symptoms of Legionnaires’ Disease can begin within two to 14 days. Common signs and symptoms include:

• Body aches
• Headache
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Stomach pains
• Diarhea
• Chest pain

These symptoms are generally accompanied by a high fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit or more.  The typical course of treatment for Legionnaires’ Disease involves antibiotics and other supportive care, as necessary. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about 10 percent of all cases of Legionnaires’ Disease in the United States are fatal. Not all exposure to Legionella-contaminated water will cause Legionnaires’ Disease. Infection can also cause Pontiac fever, which presents with muscle aches, headaches, and a high fever.

How Can I Get Compensation if I’ve Been Hospitalized With Legionnaires’ Disease in NYC?

Outside of New York City, Legionella bacteria is most often found in stagnant bodies of water like ponds and lakes. It shouldn’t thrive in man-made water systems. Outbreaks are most often associated with old, outdated, and poorly maintained plumbing and water systems. Under New York’s premises liability laws, property owners have a duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition to prevent reasonably foreseeable harm

If an outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease could have been avoided had a property owner taken better care of their plumbing, water, and/or cooling systems, they could be liable for resulting injuries and/or deaths. As a victim, you can file a civil personal injury lawsuit against a negligent property owner seeking compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, disability, and suffering. Owners of the following types of properties could potentially be named in a Legionnaires’ Disease injury lawsuit:

• Hospital
• Nursing home
• Residential apartment building
• Hotel
• Office building
• School
• Government building
• Construction site

Most lawsuits filed by Legionnaires’ Disease victims in NYC focus on negligent maintenance and inspections of building cooling systems. When you file your lawsuit, you’ll generally have the burden of proving that you were exposed to aerosolized Legionella bacteria from the owner’s contaminated cooling system or plumbing system. You’d have to show that the owner failed to take reasonable steps to inspect the cooling system for contamination and/or have it cleaned and/or sanitized regularly to prevent a buildup of the dangerous bacteria. Evidence that can be used to support your claims might include:

• Building inspection and maintenance reports
• Cooling tower maintenance and cleaning records
• Lab reports matching your infection to the bacteria identified on the owner’s property
• Public health reports
• Prior complaints and/or violations of related public health regulations
• Medical records
• Forensic reports
• Expert testimony

If you can prove that the owner was negligent and that you were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ Disease as a result, the owner can be forced to make you whole and compensate for your suffering.

What Damages Can I Recover As a Victim of Legionnaires’ Disease?

Whether you file a lawsuit against a New York City nursing home, a hospital system, a private property owner, or the city itself, you can potentially recover both economic and non-economic damages for:

• Hospitalization, emergency room treatment, laboratory tests, surgery, imaging, medication, and other present and future medical expenses
• Rehabilitation and therapy expenses
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Long-term care assistance
• Temporary lost wages and job benefits
• Disability
• Reduced earning capacity
• Funeral expenses if a family member dies because of an avoidable case of Legionnaires’ Disease
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• PTSD
• Inconvenience
• Loss of consortium

Punitive damages can potentially be awarded in situations where it’s clear that the property owner acted maliciously or with gross negligence. For instance, if a property owner knew that their cooling tower or plumbing system was contaminated with Legionella bacteria and took no steps to remedy the situation, they might be considered grossly negligent by a New York City jury. In situations like these, the jury might award punitive damages in addition to any compensatory damages to punish the property owner for their conscious disregard for public health and safety.

Workers’ Compensation for Employees Who Suffer Legionnaires’ Disease on the Job

If you develop Legionnaires’ Disease because of exposure while you’re working in New York City, you could potentially have a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. This is true if:

• You’re an employee
• Your employer is legally required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, and
• You inhaled or aspirated aerosolized Legionella bacteria while carrying out duties or responsibilities within the scope of your employment

An experienced workers’ compensation attorney in New York City can help you pursue a claim to get benefits for:

• Temporary loss of wages and income
• Long-term disability
• Permanent impairment
• Medical bills

Death benefits can also be awarded to surviving family members if a worker dies because of Legionnaires’ Disease after work-related exposure.

How Can The Platta Law Firm Help With a Legionnaires’ Disease Lawsuit?

The property owner won’t care about the harm they’ve caused. The hospital, nursing home, or city agency won’t put your best interests front and center when your life has been turned upside-down by a potentially devastating illness. The Platta Law Firm will. Our Legionnaires’ Disease attorneys in New York City will handle all aspects of your personal injury case so that you have time to focus on your health, your recovery, and your future. You can count on our award-winning New York trial attorneys to:

• Listen to your story and give your case the time, personalized attention, and focus it deserves.
• Invest our law firm’s considerable resources into investigating your case, preserving critical evidence, and bringing in experts to help us calculate your damages and strengthen our legal claims.
• Step in and handle conversations with a property owner’s insurance company or defense attorneys so that you aren’t subjected to their manipulative tactics or pressure to take a low-ball settlement.
• Build a personal injury claim that establishes liability, clearly demonstrates your damages, and forces meaningful settlement negotiations.
• Help you understand the potential pros and cons of accepting (or rejecting) a settlement offer.
• Bring your Legionnaires’ Disease injury lawsuit to a New York jury, if needed.

Cases like these can be quite difficult, thanks to challenging matters of evidence and liability. When the stakes are high, it’s important to have an experienced and knowledgeable legal advocate in your corner who understands how to navigate cases like yours successfully. At The Platta Law Firm, our track record speaks for itself, with hundreds of millions of dollars in financial recoveries.

How Long Will I Have to Pursue a Claim for a Legionnaires’ Disease Injury in New York?

New York imposes a three-year statute of limitations on most personal injury lawsuits. For Legionnaires’ Disease, the statute of limitations begins on the date of infection or diagnosis of the disease. Since individuals with Legionnaires’ Disease begin to show symptoms between 2 and 14 days of exposure, the practical statute of limitations is the third anniversary of the date of an outbreak.

If someone you love has died from Legionnaires’ Disease in New York City, the statute of limitations for a related wrongful death lawsuit is two years from the date of their passing. There are some exceptions to the standard statutes of limitations. For instance, if a government agency is involved, you’ll be looking at an accelerated timetable. Claims against the government require a Notice of Claim within 90 days of injury, and a subsequent lawsuit must be filed within 1 year and 90 days of injury.

If you miss the filing deadline for your case, you lose the right to hold the negligent property owner accountable for any damages related to your case of Legionnaires’ Disease. Regardless of the timeframe that fits, it’s important to contact a Legionnaires’ Disease lawyer in New York City as soon as you can after you’re diagnosed during an outbreak. The sooner evidence can be collected and preserved, the stronger your case for damages will be.

Get Started With a Free Consultation With an Experienced NYC Legionnaires’ Disease Lawyer

Once you’ve sought medical care for pneumonia-like symptoms linked to Legionnaires’ Disease, call The Platta Law Firm. Our experienced New York Legionnaires’ Disease attorneys understand what’s at stake and are here to help you hold a negligent property owner accountable for their mistakes. We’re known as aggressive trial lawyers who don’t back down when things get tough. As seasoned legal advocates with over 150 years of combined litigation experience, we take our clients’ injuries personally and do everything within our considerable power to make their lives better when it matters most.

Since we represent our clients on a contingency fee basis, it costs nothing to hire our top-rated Legionnaires’ Disease attorneys in New York City, NY up front. We only recover a fee when we win your personal injury case. No win, no fee – that’s a promise we can make to you on day one. Your first consultation is free, so connect with our New York City law office – serving victims of Legionnaires’ Disease in  Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, Westchester County, and surrounding areas – to discuss your Legionnaires’ Disease injury case with an experienced NYC personal injury lawyer today. We’re here to answer your call 24/7.