Can You Sue After Contracting Legionnaires’ Disease on the Upper West Side?
Legionnaires’ disease is a serious form of bacterial pneumonia caused by inhaling water droplets contaminated with Legionella bacteria. On the Upper West Side, exposure may occur in apartment buildings, hospitals, hotels, nursing homes, universities, offices, and other properties with cooling towers, rooftop water tanks, hot water systems, or extensive plumbing networks. Many cases are preventable. When property owners, managers, healthcare facilities, or contractors fail to properly inspect, clean, test, or maintain these systems, Legionella bacteria may grow and place residents, workers, patients, students, and visitors at risk.
If you or a loved one developed Legionnaires’ disease after spending time on the Upper West Side, Greenstein & Pittari, LLP can investigate whether negligent building maintenance contributed to the illness. Call 1-800-VICTIM2 (1-800-842-8462) for a free consultation. There is no attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Legionnaires’ disease?
Legionnaires’ disease is a severe lung infection caused by Legionella bacteria. It is usually contracted by inhaling contaminated mist from showers, faucets, cooling towers, fountains, therapy pools, or other building water systems. It is generally not spread through ordinary person-to-person contact. Symptoms may include fever, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, chills, fatigue, muscle aches, gastrointestinal problems, and confusion. Severe cases may result in respiratory failure, sepsis, kidney injury, permanent lung damage, or death.
Why can Legionella grow in Upper West Side buildings?
Legionella bacteria may grow when water becomes stagnant, temperatures are poorly controlled, plumbing systems are not properly disinfected, or biofilm and scale accumulate inside pipes and equipment. Older Upper West Side buildings may have aging plumbing, rooftop tanks, or outdated systems that require careful maintenance. Newer buildings are not immune. Modern towers often contain cooling systems, fitness center showers, spas, hot water tanks, and complex circulation networks. These systems can become contaminated when inspections, testing, cleaning, or repairs are delayed.
Where can exposure occur?
Exposure may occur in apartment buildings, condominiums, cooperatives, hospitals, hotels, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, schools, universities, offices, gyms, and commercial properties. Common sources include cooling towers, rooftop water tanks, showers, faucets, hot water systems, decorative fountains, and therapy pools.
Hospitals and nursing homes require particular care because many patients and residents are elderly, medically fragile, or immunocompromised. Failure to maintain safe water systems can expose especially vulnerable people to serious illness.
Who is most at risk?
Anyone can become infected, but adults over age fifty, current and former smokers, people with chronic lung disease, cancer patients, transplant recipients, and individuals with weakened immune systems face greater risks. People with diabetes, kidney disease, or other serious medical conditions may also suffer more severe complications. Hospitals, nursing homes, and senior residences should therefore maintain comprehensive water management and infection-control programs.
Who may be held liable?
Potentially responsible parties may include property owners, management companies, cooperative corporations, condominium associations, hospitals, universities, hotels, nursing homes, commercial landlords, plumbers, engineers, water treatment companies, and cooling tower contractors. Liability depends on who controlled, inspected, repaired, or maintained the water system and whether that party failed to act reasonably. Because responsibility may be divided among several companies, a thorough investigation is often necessary.
What must be proven in a Legionnaires’ disease lawsuit?
A claimant generally must show that a defendant failed to maintain or monitor a water system reasonably and that this failure caused or contributed to the illness. A diagnosis alone is not enough. The evidence must connect the infection to a likely source of exposure. Attorneys may review the patient’s medical history, travel, residence, workplace, hospital visits, environmental testing, maintenance records, and reports of other illnesses. Evidence of prior positive tests, neglected repairs, inadequate inspections, or water management failures may help establish negligence.
How do lawyers investigate these cases?
The investigation may include medical records, laboratory results, Department of Health findings, water testing, cooling tower reports, plumbing records, maintenance schedules, contractor agreements, building complaints, and internal communications. Legionnaires’ disease cases may also require infectious disease doctors, epidemiologists, environmental engineers, mechanical engineers, microbiologists, and water treatment experts. These professionals help identify the likely source of exposure and explain how the building’s systems failed.
Why is immediate investigation important?
Once contamination is suspected, a building owner may flush plumbing lines, disinfect systems, clean cooling towers, replace equipment, or change maintenance procedures. These steps may improve safety but can also alter evidence. Prompt legal action helps preserve testing results, maintenance records, contractor communications, witness information, and evidence showing the condition of the water system before repairs were made.
What compensation may be available?
Compensation may include emergency care, hospitalization, intensive care, medications, respiratory therapy, rehabilitation, future medical treatment, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and diminished quality of life. The value of a claim depends on the severity of the illness, length of hospitalization, lasting impairment, employment consequences, medical history, and strength of the liability evidence.
Can a family bring a wrongful death claim?
Yes. When Legionnaires’ disease causes or contributes to a death, the estate may pursue a wrongful death claim. Recoverable damages may include medical expenses, funeral costs, lost financial support, lost household services, and other losses permitted under New York law. The estate may also have a claim for the deceased person’s conscious pain and suffering before death. Because strict filing deadlines may apply, families should seek legal advice promptly.
How long do I have to file a lawsuit?
Many New York negligence claims are subject to a three-year statute of limitations, but shorter deadlines may apply depending on the defendant and type of claim. Cases involving public hospitals, municipal entities, government agencies, or medical malpractice may require earlier action. A Notice of Claim may be required within as little as ninety days when a public entity is involved. Prompt consultation also helps prevent the loss of physical and documentary evidence.
How much does it cost to hire Greenstein & Pittari, LLP?
Consultations are free, and there are no upfront attorney’s fees. Legionnaires’ disease claims are generally handled on a contingency fee basis, meaning the attorney’s fee is paid from a successful settlement or verdict. You owe no attorney’s fee unless Greenstein & Pittari, LLP recovers compensation for you.
Why Choose Greenstein & Pittari, LLP?
Legionnaires’ disease cases require knowledge of personal injury law, premises liability, infectious disease medicine, environmental testing, engineering, and building water systems. Greenstein & Pittari, LLP investigates every potentially responsible party and works to preserve critical evidence before it disappears.
Our attorneys represent clients throughout the Upper West Side, Manhattan, and all five New York City boroughs. We offer personalized attention, bilingual services, aggressive advocacy, and trial-ready representation.
If you or someone you love developed Legionnaires’ disease after exposure on the Upper West Side, call 1-800-VICTIM2 (1-800-842-8462) for a free consultation.
Don’t Be a Victim Twice.