Can You Sue if You Contracted Legionnaires’ Disease at a Hotel, Hospital, Apartment Building, or Nursing Home in New York?
Most people never think twice about using a hotel shower, receiving treatment in a hospital, or living in an apartment building because they reasonably expect the property’s water system to be safe. Unfortunately, when cooling towers, plumbing systems, rooftop water tanks, hot water systems, or other building water systems are not properly maintained, Legionella bacteria can grow and spread through contaminated water droplets, causing Legionnaires’ disease. Legionnaires’ disease is a severe and often preventable form of bacterial pneumonia. When negligent property owners, hospitals, landlords, nursing homes, or maintenance contractors fail to properly manage their water systems, innocent residents, patients, guests, employees, and visitors can suffer life-threatening illnesses.
If you or a loved one developed Legionnaires’ disease after staying at a hotel, living in an apartment building, receiving treatment at a hospital, residing in a nursing home, or visiting another commercial property in New York, Greenstein & Pittari, LLP can investigate your claim. 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
Where does Legionnaires’ disease commonly occur?
Legionella bacteria thrive in warm, stagnant water when building water systems are not properly inspected, cleaned, or disinfected. Exposure may occur in hotels, apartment buildings, condominiums, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, office buildings, schools, universities, health clubs, shopping centers, rehabilitation facilities, government buildings, and other commercial properties. Nearly any large building with a complex plumbing or cooling system can become a source of exposure if proper maintenance is neglected. Common sources include cooling towers, hot water systems, rooftop water tanks, decorative fountains, showers, faucets, spas, hot tubs, pools, ice machines, locker room facilities, and other equipment that produces aerosolized water. Identifying the exact source often requires a detailed review of where the individual lived, worked, traveled, or received medical care before symptoms developed.
Can hotels, hospitals, apartment buildings, and nursing homes be held liable?
Yes. Property owners and operators generally have a duty to maintain their building water systems reasonably. Hotels should implement comprehensive water management programs for their plumbing systems, cooling towers, spas, and guest facilities. Hospitals must protect medically vulnerable patients by following accepted infection prevention practices, while apartment owners and landlords are expected to maintain reasonably safe residential plumbing systems. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have an even greater responsibility because many residents are elderly or immunocompromised. Liability depends on the facts of each case. Depending on the investigation, responsible parties may include property owners, landlords, management companies, hospitals, nursing homes, maintenance contractors, plumbing contractors, engineering firms, water treatment companies, and cooling tower service providers. Determining responsibility requires examining who controlled the water system and whether reasonable maintenance practices were followed.
How do you prove where the exposure occurred?
Legionnaires’ disease typically develops several days after exposure, making it difficult for many victims to identify where they became infected. An experienced attorney will reconstruct your activities during the incubation period, including where you lived, worked, stayed overnight, received medical care, or traveled before symptoms appeared. The investigation may include medical records, laboratory results, Department of Health investigations, environmental testing, cooling tower registrations, plumbing records, maintenance logs, inspection reports, contractor agreements, employee training records, repair invoices, and prior complaints. Greenstein & Pittari, LLP also works with infectious disease physicians, epidemiologists, microbiologists, environmental engineers, and water system experts to determine the most likely source of exposure and whether negligence contributed to the illness.
Why is immediate legal action important?
Time is critical in Legionnaires’ disease cases because evidence can disappear quickly. Once contamination is suspected, building owners often flush plumbing systems, disinfect water lines, clean cooling towers, replace equipment, or change maintenance procedures. Although these actions may be necessary to protect public health, they can also eliminate valuable evidence needed to prove where the exposure occurred. Prompt legal representation allows your attorney to preserve maintenance records, environmental testing, inspection reports, contractor communications, surveillance footage, and other important evidence before it is lost. Early investigation also makes it easier to identify additional victims and determine whether a larger outbreak occurred.
What compensation may be available?
If negligent maintenance caused your Legionnaires’ disease, you may be entitled to recover compensation for medical expenses, hospitalization, intensive care, prescription medications, rehabilitation, future medical treatment, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, and other financial losses. You may also recover damages for physical pain, emotional distress, permanent respiratory impairment, reduced quality of life, and other non-economic losses. When Legionnaires’ disease results in a fatality, surviving family members may have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim under New York law.
How much does it cost to hire a Legionnaires’ disease lawyer?
Greenstein & Pittari, LLP offers free consultations and represents Legionnaires’ disease victims on a contingency fee basis. You pay no upfront attorney’s fees, and you owe nothing unless we successfully recover compensation on your behalf. This allows victims to pursue justice without adding additional financial stress during an already difficult time.
Why Choose Greenstein & Pittari, LLP?
Legionnaires’ disease litigation requires a thorough understanding of premises liability, infectious disease medicine, environmental engineering, and complex building water systems. Our attorneys work with leading medical and engineering experts to identify where exposure occurred, preserve critical evidence, and hold negligent property owners and other responsible parties accountable.
Greenstein & Pittari, LLP has decades of experience representing seriously injured clients throughout New York City and across the state. We offer free consultations, bilingual legal services, personalized representation, and aggressive advocacy, and we never charge an attorney’s fee unless we obtain compensation for you.
If you or someone you love contracted Legionnaires’ disease after staying in a hotel, receiving treatment at a hospital, living in an apartment building, residing in a nursing home, or visiting another property in New York, call 1-800-VICTIM2 (1-800-842-8462) today for a free consultation.
Don’t Be a Victim Twice.