Legionnaires’ Disease in Hotels: Can You Sue a Hotel for Legionnaires’ Disease in New York?
Holding Hotels Accountable for Preventable Legionnaires’ Disease
Whether traveling for business, vacation, or a special event, hotel guests expect a clean and safe environment. Few people realize that improperly maintained hotel water systems can expose guests to Legionnaires’ disease, a severe and potentially life-threatening form of bacterial pneumonia. Hotels often operate extensive plumbing systems, cooling towers, hot tubs, spas, swimming pools, decorative fountains, and other water features that require continuous inspection and maintenance. When these systems are not properly monitored, cleaned, disinfected, and maintained, Legionella bacteria can grow and spread through microscopic water droplets that guests unknowingly inhale. Older adults and individuals with certain medical conditions are especially vulnerable to serious complications.
If you or a loved one developed Legionnaires’ disease after staying at a hotel, Greenstein & Pittari, LLP is prepared to investigate your claim, preserve critical evidence, and pursue every responsible party. 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
Can you get Legionnaires’ disease from a hotel?
Yes. Hotels contain numerous water systems that can support Legionella growth when they are not properly maintained. Potential sources include guest room showers, bathroom sinks, hot tubs, spas, cooling towers, decorative fountains, steam rooms, swimming pool equipment, fitness center showers, plumbing systems, and hot water storage tanks. People generally become infected after inhaling contaminated water droplets rather than by drinking contaminated water.
Why are hotels particularly vulnerable to Legionella growth?
Hotels often contain thousands of feet of plumbing, hundreds of guest rooms, and numerous water features that require constant maintenance. Variable occupancy, vacant rooms, water stagnation, warm water temperatures, cooling towers, decorative fountains, plumbing modifications, and high guest turnover all increase the potential for Legionella bacteria to grow if proper maintenance procedures are not followed. These complex systems require comprehensive water management programs to reduce the risk of contamination.
Who is most at risk for severe illness?
Although anyone exposed to Legionella bacteria can become ill, adults over 50, smokers, individuals with chronic lung disease, diabetes, kidney disease, weakened immune systems, cancer, organ transplants, and those taking immunosuppressive medications are generally at the greatest risk of developing severe complications. Because symptoms often develop several days after exposure, many travelers do not realize they became infected until after returning home.
Can you sue a hotel for Legionnaires’ disease?
Possibly. A hotel may be legally responsible if negligent maintenance of its water systems contributed to your illness. A successful claim generally requires evidence that the hotel owed guests a duty of care, failed to reasonably maintain its water systems, that Legionella bacteria developed because of negligent maintenance, that you were exposed during your stay, and that the exposure caused your injuries. These cases frequently require testimony from engineering, microbiology, epidemiology, and infectious disease experts.
How do investigators determine where the exposure occurred?
Many travelers visit multiple locations during the incubation period, making it important not to assume where exposure occurred. Our attorneys investigate hotel stays, travel itineraries, flight schedules, medical records, symptom timelines, Department of Health investigations, laboratory evidence, hotel maintenance records, water management plans, environmental testing, engineering reports, and guest complaints to identify the most likely source of exposure. Prompt legal representation is critical because hotels often begin remediation efforts immediately after learning of a suspected case, potentially altering important evidence.
What compensation may be available?
Victims may be entitled to recover compensation for emergency medical treatment, hospitalization, respiratory therapy, rehabilitation, future medical care, lost wages, lost business income, diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, permanent physical limitations, and reduced quality of life. If Legionnaires’ disease results in the death of a loved one, surviving family members may also have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim under New York law.
What if several hotel guests became sick?
When multiple guests develop Legionnaires’ disease associated with the same hotel, investigators may determine whether a common environmental source exists. Multiple illnesses can strengthen evidence of a common exposure source, but each individual claim must still establish that the exposure caused the victim’s illness and resulting damages. Preserving hotel records, maintenance documentation, and environmental evidence as early as possible is often critical to proving liability.
How much does it cost to hire Greenstein & Pittari, LLP?
Greenstein & Pittari represents Legionnaires’ disease victims on a contingency fee basis. There are no upfront attorney’s fees, and you owe nothing unless we successfully recover compensation on your behalf. We also provide free consultations to help you understand your legal rights without financial risk.
Why Choose Greenstein & Pittari, LLP?
Hotel Legionnaires’ disease litigation requires experience with infectious disease medicine, environmental engineering, hospitality operations, and New York premises liability law. Greenstein & Pittari, LLP works with respected medical, engineering, and environmental experts to identify the source of exposure, preserve critical evidence, and hold negligent hotel owners and operators accountable.
Whether your hotel stay occurred in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Long Island, Westchester County, or elsewhere in New York, we provide free consultations, bilingual legal services, personalized representation, and trial-ready advocacy focused exclusively on personal injury litigation.
If you or someone you love contracted Legionnaires’ disease after staying at a hotel, call 1-800-VICTIM2 (1-800-842-8462) today for a free consultation.
Don’t Be a Victim Twice.