Harford, P.C. has filed the first lawsuit alleging damages from exposure to Legionella bacteria originating at the cooling tower in Harlem Hospital from an outbreak in the Summer of 2021. Harlem Hospital is the largest hospital in Central Harlem with a 272-bed acute care facility and a full spectrum of specialty services. It is owned and managed by the New York City Health + Hospitals Corp. (“NYCHHC”)—the largest public health care system in the United States.
The Plaintiff worked as a cash register repairman man in the neighborhood and was in the immediate vicinity of hospital’s cooling tower. He alleges exposure to Legionella pneumophila bacteria released into the air from the cooling tower.
In September 2021, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released a statement in which it declared that there were eighteen (18) cases of hospitalizations relating to people exposed to the Harlem Hospital cooling tower. The complaint alleges that the NYCHHC never warned residents, guests, or anyone else of the dangers of contracting Legionnaires’ disease from its cooling tower.
The case is now pending in the Supreme Court of New York in Manhattan.
Harford, P.C. is already representing numerous clients severely injured by exposure to Legionella bacteria, including at outbreaks at the Sugar Hill Projects in Washington Heights, a residential building near the New York Stock Exchange, the Opera House Hotel in the Bronx, a nursing home in Amityville, and in a senior housing facility in Hamilton, New Jersey.
If you or someone you know has been injured by exposure to Legionella bacteria, we are here to help you. Please call or e-mail us today for a free consultation at (212) 390-8983 and/or scott.harford@harford-law.com.
