New Jersey Legionnaires' Disease

No one expects to contract a disease from using their air conditioner, bathing, or drinking the tap water in their building. Unfortunately, when a plumbing or HVAC system is contaminated with the Legionella bacterium, serious and significant health issues can occur due to exposure. The resulting Legionnaires’ disease may lead to life-threatening complications and require extensive medical treatment to address.

Have you or someone close contracted Legionnaires’ disease in New Jersey? When you’ve gotten sick due to a contaminated building water system caused by a property owner’s negligence in caring for the building, you may have the right to compensation. Let a New Jersey Legionnaires’ disease attorney from Harford, P.C., fight for the compensation and justice you deserve. 

As a former attorney for Fortune 500 corporations and big insurers, Scott A. Harford, founder of Harford, P.C., has developed extensive insight into how companies with deep pockets fight injury claims and avoid liability for the harm suffered by innocent people. He founded our firm to stand up for the rights and interests of clients who have sustained injuries due to others’ negligence. If you’re dealing with injuries or illness someone else’s actions caused, Scott will fight for justice on your behalf. 

After falling ill with Legionnaires’ disease in New Jersey, get the legal help you need to secure financial resources for your recovery. Contact Harford, P.C., for a free, no-obligation Legionnaires’ disease case evaluation. Let’s discuss how we can help you pursue compensation for your medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. 

Benefits of Having a New Jersey Legionnaires’ Disease Lawyer

When you develop Legionnaires’ disease from a bacterial infection, you need prompt medical treatment to avoid potentially life-threatening complications. However, you also deserve to seek financial compensation from a negligent property owner or business responsible for your infection. 

Hiring experienced legal counsel can give you the space to dedicate your time and energy to your medical recovery. Your attorney can handle the details of preparing and pursuing your legal claims. 

A lawyer from Harford, P.C., can help you pursue a Legionnaires’ disease claim by:

• Investigating your claim to obtain evidence proving the source of your infection and illness
• Identifying all parties whose negligence caused your disease and who may bear liability for your financial and personal losses
• Documenting health complications caused by your illness and calculating your losses to ensure we pursue maximum compensation in your case
• Filing your claims and dealing with company representatives, insurance adjusters, or defense lawyers to take the stress of the legal process off your shoulders
• Fighting for the compensation and justice you deserve, whether through a fair settlement or by taking your case to court and trial to demand accountability for the harm you’ve suffered

What Is Legionnaires’ Disease?

Legionnaires’ disease, or Legionella pneumophila, is a severe respiratory disease that resembles pneumonia. The disease results from infection with a bacteria called Legionella. This bacteria can also cause a milder disease called Pontiac fever, which causes symptoms like the flu. However, while Pontiac fever will resolve over time, Legionnaires’ disease can cause severe symptoms that become life-threatening if left untreated. 

Medical experts first identified Legionnaires’ disease in the mid-1970s following a massive outbreak of an unidentified pneumonia-like illness at an American Legion convention taking place at a Philadelphia hotel. (The location of the outbreak gave the disease its name.) In the outbreak, 182 attendees at the convention fell ill, with 29 people succumbing to the disease.

Scientists discovered the cause of the disease the year after the outbreak, finding a previously unknown bacterium they subsequently named Legionella. Medical experts began attributing other unexplained outbreaks of respiratory disease stretching back to the 1950s to Legionnaires’ disease.

Legionella bacteria live in soil and water. Although the bacterium typically does not cause infections from ordinary exposure to water or soil, the bacteria can rapidly multiply in man-made water systems, such as water tanks, HVAC systems, or complex plumbing systems for large buildings. These water systems can give off microscopic droplets containing Legionella bacteria, such as when a faucet sprays water or an HVAC system uses cooling towers to cool down air for air conditioning. When people inhale these droplets, they can develop a lung infection that leads to Legionnaires’ disease.

Exposure to Legionella does not always lead to Legionnaires’ disease. Some of the top Legionnaires’ disease risk factors include:

• Being 50 or older
• Having a history of smoking
• Having a weakened immune system due to congenital conditions, diseases like HIV/AIDS, or while taking immunosuppressants
• Having chronic lung diseases like emphysema or COPD
• Having other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, kidney disease, or cancer

What Are Symptoms of Legionnaires’ Disease?

The first symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease typically begin within two to 10 days of infection, although in some cases it can take two weeks or more to develop symptoms. Initial symptoms include high fever, muscle aches, and headaches. After the second or third day of illness, other Legionnaires’ disease symptoms that may develop include:

• Coughing, including coughing up mucus or blood
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pains
• Upset stomach
• Abdominal pains
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Confusion

Without prompt treatment, Legionnaires’ disease causes life-threatening complications in some cases, including:

• Respiratory Failure – The lungs may stop providing sufficient oxygen to the body or adequately removing carbon dioxide from the bloodstream.
• Septic Shock – Sepsis is a condition caused by infection that results in organ damage. Septic shock occurs when sepsis leads to a sudden drop in blood pressure. In response, the body compensates for reduced blood flow by increasing the heart rate, putting excessive stress on the heart that can weaken it and further reduce blood flow.
• Acute Kidney Failure – When the kidneys cease filtering waste from the bloodstream, dangerous toxins can accumulate in the body.

What Are the Common Causes for Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreaks?

Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease typically occur when people get exposed to water droplets sprayed from various water systems. Some of the top Legionnaires’ disease causes include:

• Faucets and showerheads
• Cooling towers for buildings’ central air conditioning systems
• Hot tubs and pools
• Steam rooms
• Decorative fountains or other water features
• Water heaters
• Complex plumbing systems in large buildings
• Vehicles’ windshield wipers (when drivers fill the fluid tank with water rather than with windshield cleaner fluid)

Where Do Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreaks Typically Occur?

Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks most frequently occur in large buildings, such as apartment buildings, office buildings, hotels, convention centers, fitness centers, and spas. Outbreaks also occur in nursing homes and hospitals since patients and residents typically have multiple risk factors for developing the disease. 

Where Have the Latest Outbreaks in or Near New Jersey Taken Place?

Recent Legionnaires’ outbreaks in and near New Jersey include:

• Health officials investigated a handful of cases possibly linked to stays at the Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel in Elizabeth in mid-2023
• Over 40 people contracted Legionnaires’ disease in Middlesex and Union counties over the period of August through October 2023.
• A cluster of cases of Legionnaires’ disease developed among residents of Passaic and Bergen Counties during winter 2022-23
• Four cases of Legionnaires’ disease occurred in Pennsauken in late 2022
• Four residents of Hamilton Township developed Legionnaires’ disease during the first half of 2022

Who Could Be Liable for Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreaks in New Jersey?

People who become ill may want to know who is liable for Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks. Many outbreaks occur due to inadequate maintenance of building water or HVAC systems, which allows the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease to rapidly multiply and end up in water droplets that people inhale. Parties who may bear liability for a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak include:

• Apartment landlords, including public housing authorities
• Office building owners
• Convention center operators
• Hotel operators
• Fitness center operators
• Spa operators
• Nursing homes
• Hospitals
• Property management companies
• HVAC installation and maintenance contractors
• Plumbing contractors

What Compensation Could You Recover in a Legionnaires’ Disease Case in New Jersey?

When you file a Legionnaires’ disease lawsuit, you may obtain financial recovery for losses you incur due to your illness. Let an attorney from Harford, P.C., fight to secure Legionnaires’ disease compensation for your:

• Medical expenses, including hospitalization, specialized treatment, and long-term care
• Loss of income and future earning capacity if Legionnaires’ disease results in prolonged or permanent disability
• Physical and emotional pain and suffering
• Loss of quality of life caused by disabilities or chronic health conditions that result from Legionnaires’ disease

When Legionnaires’ disease becomes fatal, a victim’s surviving family members may have the right to recover compensation in a wrongful death claim, including for:

• Medical expenses incurred to treat the decedent’s illness
• Funeral and burial costs
• Loss of the decedent’s financial support, based on income they could have reasonably expected to earn if they had lived
• The value of the decedent’s household services
• Loss of the decedent’s companionship, advice, guidance, and care

Talk to an Experienced New Jersey Legionnaires’ Disease Attorney Today

When you’ve developed Legionnaires’ disease due to a negligently maintained water system, you may have the right to pursue financial compensation for the harm you’ve endured. Contact Harford, P.C., today for a free, no-obligation consultation Let a New Jersey Legionnaires’ disease lawyer from our law firm discuss your legal options for pursuing accountability and justice.