bacteria Archives

October 12, 2020 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Seniors in Tazewell County Have More Than COVID-19 to Worry About

Four days ago, a third resident of UAW Senior Citizens Center in Pekin recently contracted Legionnaires’ Disease. Just within the last two months, a man in his 70s died from the disease and a woman recovered but was hospitalized. Tazewell County Health Department’s communications manager said that the Illinois Department of Public Health is working with the building management to mitigate the water issues. There have been 8 cases of diagnosed Legionnaires’ Disease in Tazewell, though the TCHD’s communications managers says the other five cases are unrelated to the UAW outbreak. On September 10, the TCHD issued a public health…

September 30, 2020 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Health Officials in Hamilton, NJ Investigate Possible Legionella Outbreak

Hamilton Township officials announced Friday September 25, 2020 that a potential cluster of Legionnaires’ disease cases has been discovered. Four township residents are confirmed to have contracted the disease, two of whom died. Sources at the New Jersey Department of Health say the residents began exhibiting symptoms between August 18 and August 24. Although relatively uncommon in New Jersey, officials have been quick to issue township-wide warnings. “If you’re not feeling well and have respiratory illness symptoms such as fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, muscle aches, and headache I encourage you to speak with your medical provider,” said one…

August 31, 2020 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Legionella Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

For months, many businesses, buildings, and facilities have remained closed during the COVID-19 outbreak. The temporary shutdowns have likely resulted in a reduction of normal water use in the buildings, which can create dangerous conditions for returning occupants, as States are reopening their local economies. One microbial hazard businesses should consider when planning their reopening is Legionella. Legionella bacteria causes Legionnaires’ disease, a serious type of pneumonia. It is found naturally in freshwater environments, but can grow and multiply in common, human-made water systems like hot tubs, spas, showerheads, decorative fountains and water features, large plumbing systems, and cooling towers…

November 13, 2018 zacherlaw 0 Comments

English v US Approach to Legionella Control

As previously reported in a blog posted October 12, 2018, the US approach to controlling legionella is different from the United Kingdom. The UK approach is national in nature and very strict. Two recent examples include a leisure center in Walton-on-the-Naze being criminally prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive ( UK government agency responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare) for an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease two years ago. Another case involved a care home being fined 600,000 pounds (approximately $777,000.00) after pleading guilty to the death of a 90 year old who died…

November 6, 2018 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Connecting the Dots-Second Washington Heights Outbreak Is Just The Tip of The Iceberg

Connecting the dots is part of what this blog is all about. You may remember that significant regulations were passed in New York City in 2015 because of the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease (see my blog of October 25, 2018). Unfortunately, these regulations are not being properly enforced by the city health department. As a result, 90% of the cooling tower cases heard by an administrative agency charged with enforcing the regulations have been dismissed. This is despite the fact that there has been 65% increase in Legionnaires’ disease cases from 2016 to 2017. Even Mayor De Blasio has criticized…

November 5, 2018 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Legionella is Ubiquitous

Every case involving Legionnaires’ disease that this office has been involved in has always had the defense attorney arguing that the bacteria causing Legionnaires’ disease is ubiquitous (found everywhere). By this the defense attorneys mean that because the bacteria legionella can be found naturally in nature, their clients should not be liable to pay money damages to my clients. What the defense attorneys don’t tell you is that although legionella bacteria may be found in water everywhere, it only causes disease such as Legionnaire’s disease when the property owner does not properly maintain the water system. Failure to properly maintain…

October 22, 2018 zacherlaw 0 Comments

The Reason Why Showers Cause Legionnaires’ disease

Many people are not aware that showers are a major source of the legionella bacteria being transmitted to a human. This transmission occurs because of a buildup of the legionella bacteria, which causes Legionnaires’ disease, in the showerhead. Once the bacteria is in the showerhead, water containing the bacteria passes through the showerhead holes, thereby aeroslozing the water and allowing for the inhalation of the bacteria into the lungs of the person getting Legionnaires’ disease. One way to prevent the buildup of the bacteria in the showerhead is to replace the showerheads periodically. Another method is to take off the…

October 17, 2018 zacherlaw 0 Comments

New York State Regulation of Legionella-A Real Step Forward

As promised, this blog will cover US legislative attempts to control the bacteria legionella that causes Legionnaires’ disease. While many states have requirements as to the amount of residual chlorine that must be present in spas, no state has legislation to curtail legionella in cooling towers than New York. Unfortunately, the New York legislation does not cover the potable water system (showers, faucets, holding tanks, etc.) in a building, or any water feature such as a lobby fountain. This is completely different from the approach taken in the UK as explained in an earlier blog, which is national in nature…

October 10, 2018 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Moral Blameworthiness

Without giving away too much about how I try a case, my firm’s focus has always been about the behavior of the party where my client contracted Legionnaires’ disease. All too often Judges and defense attorneys focus on the extent of the damages, i.e. how long the client was in the hospital and whether the client is still suffering from any residue from contracting the disease. This is a false emphasis and only one part of the equation as to how much the jury verdict should be. Rather, evidence such as a hotel where the client stayed not having a…

October 4, 2018 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Further Hampton Update

The owner of the Hampton Sands Resort has stated there is no reason for signs warning of Legionnaires’ disease at the hotel to remain after recent sampling by a contractor for the presence of the legionella bacteria hired by the hotel have proven negative. The New Hampshire Department of Health has denied this request as of Tuesday and required more sampling for the presence of legionella because additional sampling by the hotel owner which resulted in negative results did not meet the health department’s requirements. The health department stated the samples done by the hotel’s contractor came in portions smaller…