March 8, 2017 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Faltec Europe Ltd, a car parts firm in the UK, has admitted charges relating to an outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease and an explosion on it’s premises. In 2015 the factory was ordered to shut down four cooling towers by the Health and Safety Executive following the discovery of significant levels of legionella were found on site. Between October 2014 and May 2015 four workers and a nearby resident were hospitalized. In September 2015 the company was given the all clear after following safety measures. Another investigation by the Health and Safety Executive relates to the explosion risks at the plant in…

January 3, 2017 zacherlaw 0 Comments

On December 20, 2016, a Complaint was filed in Lucas County Common Pleas Court by seven employees of Lucas County Department of Job & Family Services after the employees developed illnesses from exposure to Legionella bacteria. The cooling system within the company building located at 3210 Monroe Street, tested positive for Legionella bacteria. Six of the seven Plaintiffs are still employed at the company, while the seventh has since retired. The Complaint was filed as a product liability case against Watcon Inc. of South Bend, Ind.; Baltimore Aircoil Co. of Baltimore, Md.; Sarmento Mechanical Sales Inc. of Sylvania; the city…

December 12, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

A resident of the Charlestown retirement community tested positive for Legionella bacteria and is currently hospitalized. Baltimore County health officials have ordered testing of the water in the Caton Woods Building within the community. Dan Dunne, spokesman for the community, indicated that Caton Woods is a new building and only a dozen or so residents currently live there. New residents were in the process of being moved in, but this has since been halted. The source of the bacteria that caused the resident’s illness has not yet been determined, and the results of the water testing performed at the Caton…

December 8, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

La Quinta Inn & Suites Memphis Airport Graceland was found responsible in September of 2016 for an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease among guests who stayed there between the months of July and September of 2016. Marlene Casas, 51, was a guest of the hotel during that time, and subsequently became ill with Legionnaires’ disease. Acencion Casas filed a lawsuit on Marlene’s behalf in federal court on Tuesday. She was reported to have spent a total of 22 days in the hospital, including 10 days in the ICU. Owners of the inn, La Quinta Holdings Inc., and Minesh and Jagruti Patel, allegedly failed…

December 6, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

A cluster of Legionnaires’ disease cases has appeared in the southeastern part of New Mexico. Since the first week of October this year, six patients from Chaves County have been reported ill with the disease. Two of these individuals– a 69-year old woman and a 65-year old woman – have passed away. The six who became ill were known to have other health issues that increased their risk of developing Legionnaires’ disease. The New Mexico Department of Health is working alongside Eastern New Mexico Medical Center to determine the source. The six known cases are among individuals who live in the…

November 30, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

The Ohio Department of Health, in collaboration with the Lake County General Health district, has confirmed the cooling tower of a local business as the source of an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. The outbreak, which began in July, seems to have had several sources, and the cooling tower has been linked to at least three of the ten cases. Health officials announced that an environmental assessment at Consolidated Precision Products, a business in Eastlake, revealed the presence of Legionella bacteria on November 16, 2016. At least three cases of Legionnaires’ disease were reported in September among individuals who had spent time in the…

November 28, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Residents of an assisted living facility on Staten Island have been informed of a single case of Legionnaires’ disease on the premises. The unidentified patient is a resident of The Brielle at Seaview, a non-profit assisted living community, and has been discharged from care. No further information about the patient has been released. The notification is part of a city-wide plan implemented after last year’s Bronx outbreaks. Part of the newly instituted plan involves notifying facilities with high-risk populations when one or more cases are reported. The Brielle, with its aging population, falls into this category, though health officials noted that…

November 22, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in upstate New York continues to grow. A fifth case has now been confirmed in Plattsburgh, NY. All of the patients live in the same apartment complex on the west side of the city, and officials have notified other residents of the complex about the outbreak. The first four cases were identified in October. The patients have been treated at the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital; the first four patients have been discharged, and the final patient remains at the hospital in stable condition. The Clinton County Health Department has been collecting water samples from the apartment…

November 18, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

A 54-year-old Cuyahoga County gentleman has died, and 10 more members of the Lake County community were sickened with Legionnaires’ disease. The cooling towers at Consolidated Precision Products (“CPP”) in Eastlake, Ohio were investigated this past October as possible sources of the bacteria after knowledge that between the months of July and September, one employee of CPP and two employees of neighboring companies became ill with the disease. Inspectors say that during the testing, one of the cooling towers at CPP tested positive for Legionella bacteria. Subsequently, the company released a statement that the facility’s production and cooling water systems- including the…

November 16, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

On Monday night, tenants of 1600 Sedgwick Ave in Morris Heights came home to a letter from the New York City Department of Health, notifying them that two tenants of the building had tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease. The two cases of Legionnaires’ disease were diagnosed about 12 months apart from each other. The New York City Department of Health held a meeting at the Sedgwick Ave building Monday night, and indicated that they are in the process of testing the building’s water supply as a possible source of the Legionella bacteria that caused these two cases. In the meantime,…