New York Legionnaires’ outbreak tied to cooling towers serving hospital, other buildings

A law firm filed a lawsuit Aug. 20 against a New York City hospital’s construction company, alleging the company failed to treat bacteria-infected water in its cooling towers, leading to a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak. 

City officials have identified live Legionella bacteria in 12 cooling towers as the center of the outbreak, which has infected 109 people, hospitalized more than a dozen and killed five individuals, as of Aug. 20. Officials detected the outbreak in mid-July. 

Personal injury lawyer Ben Crump is representing two construction workers who were hospitalized after contracting the disease in late July. The lawsuit was filed against Rising Sun Construction, Skanska USA and the City of New York. 

The cooling towers served 10 buildings in central Harlem, including a condo building, a retail center and Harlem Hospital Center, according to a news release from the law firm. Harlem Hospital is part of the NYC Health + Hospitals system.

“It is believed that the cooling towers at Harlem Hospital were filled with rainwater after several large July storms,” the release said. “The water was left untreated, which permitted bacteria to spread, causing workers at the site to become sick.”

The lawsuit seeks financial compensation for medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering. 

“While we can’t comment on pending litigation, Skanska has fully cooperated with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to facilitate the inspection and disinfection of the cooling tower at the building currently under construction at 40 West 137th St. — which will be the future home of the Public Health Lab,” the construction firm said in a statement, according to NBC News. 

“We will continue to implement all necessary mitigation and communication procedures to ensure the safety of our workers and the surrounding public,” the company added. Rising Sun Construction did not immediately respond to ABC 7‘s requests for comment.

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