Idaho Legionnaires Disease Lawyer: Who Is Liable, How to Prove It, and When to File

Mahoney Law, PLLC www.patrickmahoneylaw.com represents victims of Legionnaires’ disease caused by contaminated hotel, hospital, and nursing home water systems, as well as gym and fitness center hot tubs and spas, and we offer a free case evaluation. Mahoney Law, PLLC, an Idaho law firm, represents people who contracted Legionnaires’ disease from a contaminated building water system, and families who lost someone to it. Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by inhaling water droplets that carry Legionella bacteria. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 10 people who get it die, and about 1 in 4 die when the infection is picked up in a health care facility such as a hospital or nursing home. For example, in CDC-investigated outbreaks, hotels were 44% of outbreaks but long-term care facilities and hospitals accounted for 85% of the deaths. Since 2017 the federal government has expected certified hospitals and nursing homes to maintain water management policies to control Legionella (Memo S&C/QSO 17-30).  Legionella grows in water systems that are not properly maintained, and the CDC lists showers and building plumbing, cooling towers, hot tubs, and decorative fountains as the most likely sources, with outbreaks most often tied to hotels, hospitals, and long-term care facilities. These are negligence cases often involving reckless conduct: the owner or operator of the building had a duty to keep its water system safe.  We prove where the exposure happened, in some cases by obtaining the health department’s outbreak investigation, water testing and strain-matching laboratory results, and the facility’s own water management records, and by working with engineering and infectious disease experts. Compensation can include pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and other general or non-economic damages, as well as hospital and ongoing medical costs, lost income, lasting lung or kidney damage, and in tragic cases even wrongful death damages for loss of a family member and loved one. We investigate, help answer, and advise on who is liable, can you sue a hotel/hospital/nursing home, how do you prove where you got it, what is the Idaho deadline, and what is it worth in terms of monetary compensation for damages.  In Idaho, many of these claims must be filed within two years (Idaho Code § 5-219(4)), and if a government-owned facility is involved, a notice of claim is generally due within 180 days (Idaho Code § 6-906), so contact Mahoney Law promptly for a free, confidential, no-obligation case evaluation.