What to Do If You Contract Legionnaires’ Disease

Steps for Protecting Your Health and Your Legal Rights

Discovering that you or a loved one has Legionnaires’ disease can be overwhelming. You might be feeling very ill, even hospitalized, and at the same time wondering how this happened and who is responsible. This guide is here to help. We outline the crucial steps you should take after a Legionnaires’ disease diagnosis – to safeguard your health first and foremost, and also to preserve your legal options should you decide to seek compensation later.

Important: Always prioritize medical care. The legal matters can be addressed when you’re stable; your health comes first. That said, some steps (like identifying a potential source) can happen in parallel with treatment, and early action can strengthen a future case if you choose to pursue one.

1. Follow All Medical Advice and Complete Treatment

Legionnaires’ disease is a serious pneumonia that requires prompt and sometimes intensive treatment. You may be on antibiotics (often levofloxacin or azithromycin) and possibly supplemental oxygen or other supportive care.

Stay in contact with healthcare providers. Go to all follow-up appointments. If you feel worse or not improving, inform your doctor immediately. Sometimes Legionnaires’ can cause complications (like respiratory failure, kidney issues, etc.) that need quick intervention.
Complete the full course of antibiotics. Even if you start feeling better partway through, finishing your medication is key to fully clearing the infection.
Document your medical journey. Keep copies of hospital discharge papers, prescriptions, and test results. This not only helps you manage your health but also creates a record that can be useful later. For instance, a positive Legionella test result (such as a urine antigen test or sputum culture) is proof of diagnosis – make sure that’s saved.

By taking care of your health and following doctors’ orders, you also maximize your potential recovery, which is beneficial personally and legally (defendants can’t argue you made things worse by not treating properly).

2. Inform Local Health Authorities (If They Aren’t Already Involved)

Legionnaires’ disease is often a reportable illness, meaning doctors or labs will notify the health department when there’s a confirmed case. However, it can vary how aggressively an investigation is pursued. If you have Legionnaires’, it’s wise to be proactive:

Contact your local health department and report your case, if your doctor hasn’t confirmed they did. Tell them when your symptoms started and any places you visited in the 2-10 days before that. Health officials might interview you in detail – be honest and forthcoming, as this can help pinpoint an outbreak source.
Share what you know. If you suspect a particular location (e.g., “I was at X hotel and heard others got sick too”), let them know. They may not divulge details, but they could already see a pattern or your tip might prompt them to test a site.
Ask about any known outbreaks. Sometimes officials will tell you, “We have other cases and are looking into it,” which is a clue that your case is part of a larger cluster. That information is valuable; make note of it.

Involving health authorities serves two purposes: it aids public health (preventing others from getting sick), and it creates an official record linking illnesses to a source, which can be strong evidence if you pursue legal action. If a health department identifies the source, we can often use their findings rather than starting from scratch.

3. Recall and Document Your Activities (Exposure Timeline)

Memories fade with time, so as soon as you’re able, write down everything you remember about where you were in the days leading up to your illness. Think about:

Travel: Did you stay at a hotel, motel, resort, or cruise? Note the name, city, and dates.
Workplaces or Public Buildings: Were you working in or visiting an office, convention center, shopping mall, hospital, gym, or other facility? Jot down any notable details (e.g., “Building had a fountain in lobby,” or “Gym’s hot tub I used”).
Home: If you mostly stayed home, note that. (Legionella can grow in home plumbing, though less common, but it’s still data.)
Events: Did you go to a grocery store regularly, or perhaps attend a conference, use a public pool, or visit a spa? List any such activity.
Travel history: Legionnaires’ disease sometimes gets detected after you return home from travel. If you traveled, list all stops.

Try to create a little timeline: On X date I was here, on Y date I did that. If you have receipts, emails (for example, a hotel booking confirmation), or photos that show you at a location, keep those as they can verify your presence there.

This timeline is incredibly useful for your attorney (and for health investigators). Patterns often emerge, especially if multiple people were infected around the same time. And if you end up being an isolated case, the timeline still helps to eliminate places (your lawyer can see which ones had known issues or not). Essentially, you’re gathering the puzzle pieces of the “where might I have been exposed?” puzzle.

4. Preserve Any Evidence of the Suspected Source

If you do suspect a specific place or source, consider if there’s any evidence you can personally preserve:

For example, if you have photos or videos from your time at a location (maybe you took a picture of that hot tub or fountain, or the building exterior), those can be timestamped proof you were there, and also sometimes reveal conditions (a photo might show a cloudy hot tub or a dirty cooling tower on the roof).
Log any contacts from the suspected source. If a hotel sent you a letter or email saying “We’ve been notified of a Legionnaires’ case” or a maintenance person mentioned “Yeah, our boiler was broken last month,” write that down or save that communication.

Important: Do not privately accuse or or even contact the property owner – at least not before speaking to a lawyer. While understandable to be upset, it’s better to let the investigation play out and let attorneys handle communications. Simply focus on quietly collecting what information you can.

5. Contact an Experienced Legionnaires’ Disease Attorney

Once your immediate medical situation is stabilized (you don’t have to be fully recovered, but maybe you’re home from the hospital or feeling a bit better), it’s wise to reach out to a lawyer who specializes in Legionnaires’ disease cases. Early consultation can make a big difference in building your case. Here’s why:

Investigation can start early: We can launch our own investigation promptly. The sooner we inspect the suspected site or request evidence, the less chance that critical proof “disappears” or memories fade. For instance, we might send a spoliation letter to the building, legally obligating them not to destroy or repair certain equipment until it can be examined.
Guidance on interactions: We can advise on how to talk with health investigators or the facility (usually, you won’t talk to the facility at all – we would, on your behalf, especially once a claim is anticipated). If the facility or their insurance contacts you (they might try to get you to give a statement or quick settlement), having an attorney ensures you don’t say anything that could hurt your case or settle for less than you deserve.
Peace of mind: Knowing a professional is looking out for your legal interests allows you to focus on recovery. We take on the stress of the legal side – investigating the cause, dealing with insurance, etc. – so you can concentrate on getting well.

When you contact our firm, the consultation is free. We’ll listen to what happened, ask some questions, and give you an honest assessment of whether you may have a case. If you decide to hire us, we work on contingency (no upfront fees). If you decide not to pursue a claim yet, that’s okay too – at least you’ll have information.

Keep in mind statutes of limitations (deadlines to sue) apply, usually a few years at most, so it’s better not to delay too long. But you also don’t need to wait until you’re 100% recovered to explore legal action. We often handle everything while clients are still recuperating or going through rehab, and we’re sensitive to scheduling around your health needs.

6. Connect with Other Victims (if applicable)

If your case is part of a known outbreak (multiple people got Legionnaires’ from the same source), you might encounter other victims or see news articles. While your attorney will likely handle formal coordination (sometimes cases become a group lawsuit or class action if very large outbreak), it can emotionally help to talk to others going through the same thing.

Just be cautious about posting on social media or public forums details about any legal intentions – assume that anything public could eventually be seen by the opposing side. It’s fine to seek support (e.g., a Facebook support group for Legionnaires’ survivors), just avoid discussing specifics of fault or “I’m definitely going to sue X” publicly. Save those conversations for private meetings with your legal counsel to protect your case strategy.

7. Continue Health Monitoring and Keep Records

Even after the acute illness passes, keep track of your health. Some Legionnaires’ disease survivors experience:

Persistent fatigue or weakness for weeks or months.
Respiratory issues like shortness of breath or reduced exercise tolerance (lung scarring can happen in severe cases).
Cognitive or mood changes – a severe illness and ICU stay can lead to depression, PTSD, or “ICU brain” (temporary cognitive impairment).
Other organ impacts – if you had kidney or liver complications, there may be follow-ups needed.

Document any long-term effects and treatment (like pulmonary rehabilitation or counseling). This not only helps you in recovery but also is evidence for pain and suffering or future damages in a case. It demonstrates that the impact of the disease went beyond the hospital stay.

And of course, guard your health: now that you’ve had Legionnaires’, it doesn’t necessarily make you immune (though recurrence is not common). Still, no need to live in fear – just stay generally healthy, and maybe be a bit more aware (for instance, you might choose not to use a hot tub you’re unsure about in the future; no one could blame you).

8. Take Care of Your Mental Health

A bout of Legionnaires’ disease can be traumatic. It often comes out of the blue and can be life-threatening. It’s normal to feel anxiety, anger, or even survivor’s guilt (in an outbreak where others died and you survived). Don’t hesitate to seek support from mental health professionals or support groups.

From a practical standpoint, emotional distress is also a damage that can be compensated in a lawsuit, but more importantly, you deserve to heal mentally as well as physically. Taking care of your emotional well-being will make you stronger in the fight for justice too. When you’re feeling better, you can more effectively participate in your case if needed (such as providing deposition testimony calmly).

9. Stay Informed About the Investigation

If a health department or our legal team is investigating, we will eventually learn what they find. Sometimes the cause is pinpointed quickly; other times it remains unknown for a while. We will stay in touch with you and provide you with updates as we investigate. We often get info directly from public records requests or through litigation discovery that might not be publicly announced.

Knowing the source can bring a sense of closure or validation (“I knew it was that hotel spa!”). It can also help in your recovery to understand how it happened – and of course, it’s critical for the legal case.

10. Focus on Recovery While We Focus on Your Case

Finally, once you’ve taken the above steps, remind yourself that you’ve done all you can do personally. Now, it’s about getting back to normal life as much as possible.

If you’ve hired us, we will handle the legwork of holding the wrongdoers accountable. We might reach out to you for information occasionally, but we aim to take the burden off you. Many of our clients express relief knowing someone is fighting for them, so they can just focus on feeling better.

If you haven’t hired an attorney yet and are unsure, keep in mind consultations are free, and at least talking to one can clarify your options. Whether or not you decide to pursue a claim, you deserve to know your rights.

In summary, contracting Legionnaires’ disease sets off a chain of difficult events, but by following these steps – getting proper medical care, involving health authorities, documenting what you can, and seeking legal advice – you put yourself in the best position to recover and seek justice.

Remember, you didn’t do anything wrong; this disease is preventable and usually occurs because someone, somewhere, was negligent with water safety. Our job is to help make it right.

If you’d like personalized guidance on your situation, or if you’re ready to explore holding the responsible party accountable, contact our Legionnaires’ disease attorneys at any time. We’re here to help you navigate this challenging time and will work tirelessly to advocate for you.