Legionnaires’ Disease Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Seeking Justice After the Tragic Loss of a Loved One

Losing a loved one to Legionnaires’ disease is a heartbreaking experience. What makes it even more devastating is knowing that their death could have been prevented if proper safety measures had been in place. If your family member died as a result of contracting Legionnaires’ disease, you may have a wrongful death claim against those responsible for the Legionella exposure. This page is meant to guide you through this difficult topic with compassion and clarity – explaining your rights, what a wrongful death lawsuit involves, and how we can help you seek justice for your loved one.

First and foremost, we are truly sorry for your loss. No legal action can fill the hole left in your family’s life. However, holding the negligent party accountable can provide a sense of closure, help cover financial burdens, and potentially spur changes that prevent future tragedies.

What is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

A wrongful death lawsuit is a legal action brought when someone dies due to the negligence or misconduct of another. In the context of Legionnaires’ disease:

The death must have been caused by contracting Legionnaires’ disease.
Legionella exposure must have been due to negligence – for example, a hotel, hospital, or apartment complex failed to maintain safe water systems, leading to an outbreak.
The lawsuit is filed by certain surviving family members or the estate of the deceased, depending on state laws. Typically, immediate family like a spouse, children, or sometimes parents (if the victim was their dependent) have the right to sue for wrongful death. The rules vary by state on who exactly can bring the claim and how any recovery is distributed.

In a wrongful death case, we’re essentially making the same liability case we would if the person survived (proving the defendants were negligent in causing Legionella exposure), but the damages and legal nuances differ since the outcome was fatal.

Proving Fault in a Legionnaires’ Wrongful Death

The liability side (proving who’s at fault) is as described on our Determining Liability page. We must show that the defendants’ negligence with their water system led to your loved one contracting Legionnaires’ disease. In a death case, we often have strong evidence because health departments prioritize fatal cases for investigation, and multiple agencies might be involved if there was a death (given its severity).

It’s important to gather:

Medical records including the diagnosis of Legionnaires’ and records of the hospital course leading to death.
Death certificate which may list Legionnaires’ disease or complications from it (like “Legionella pneumonia” or “respiratory failure due to Legionnaires’ disease”) as the cause of death.
Autopsy report (if one was done). Sometimes an autopsy can confirm the presence of Legionella in lung tissue, though often the clinical tests in life are enough.
Obituary or life overview (for later, when explaining the impact on the family).
Any investigatory findings – if a health department announced something like “Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at XYZ senior home leads to death of 2 residents,” that’s key information (and typically we’d use their findings in our case).

Our team approaches these cases with great care. We know the family often wants answers as much as compensation: How did this happen? Could it have been avoided? We make it a priority to uncover the truth through diligent investigation and use the legal process to get internal documents that might reveal negligence.

Damages in a Wrongful Death Claim

Wrongful death damages are intended to compensate the surviving family and the estate for both financial losses and intangible losses resulting from the death. In Legionnaires’ disease wrongful death cases, potential damages include:

Medical Bills and End-of-Life Expenses: All the medical costs associated with the final illness. Unfortunately, Legionnaires’ can lead to lengthy ICU stays before passing, and those bills can be substantial. The estate can recover these so that they don’t burden the family. Also, funeral and burial expenses are recoverable.
Loss of Financial Support: If the deceased was a provider or contributed income to the household, the family can claim the loss of that income. This involves calculating what they would have earned and provided in the future if they had lived. For example, if a 55-year-old father who was the primary earner passes away, we’d project his expected earnings until retirement to claim for his spouse and children.
Loss of Services: Even if the person wasn’t the primary breadwinner, consider the economic value of what they did. A mother who maintained the home and cared for children, for instance, provides valuable services that might now require hiring help or child care.
Pain and Suffering of the Deceased: Some states allow the estate to recover for the conscious pain and suffering the deceased went through before death. If your loved one was aware and suffering (e.g., struggling to breathe, in pain, and knew they were gravely ill) for days or weeks, that suffering can be compensated as part of a survival action (the estate’s claim for what the person went through, as opposed to the family’s claim).
Loss of Companionship (Consortium): Perhaps the biggest loss is the emotional one. Spouses lose their life partner, children lose a parent’s love, guidance, and upbringing, parents lose a child’s companionship and potential care in later years. While it’s hard to put a dollar figure on these, the law allows compensation for loss of consortium and the emotional pain endured by survivors due to the untimely death.
Punitive Damages: In wrongful death cases, if the negligence was gross or bordering on willful misconduct, juries might award punitive damages. For instance, if a building owner was explicitly warned about Legionella and chose to ignore it leading to a death, that level of recklessness could trigger punitive damages. These are less common but we consider pushing for them if the facts warrant.

Every family’s situation is unique. We take the time to understand how this loss has affected you. Did the deceased have young kids who will miss having a parent at milestones? Were they caring for an elderly parent who now has no one? Did they have passions or community roles that are irreplaceable? These stories matter, not just to measure loss, but to humanize the case so a jury (or the defendants during settlement talks) truly appreciates the magnitude of the harm done.

We often work with economists to quantify lost future earnings or benefits, and with family and friends to articulate the personal loss. Sometimes we’ll create a video tribute or presentation if it goes to trial, to show the person’s life and the void left behind.

Handling a Wrongful Death Case with Sensitivity

We recognize that pursuing a lawsuit after a loved one’s death is a big decision. Some families worry it will be too emotionally taxing or that it feels exploitative. Our approach is to handle all the heavy lifting and respect your family’s grieving process. We aim to be sensitive and accommodating:

We can schedule meetings at times and places comfortable for you (even home visits if local, or video calls if that’s easier).
We listen. Often, a part of healing is telling your loved one’s story. We allow space for that – it also helps us represent you better.
We shield you as much as possible from the antagonistic parts of litigation. For example, if we can avoid you having to testify in a deposition by stipulating certain facts, we try to. If you do need to give a deposition or testimony, we prepare you thoroughly and be by your side throughout, making the experience as stress-free as possible.
We keep you informed but not overwhelmed. Some clients want to know every detail; others prefer only key updates. We tailor our communication to your needs.

Our goal is to make the process of seeking justice one that empowers you rather than re-traumatizes you. Many families ultimately feel a sense of resolution and purpose in pursuing a wrongful death case, knowing they are advocating on behalf of their loved one and potentially preventing future tragedies by calling out negligence.

Our Experience with Legionnaires’ Wrongful Death Cases

Our firm has handled numerous Legionnaires’ cases, including those resulting in death. For instance:

We obtained a $3 million settlement on behalf of the family of a woman who died after contracting Legionnaires’ Disease
We obtained $2.25 million for a family who lost their 73-year old loved one when he contracted Legionnaires’ disease at a hotel and died.
We obtained a $1.75 million settlement for the family of a man who died of Legionnaires’ disease linked to a hotel.
We also collaborate with experts like epidemiologists and infectious disease physicians who can testify to how, had proper measures been taken (e.g., a water management plan), your loved one’s death was absolutely avoidable.

Each case where someone dies is one we take very much to heart. We will treat your loved one’s case as if it were our own family member’s.

Next Steps for Your Family

If you believe your loved one’s Legionnaires’ disease death was due to an outbreak or exposure that should have been prevented, reach out to us for a compassionate consultation. We can talk through what happened, even if you’re not entirely sure where they got it. Part of our job is to investigate, and we’ll give you an honest assessment of the viability of a claim.

We know it’s not easy to pick up the phone after such a loss. But remember, the statute o f limitations (legal deadline) on wrongful death claims can be as short as 1-3 years in many states. It’s wise to at least learn your options sooner rather than later. The consultation is free, and you don’t have to commit to anything.

We can also advise if perhaps multiple people died in the same outbreak – sometimes families band together in legal action, other times cases are separate. We’ll inform you of any known related cases if available (often public health announcements or news will indicate if it was a cluster event).

Above all, please take care of yourself and your family during this time. Grief is a journey, and there’s no right or wrong way to go through it. Let us handle the legal tasks and the pursuit of accountability. That’s something we know how to do, and we’ll do it with the utmost respect for the loved one you lost.

Call our team at 1-888-377-8900 or contact us online when you’re ready. We are here to answer your questions and, if you choose, to fight for justice on behalf of your loved one.