According to the Chicago Sun-Times, another lawsuit has been filed against JW Mariott in Chicago, stemming from a 2012 Legionnaires disease outbreak.
The papers filed in the lawsuit claim that this is the sixth claim against the hotel related to this specific outbreak, and says that the plaintiff contracted the Legionnaires disease from the fountain in the hotel’s lobby. By breathing the water vapor from the fountain that contained the Legionella bacteria the plaintiff was exposed to, and later diagnosed with the disease.
What is interesting here is similar to what I described in an earlier article on this site: the business with the sign on the door doesn’t always bear legal responsibility or liability in a Legionnaires case.
Here, the hotel’s property management company (The Prime Group), was also named as a defendant. This is often the case. And once again it shows that it’s critically important to identify all of the responsible parties in a Legionnaires disease case.
The current suit against the Marriott alleges negligence and premises liability, and seeks more $300,000 in damages.