Family to Sue Cooling Tower Owner After 88-Year-Old Dies in 76-Case Legionnaires' Outbreak
Updated
Updated · WABC-TV · Jul 20
Family to Sue Cooling Tower Owner After 88-Year-Old Dies in 76-Case Legionnaires' Outbreak
3 articles · Updated · WABC-TV · Jul 20
Summary
An 88-year-old Upper East Side man died Friday after two weeks in intensive care, and his family plans to sue the owner of the cooling tower tied to the outbreak once investigators identify it.
Four people have died and 76 have been diagnosed in the Legionnaires' cluster, with seven patients still hospitalized as health officials continue tracing the source.
Investigators have tested cooling towers across the area, including one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that came back positive for Legionella bacteria.
No new cases have been linked to the outbreak for more than a week, and city officials say the exposure source has likely been eliminated even as the inquiry remains open.
The outbreak has been concentrated in ZIP codes 10128, 10028 and 10075, with the city urging people with flu-like symptoms to seek care within 14 days of exposure.