Legionnaires Disease Lawsuits Filed Over Hotel Hot Tub

Two men have filed personal injury lawsuits alleging that they contracted Legionnaire’s disease from a hotel hot tub at the Wingate Inn in Oxford, Alabama, which they allege was not properly cleaned during a stay in 2008.

The Legionairres disease lawsuit was filed in Alabama state court by Rodney Handley and Emanuel Howard against Wingate Inns International and Wyndham Worldwide Corp., indicating that Legionella bacteria was persent in mist from the hot tub that they then inhaled.

Legionnaire’s disease is a serious and potentially life-threatening infection that hospitalizes between 8,000 and 18,000 people each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It produces symptoms similar to those of pneumonia, which can include high fever, chills, muscle aches and cough. The disease is fatal in 5% to 30% of cases.

Legionalla bacteria is found in warm water, and can be present in hot tubs, cooling towers, hot water tanks and large plumbing or air conditioning systems. It is contracted by breathing in mist or vapor contaminated with the bacteria, but cannot be transmitted from one person to another.

According to a report in the Anniston Star, both men used the hot tub during their stay at the hotel and became seriously ill due to Legionairre’s disease, requiring hospitalization in an intensive care unit (ICU).

The Wingate Inn in Oxford, Alabama was gutted earlier this year and reopened in April 2008 as a Fairfield Inn and Suites, without a hot tub.