Attorneys for a 54-year-old man, who contracted the bacterial infection, Legionnaires’ disease, have filed a complaint in New York State Supreme Court, Bronx County against the Opera House Hotel and Empire Hotel Group, LLC.
Ronald J. Katter of The Katter Law Firm made the announcement today on behalf of Leslie Noble, a previously healthy security guard.
The complaint accuses the defendant hotel of negligence, carelessness and recklessness, which contributed to the decline of Mr. Noble’s mental, physical and emotional health. It also accuses the hotel ownership of failing to maintain the cleanliness of the cooling towers and the upkeep of the hotel’s structure.
Noble began feeling symptoms consistent with Legionnaires’ disease in July and was admitted to Mount Sinai Hospital shortly afterwards. He spent approximately one week in the hospital before he was discharged. During his illness, Mr. Noble experienced diarrhea, fatigue, and a body temperature of 103 degrees.
On August 21, the New York City Health Department’s Public Health Laboratory, working with the New York State’s Wadsworth Center Laboratory and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), announced the outbreak of the disease was over after they discovered the source of the outbreak came from the cooling towers at the Opera House Hotel. Since the outbreak began on July 10, one hundred twenty-four cases were reported, of which 12 people died.
