David Morey 
There’s a whole list of diseases you spend your life trying to avoid. What’s probably not on the list is Legionnaires’ disease. There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of Legionnaires’ disease. After all, it’s not making the news like the flu and some types of cancer. However, with 218 cases of Legionnaires’ disease in Houston, it’s probably time to start educating yourself. Along with learning more about the disease, it’s also not a bad idea to take a look at your potential compensation. This way if you contract Legionnaires’ disease, you’re better prepared to start the claim process.
What is Legionnaires Disease?
Legionnaires disease is essentially a severe lung infection. Think of it as a severe form of pneumonia. The infection is caused by the Legionella bacteria. The airborne bacteria spread through the air, settling in the lungs.
However, the bacteria isn’t formed in the air. Instead, it occurs naturally in freshwater. Don’t immediately swear off going near lakes, ponds, streams, and even freshwater swimming pools. The bacteria rarely spread in nature. The bacteria can also be found in manmade freshwater environments like drinking and decorative fountains. Air conditioning systems, cooling towers, and even showers can also hide Legionella bacteria. A few examples of places where the bacteria can and has spread include:
- Hospitals
- Hotels
- Resorts
- Long-term care facilities
- Cruise ships
Before you throw on a facemask, this probably isn’t going to protect you from exposure to the bacteria. Legionnaires’ Disease is spread by inhaling water droplets. So, unless you plan on showering with a waterproof facemask it’s not going to provide a ton of protection.
Common Symptoms of Legionnaires’ Disease
If you’ve ever been diagnosed with pneumonia, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect with Legionnaires’ disease. The common symptoms are basically the same which include:
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Muscle aches
- Headache
- Fever
You may also have symptoms similar to the flu like digestive issues. Diagnosing Legionnaires’ disease involves searching for signs of pneumonia. Chest X-rays are a common diagnostic tool. You may also be asked to give a urine or saliva sample so the physician can test for the presence of Legionnaires’ bacteria. Treating this form of pneumonia usually means a regimen of antibiotics. Most individuals eventually make a full recovery, but around 10% of diagnosed cases result in fatalities.
Types of Recoverable Compensation in a Legionnaires’ Disease Claim
If your case of Legionnaires’ disease is caused by negligence, there’s a good chance you’re eligible to recover compensation. So, what types of compensation can you recover? This depends on your case and the resulting damages. Most illness sufferers can list both economic and non-economic damages like the following.
Potentially Recoverable Economic Damages
Your economic damages are things like your medical expenses and any lost wages. If your bout of Legionnaires’ disease forces you to miss work, you should be able to recover most or all of your lost pay. Any medical treatment, including diagnosing the bacterial infection should also be covered. However, before you start listing random economic damages you’re going to need to provide proof. Nope, your word isn’t good enough for the insurance company to approve your Legionnaires’ disease claim.
Your medical records are a good start. This shows you’re diagnosed with the form of pneumonia. The bills and receipts from your medical visits and treatment are other forms of proof the insurance company is going to want to see.
While recovering all of your medical costs usually isn’t that big of a hassle, it’s a little different with lost income. You should probably resign yourself to receiving less than your average daily take-home pay. This is normal, especially if your claim ends up going through a few rounds of negotiations with the insurance adjuster. At some point, you’re probably going to need to compromise and this may mean reducing your compensation for lost income.
Potentially Recoverable Non-Economic Losses
The value of your economic losses makes sense. You can refer back to bills, receipts, and pay stubs to figure out the value of these damages. Your non-economic losses are a little different. These are intangible things like your pain, suffering, mental anguish, and even loss of life enjoyment to name a few. So, how in the world do you put a price on your pain and suffering?
Since you can’t fall back on bills and receipts, you need to get a little creative. No, this doesn’t mean picking a number out of the air and saying this is the value of your non-economic damages. Instead, you use either the multiplier or per diem method. Both methods are perfectly acceptable. You may come up with different values so it’s not a bad idea to use both methods. This way, if the insurance adjuster doesn’t agree with the first value you’re ready with the other one.
The multiplier method assigns a number between 1.5 and 5 to your pain and suffering. A higher number usually means more severe symptoms. Take this number and multiply it by the total of your economic damages. This is the total value of your non-economic losses. Using the multiplier method your formula will look something like this:
$100,000 (value of your economic losses) x 5 (number representing your pain and suffering) = $500,000 (total value of your non-economic damages).
If you decide to go with the per diem method, the formula is a little different. You count the number of days you experienced Legionnaires’ disease symptoms and multiply this by the total of your economic damages. So, if you experienced symptoms for 7 days and your economic damages total $100,000, the value of your non-economic losses is $700,000.
Ensuring You Can Recover Compensation for Legionnaires’ Disease
Recovering compensation for Legionnaires’ disease may not be a priority until you start recovering from your symptoms.
However, this isn’t an insurance claim you want to put off. Proving negligence in a Legionnaires’ disease claim can be tricky. Calculating your damages may not be any easier. To help ensure you can recover compensation, it’s usually best to partner with a Houston-based injury attorney.
