Elderly Patient Dies Of Complications From Legionella Infection

This case involves an elderly female patient who was exposed to Legionnaire’s disease from a contaminated air-conditioning unit in her Atlanta apartment. The patient developed pneumonia secondary to the Legionnaire’s and eventually passed away. An expert engineer with experience inspecting units associated with the manifestation of Legionnaire disease was sought to address the design and maintenance of the air conditioning system in question and discuss the maintenance employed to protect against Legionnaires.

Question(s) For Expert Witness

1. Please discuss your background as it relates to the design and/or maintenance of cooling systems.

2. Do you have hands-on experience with the inspection of these systems in relation to Legionella?

Expert Witness Response E-159817

I have hands-on experience in inspecting cooling towers for Legionella. The current firm that I work for provides building owners and facilities managers with independent consulting services for the control of Legionellosis and Legionella bacteria in commercial and industrial water systems. We were instrumental in developing standard Legionellosis which covers risk management for building water systems. I am able to determine if the cooling tower complied with industry standards to minimize the risk for Legionnaire's disease. I have served as an expert witness and testified on a case similar to the one described above.