August 18, 2025
NEW YORK, NY — Ronald J. Katter, “The Legionnaires’ Lawyer,” urges the City of New York to be thorough and vigilant when it comes to inspecting cooling towers located on the roofs of its own buildings to prevent Legionnaires’ disease.
On August 15, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced that four people had died and 101 people were sickened from the disease. This announcement came after city officials counted 12 buildings with water cooling towers that had unsafe levels of legionella bacteria. Nine of the buildings either had failed to perform mandatory Legionella testing, or were not inspected by the city in the past year. The buildings identified include a City University of New York building, a City Economic Development office, a City Health Clinic and HHC’s Harlem Hospital
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Legionnaires’ disease is caused by the Legionella bacteria, which are usually found in water. The bacteria can grow in warm water found in cooling towers. People can contract the disease when they breathe in water vapor, which is invisible, containing the bacteria. Symptoms include pneumonia with other signs, such as cough, shortness of breath, high fever, muscle aches and headaches.
“The city has a responsibility to protect the health and safety of its citizens, and they failed,” Mr. Katter says. “To wait a year or more to inspect a water tower is inexcusable. The city must clean up its own buildings’ water systems and make sure that private building owners have clean water systems, immediately.”
Mr. Katter has a proven track record of handling Legionnaires’-related lawsuits, including those against landlords and corporations who failed to properly maintain their water systems. He has represented clients who were sickened during an earlier Legionnaires outbreak at the HHC Harlem Hospital.