New lawsuit accuses 2 construction companies of negligence in deadly Legionnaires' outbreak
HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- A new lawsuit is blaming two construction companies for causing the deaths of five people and leaving more than 100 others sick with Legionnaires' disease in Harlem.
According to the lawsuit, the companies failed to properly clean storm water from cooling towers at Harlem Hospital. It was filed on behalf of two specific construction workers who were hospitalized for Legionnaires' disease.
The lawsuit was filed against Rising Sun Construction and Skanska USA as well as the city of New York for allegedly not protecting workers and residents.
Attorney Ben Crump says no one should have died or ever been sick and it was "a completely preventable outbreak."
"That's why we filed the two lawsuits against these two construction companies that were doing work on Harlem's hospital, Harlem is the epicenter of this Legionnaire's disease outbreak," Crump said.
Rev. Al Sharpton, with the National Action Network, held a news conference on Wednesday morning to talk about the outbreak.
"They drop ZIP codes, we are absolutely concerned," Sharpton said.
It rained hard in July and the rainwater on four rooftops was not removed. It was very hot and the allegation is that legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease, was permitted to grow in the warm rainwater that was never cleaned out of the cooling towers.
A construction worker spoke out at the news conference on Wednesday. He said he felt like he had food poisoning and he could have died.
"I've got a rash coming out of here, I don't know what it is...I'm in pain right now because I have something going down my right leg which I didn't have before this happened...I had breathing problems, I couldn't even talk, I had to gasp for air and internal bleeding," said plaintiff and union electrician Nunzio Quinto.
Quinto said his coworkers were frantic and received no information from employers who were subcontracted by Skanska Construction.
The attorneys are looking for compensation for victims and a change in how things are done.
Skanska USA released the following statement:
"While we can't comment on pending litigation, Skanska has fully cooperated with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to facilitate the inspection and disinfection of the cooling tower at the building currently under construction at 40 West 137th Street - which will be the future home of the Public Health Lab. We will continue to implement all necessary mitigation and communication procedures to ensure the safety of our workers and the surrounding public."
Eyewitness News has also reached out to Rising Sun Construction for comment.
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