2025 Legionnaires’ Disease Community Cluster in New York City: Ongoing Public Health Investigation
Key Takeaways:
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The New York City Department of Health continues to investigate “a community cluster of Legionnaires’ disease” in the Central Harlem ZIP Codes of 10027, 10030, 10035, 10037 and 10039
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On August 26, the DOH reported more than 113 confirmed cases of the disease, with six deaths and seven people currently hospitalized
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Litigation has reportedly already commenced; additional lawsuits are expected
As has been widely reported by the media, in late July the New York City Department of Health (DOH) began “investigating a community cluster of Legionnaires’ disease in Central Harlem.”
According to the DOH website, as of August 26 there have been over 113 confirmed cases of the disease. According to the DOH, six people had died and seven people were hospitalized as of that date. The DOH website outlines five ZIP Codes where the DOH is investigating: 10027, 10030, 10035, 10037 and 10039.
Notably, the DOH website indicates that the DOH believes the illnesses are not associated with any building’s plumbing systems. The department has reportedly focused its investigation on sampling cooling towers in the area. “The Health Department has sampled and tested water from cooling towers in the investigation zone. Any cooling towers with initial positive results for Legionella bacteria have completed the treatment required by the Health Department. We are continuing to monitor and let buildings know if additional treatment is needed.”
In an August 14 update, the DOH indicated that 12 cooling towers in the relevant area “have tested culture positive on ten buildings” for Legionella bacteria.
The DOH investigation is reportedly ongoing, including, for example, DOH’s investigation seeking to potentially connect any specific cooling tower with any specific person who may have been diagnosed with the disease. “Our Public Health Lab experts are comparing the DNA in the cultures grown from the cooling towers to the DNA in the cultures from patients. Molecular analysis of Legionella bacteria from patients and cooling tower specimens will help the NYC Health Department determine a possible match.” As of August 27, it appears that the DOH has not announced any update regarding that aspect of the investigation.
In short, the situation regarding the DOH public health related response appears to be evolving, sometimes on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, litigation has reportedly already commenced. At least two lawsuits have reportedly been filed in Supreme Court, New York County. In those lawsuits, the plaintiffs named certain contractors as defendants, and the allegations in the pleadings include mention that plaintiffs have filed notices of claim with NYC Health + Hospitals and the City of New York. The filing of notices of claim suggests that lawsuits against municipal entities will likely follow. According to the pleadings, those two plaintiffs allegedly worked at or near Harlem Hospital, a building which may be one of the buildings that the DOH investigation indicated may have had a cooling tower purportedly testing positive for the bacteria. Additional lawsuits are highly likely.
Next, it is noteworthy that, following the outbreak surrounding the Opera House Hotel in the South Bronx approximately 10 years ago, the City of New York enacted Local Law 77 which governs the registration and treatment of cooling towers and was an effort to mitigate the risk of future outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease. Local Law 77 regulates, among other things, registration, testing, treatment, and inspection of all New York City cooling towers for waterborne pathogens such as legionella. The City Council passed amendments to the regulations in 2019, specifically to include reporting requirements. It has recently been reported that the City of New York is considering updated cooling tower regulations in 2026.
Goldberg Segalla will be closely monitoring the ongoing developments, including the DOH investigation, any proposed changes to cooling tower related regulations, and any litigation as it unfolds. For further information about Goldberg Segalla’s Legionnaires’ disease-related defense litigation and regulatory compliance practice, please visit https://www.goldbergsegalla.com/practices/legionnaires-disease/
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