In the summer of 2012, Kent Carson, a 55-year-old man from Round Lake Beach outside of Chicago, became ill with a severe case of Legionnaires’ disease.  The severity of his case necessitated the amputation of both his legs below the knee, and left arm below the elbow.  His especially severe case, along with the other current cases and outbreaks, prompt questions about ‘safe levels’ of Legionellaand the cost of a life.

While recovering, Carson warned that “Legionnaires’ disease is still out there…It needs to be prevented and diagnosed.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 8,000-18,000 people in the U.S. are hospitalized each year for Legionnaires’ disease, and 5-30% of these cases are fatal.  “With the increase over the last 10 years, enough people are sick and dying – what’s the cost of a life?” Carson asked.

To read more about Kent Carson’s story, please visit the Chicago Tribune for the full article.

The American Legion’s System Worth Saving Task Force has issued a report following a series of interviews conducted during an investigation of the Pittsburgh VA Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in 2011 and 2012.

According to Jacob Gadd, Deputy Director for Health Care at the American Legion in Washington D.C., one of the main issues was with the Veterans Administration central offices not allowing local facilities to respond to a crisis; this, in turn, lowered veterans’ confidence in the medical center.

Gadd also says that the VA Medical Center is much safer now and exceeds CDC recommendations for infection prevention.

To learn more about the American Legion recommendations, please click on the link below to listen to the NPR Pittsburgh interview with Jacob Gadd, Deputy Director for Health Care at the American Legion.

http://wesa.fm/post/american-legion-recommends-prevention-plan-legionella-outbreaks 

Jules Zacher has been retained for three new Legionnaires' disease cases

Jules Zacher, Esq. has been retained for three new Legionnaires’ disease cases.

All three cases come from different parts of the country.  Two cases involve patients who died as a result of the illness; one was from Maine and the other was associated with the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Allentown, PA.  The third case involves a person who contracted the illness while in Hawaii with family; the firm is investigating a potential outbreak at a hotel on Kauai, Hawaii.

Jules Zacher is an attorney at law who has been practicing for over 35 years.  He is known across the country for his experience with Legionnaires’ disease cases and has been referred by both clients and other attorneys.

He has had success representing victims of Legionnaires’ disease and trying cases in federal and state courts.  Mr. Zacher is currently working on numerous cases across the country in Hawaii, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maine.