Holiday Accidents – Legionnaire’s Disease

Legionnaire’s disease is a severe form of pneumonia and is most commonly seen in people over the age of 50 as well as in smokers and people who are suffering from chest problems, causing their immune systems to become weaker.

Infection occurs when a person breathes in water droplets that are contaminated by many Legionella bacteria. The Legionella bacteria lives in warm, damp places and can multiply rapidly in large containers of standing water that are left for a number of days, such as the water used for the air conditioning units that are used in hotel complexes. If hotels don’t change this water on a daily basis they risk the possibility of an outbreak of Legionnaire’s Disease.

It is a fatal illness for around 10 or 15% of the people that contract it unless it is caught early enough. Over half of the people in Britain who develop Legionnaire’s Disease do so whilst on holiday abroad.

Some of the symptoms that are associated with Legionnaire’s Disease include headaches, tiredness, aching muscles, fever and pain in the side of the chest which results from the infection involving the pleura (the membranes that line the outside of the lungs) as well as a worsening cough that comes with a greenish thick mucous and can be blood stained.

While staying in a hotel we expect the standards of health and safety to be high. We expect precautions to be taken to prevent illness whilst staying there, we do not expect to go back home with a potentially life threatening illness but sadly it does happen.

If you have suffered as the result of contracting Legionnaire’s Disease whilst staying in a hotel with a contaminated supply of water then you could be entitled to put in a compensation claim. Personal injury law exists to protect the victims of accidents that should have been avoided. It is the duty of the hotel to change the air conditioning water supply daily to prevent infection, failure to comply with health and safety leaves them liable.

If you booked your holiday as a package deal from your tour operator then you can put in a compensation claim against them.

Here at Accident Consultant we have helped thousands of people who have suffered due to negligence and improper standards of hygiene; now it’s your turn to claim the compensation that is rightfully yours. It is your legal and civil right to claim for compensation after an illness or accident whilst on holiday abroad.

For more information about claiming after an accident or illness whilst on holiday abroad get in touch with Accident Consultant today by calling us on 08081 68 69 70 or alternatively by filling in our online claim form.