NEW YORK (WABC) — Four new lawsuits filed Thursday against New York City are seeking accountability for last summer’s deadly Legionnaires’ outbreak in Harlem.<\/p>\n
There were 118 cases and seven people died in what officials say was the city’s worst outbreak in nearly a decade.<\/p>\n
Health officials traced the legionella bacteria to a dozen cooling towers in the neighborhood, including Harlem Hospital, which is part of the NYC Health and Hospitals network.<\/p>\n
The lawsuits allege the city was slow to test and treat the towers and failed to warn local residents they could be exposed.<\/p>\n
“An outbreak of this magnitude does not happen in a vacuum, public health safeguards exist for a reason and when they are not followed, families, workers and entire communities bear the consequences,” attorney Benjamin Crump said.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, but attorneys say it’s about justice and to ensure Harlem is protected from any future outbreak.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the NYC Law Department released a statement saying, “Protecting public health and safety is at the center of the City’s response. We will carefully review these cases.”<\/p>\n
The lawsuits are not connected to the most recent Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on the Upper East Side<\/a> that also resulted in seven deaths.<\/p>\n ———-<\/p>\n * Get Eyewitness News Delivered<\/a> <\/p>\n * More Manhattan news<\/a><\/p>\n * Send us a news tip<\/a><\/p>\n * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts on the go<\/a> <\/p>\n * Download our connected TV app<\/a> <\/p>\n
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