Seven county employees who became ill last year after being exposed to a rare form of Legionnaires’ bacteria through their building’s cooling system have sued the Lucas County Board of Commissioners and others.
In a complaint filed Dec. 20 in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, Karen Lincoln, Renee Thomas, Margaret Thornewell, Kimberly Orzechowski, Joseph Printke, Chris Sturchill, and Isaac Jordan say that while working at Lucas County Job and Family Services, 3210 Monroe St., they “developed pneumonia or other respiratory illnesses which were determined to have been caused by breathing in mist or vapor with Legionella bacterium found in the Monroe Street building.”
All but one of the plaintiffs remains employed at JFS, while Ms. Thornewell has retired, county officials said.
The complaint, which was filed as a product liability case, names Watcon Inc. of South Bend, Ind.; Baltimore Aircoil Co. of Baltimore, Md.; Sarmento Mechanical Sales Inc. of Sylvania; the city of Toledo’s Division of Water Treatment; the Lucas County Department of Job and Family Services, and the county Board of Commissioners.
According to the complaint, commissioners owned the building and purchased the cooling tower that was manufactured by Baltimore Aircoil through Sarmento Mechanical Sales.
The city’s water division was responsible for testing the water, and Watcon monitored the operation of the cooling tower, the complaint alleges.
In July, 2015, some 15 JFS employees became sick from bacteria traced to the cooling system that circulates water through pipes inside the four-story building.
Daniel Abraham, a Columbus lawyer who filed the lawsuit, said the exposure should never have happened.
“If these systems are installed and maintained properly, you shouldn’t have these exposures,” Mr. Abraham said.
While Legionella spores can be found rather commonly in water, he said, they have to reach a significant level to make those exposed to them ill. While the affected workers have recovered, Mr. Abraham said some of the plaintiffs have “ongoing residual problems” from their exposure.
Dennis Lyle, an assistant county prosecutor, declined to comment on the litigation, but said that to the best of his knowledge the problems that led to the Legionella exposure were corrected and there are no pending concerns.
At the time of the outbreak, local health officials said 11 of the 15 county employees who became sick were hospitalized while three were treated by their physicians for pneumonia. All of the affected workers were in the same area of the building and were exposed at the same time.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of $25,000. The complaint has been assigned to Judge James Bates.
Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.
First Published December 30, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
