Legionnaire’s disease trio take legal action

All three being represented by law firm Irwin Mitchell were admitted to hospital after losing consciousness and suffering with high temperatures, severe headaches and vomiting, chest problems and flu-like symptoms.

The firm said yesterday they each visited the JTF Warehouse in Fenton, days before they fell ill and had spent time in the cafe directly above the hot-tub on display which is believed by the Health Protection Agency to be the probable source of the outbreak. The disease is spread through the air from a water source.

There have been 20 confirmed cases in the outbreak and two people have died.

The Health Protection Agency said last week its tests had shown the unusual strain of legionella bacteria found in the hot tub, which had been taken out of action, matched that found in patients. It also discovered 17 of the 18 cases confirmed by then had visited the JTF warehouse in the two weeks before they fell ill.

Amandeep Dhillon, a specialist at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Now that a probable source has been identified the focus must turn to finding out what went wrong so that lessons can be learned to prevent similar outbreaks in future. Our clients want answers as to what happened and why they have become ill.”