Sick with Legionnaires?
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Elliot Olsen is a nationally prominent Legionnaires lawyer who has regained millions for clients. If you or a family member became ill after visiting the Days Inn of Casselton, you might have cause to file a Legionnaires lawsuit. Please call (612) 337-6126 for a free consultation.
A resident of Tower City, North Dakota, who took ill after spending time in the spa at the Days Inn of Casselton has retained noted Legionnaires’ disease attorney Elliot Olsen.
The Days Inn of Casselton, which features an indoor water park, made headlines last month when the North Dakota Department of Health and Fargo Cass Public Health announced that they were investigating three cases of Legionnaires’ disease linked to the spa. The outbreak’s three victims did not stay at the hotel, but they all reported using the spa.
Tracy Joanna Larson, 61, was at the hotel visiting her children and grandchildren last Christmas Eve, and she spent considerable time in the spa whirlpool that day. She started feeling ill on New Year’s Eve and soon thereafter was diagnosed with double pneumonia and admitted to Sanford Hospital in Fargo. She was discharged on Jan. 5, but she still has fluid in her lungs.
Casselton is a town of about 2,300 in Cass County, 25 miles west of Fargo along Interstate Hwy. 94. The Days Inn is located about 1.5 miles south of the town center.
A Tower City woman who took ill after spending time in the spa at the Days Inn of Casselton’s indoor water park has retained noted Legionnaires’ disease attorney Elliot Olsen.
Days Inn of Casselton:
Legionella in spa
Environmental samples were collected Jan. 8-9, and one sample from the spa filter tested positive for Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease. After the spa was cleaned and disinfected, a second sample taken Jan. 31 was free of bacteria, but a third sample collected Feb. 13 showed that the bacteria had returned.
At that time, Days Inn officials closed the spa and said they are continuing remediation efforts.
Spas frequently produce outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease because, if Legionella are present in the water, the spa can aerosolize it into small droplets, which are then inhaled into the lungs.
Days Inn of Casselton:
Still feeling effects
Olsen – who currently has clients sickened in Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in New York City, Chicago, and Madison, Wisconsin – said Larson has a strong case.
“She is still feeling the effects of Legionnaires’ disease two months after contracting it, and she has been told it could take another three months for her lungs to clear,” he said. “Her quality of life will suffer for some time to come.”
Days Inn of Casselton:
Difficult diagnosis
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are approximately 25,000 cases of pneumonia due to Legionella bacteria (scientific name: Legionella pneumophila) each year in the U.S. – but only 5,000 cases are reported because of its nonspecific symptoms (see below).
The disease is also called legionellosis and Legionella pneumonia, and if it is diagnosed early enough, it is treatable with antibiotics. If that does not occur, however, complications can develop – about 10 percent of people who inhale Legionella will die from the infection.
Days Inn of Casselton:
Legionnaires symptoms
Legionnaires’ disease symptoms are similar to those of other types of pneumonia, and they can resemble those of influenza (flu), which is why the disease is under-reported. Early symptoms can include:
- severe headaches
- muscle aches
- fever (104 degrees or higher) and chills
- suppressed appetite.
By Day 2 or Day 3, symptoms, can worsen and include:
- pleuritic chest pain, or pleurisy (pain caused by inflamed lungs)
- dyspnea (shortness of breath)
- cough, which can produce mucus or blood
- gastrointestinal problems (diarrhea, nausea, vomiting)
- mental confusion and agitation.
Days Inn of Casselton:
High-risk demographics
Anyone can become ill after breathing in Legionella, but people most susceptible to developing Legionnaires’ disease include:
- anyone 50 years old or older
- smokers, both current and former
- anyone with a chronic lung disease or COPD (for instance, bronchitis and emphysema)
- anyone with a compromised immune system
- recipients of organ transplants
- anyone on a specific drug protocol (for instance, corticosteroids)
- alcoholics.
Free consultation
Elliot Olsen has decades of experience representing people harmed by Legionnaires’ disease. You can contact him for a free consultation by filling out the following form and submitting it:
