Maryland Transportation Authority employees sickened with Legionnaires
LegionellaLegionnaires' DiseaseLegionnaires' disease outbreak

Maryland Transportation Authority employees sickened with Legionnaires

By July 10, 2019 No Comments

Sick with Legionnaires?
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Elliot Olsen has regained millions for clients harmed by Legionnaires’ disease. If you are a Maryland Transportation Authority employee and have contracted Legionnaires’ disease, you might have cause to file a Legionnaires lawsuit. Please call Elliot (612) 337-6126 for a free consultation.

Two Maryland Transportation Authority (MTA) employees are sick with Legionnaires’ disease, an outbreak that has compelled the MTA to close its administration building at the Interstate 895/Baltimore Harbor Tunnel toll plaza.

MTA officials also automated the toll booths after learning of the two cases of Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially deadly form of bacterial pneumonia. Both employees have received medical treatment, the MTA said in a statement.

“While there’s no confirmation that the building is the source of the illness, we believe the safety of our employees and visitors to the administration building dictates that we close the facility while tests are conducted,” said Pete Rahn, who serves as both MTA chairman and state transportation secretary.

Legionnaires’ disease occurs when Legionella bacteria are contracted by the inhalation of microscopic water droplets (mist or vapor). The bacteria thrive in warm water, and they are found primarily in human-made environments (see below).

Maryland Transportation Authority: tolls automated

Most employees who work at the administrative building and the toll plaza have been put on administrative leave. Some of them are working from other MTA sites.

Meanwhile, cash-payment lanes have been automated the past two days, and they are operating like cashless toll lanes. That means that drivers who do not have E-ZPass transponders may drive through the plaza without stopping; the state is capturing video of their vehicles and will send bills for the toll amount.

MTA officials said they would proactively treat water systems at the site. They also said they did not know how long the facility will be closed to employees.

According to the Maryland Department of Health (MDH), there were 361 cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the state in 2018.

Maryland Transportation Authority employees sickened with Legionnaires

Two Maryland Transportation Authority employees are sick with Legionnaires’ disease, an outbreak that has compelled the MTA to close its administration building at the Interstate 895/Baltimore Harbor Tunnel toll plaza. MTA officials also automated the toll booths. Both employees have received medical treatment.

Maryland Transportation Authority: hard to diagnose

Legionnaires’ disease is also called Legionellosis and Legionella pneumonia, and it is a severe type of pneumonia or lung infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 25,000 cases of pneumonia due to Legionella bacteria (scientific name: Legionella pneumophila) occur in the U.S. annually. Only a fifth of those cases (5,000) are reported, however, because of the disease’s nonspecific symptoms, which at the outset include:

  • headaches
  • muscle aches
  • chills
  • fever, which can be 104 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

By Day 2 or Day 3, symptoms can worsen to include:

  • coughing, which can produce mucus or blood
  • dyspnea (shortness of breath)
  • chest pains, also called pleurisy or pleuritic chest pains
  • gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea)
  • confusion and other mental changes.

Maryland Transportation Authority: hot spots

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), warm, stagnant water provides the right conditions for growth. Legionella bacteria can multiply at temperatures between 68 degrees and 122 degrees Fahrenheit, and temperatures of 90 degrees to 105 degrees are optimal for that to occur.

The types of environments that are best suited to produce those conditions are:

  • air-conditioning system cooling towers
  • large plumbing systems
  • water systems of large buildings (hospitals, nursing homes, hotels, etc.)
  • hot-water heaters and tanks
  • bathroom showers and faucets
  • swimming pools, whirlpools, hot tubs
  • physical-therapy equipment
  • mist machines, like those in the produce sections of grocery stores
  • hand-held sprayers
  • decorative fountains.

Maryland Transportation Authority: high-risk groups

Anyone can contract Legionnaires’ disease, but those at the greatest risk of infection include:

  • people 50 years old or older
  • smokers, either current or former
  • people with chronic lung disease, or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, most commonly emphysema or bronchitis)
  • people with compromised immune systems
  • 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:

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