NEW YORK, NY —  New York’s public health  professionals are warning about a potential rise in Legionnaires’ disease and an associated increase in hospital admissions this summer.

Legionnaires’ disease is a respiratory illness, which may cause pneumonia, sepsis and even death. Early symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease include shortness of breath, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, cough, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness and confusion. People with respiratory illnesses, compromised immune systems, a history of smoking or are more than 50 years old are most susceptible to Legionnaires’ disease.

Legionnaires’ disease can be contracted when someone inhales water vapor that has been contaminated with Legionella. That is the type of the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease. Legionella can be found in building-wide cooling systems, hot water tanks, fountains, hot tubs, large plumbing systems and decorative fountains.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene just released a Legionnaires’ disease advisory for New York’s doctors and hospitals, which warned them to be on the lookout for cases of Legionnaires’ disease. The agency stated that the greatest number of Legionnaires’ disease infections occur between the summer and early fall.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were close to 5,000 cases of Legionnaires’ disease reported in New York State from 2018 to 2022. In 2020, New York State reported more cases than any other. Most of those were in New York City.

“It is imperative that anyone who experiences Legionnaires’ disease symptoms seek medical attention immediately so they can be tested and treated,” says Ronald Katter of The Katter Law Firm. “For the at-risk population, Legionnaires’ disease can be life-threatening.”

Mr. Katter is available for interviews on this matter. For more information, call (212) 809-4293 or visit www.katterlaw.com.

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About The Katter Law Firm

The Katter Law Firm has significant experience representing New Yorkses who have suffered with the symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease for nearly a decade. He has recovered millions of dollars to compensate them from the entities that caused the Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks. The firm also represents individuals injured in motor vehicle collisions, slip/trip and falls, construction falls, nursing home negligence, and funeral and cemetery carelessness. The firm aggressively represents injured victims throughout the New York City metro region and its surrounding counties. For more information, call (212) 809-4293 or visit www.katterlaw.com.

NEW YORK, NY — Ronald J. Katter of The Katter Law Firm, President, The Jewish Lawyers Guild, has announced that the Guild will be holding its 44th Annual Gala on Thursday, June 22 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, located at 125 W. 18th Street, New York, New York. Cocktail hour and a buffet reception will start at 6 p.m. and the awards ceremony will begin at 7:30 p.m.

This year’s honorees include the Honorable Deborah Kaplan, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge of the New York City Courts, who will receive the Distinguished Jurist Award; the Honorable Adam Silvera, Administrative Judge, Supreme Court, New York County, Civil Term, who will be the recipient of the Benjamin N. Cardozo Award; and the Honorable Doris M. Gonzalez, Administrative Judge, Supreme Court, Bronx County, Civil Term, who will be honored with the Golda Meir Memorial Award.

The Jewish Lawyers Guild is an organization of lawyers and jurists founded upon fellowship and faith in tradition since 1962. The Guild holds a variety of activities, including lectures, programs and tours that are of interest to the legal and Jewish communities. In addition, the Guild participates in the judicial screening panels, provides a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program for its members and funds two scholarships at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

“We wish to congratulate these fine jurists on being honored at this year’s event,” Mr. Katter said. “Our event has always brought together some of the foremost legal professionals and has always been a part of what makes this organization very special.”

Sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information about the Jewish Lawyers Guild, visit www.jewishlawyersguild.org. For more information about Katter Law, call (212) 809-4293 or visit www.katterlaw.com.

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About The Katter Law Firm

The Katter Law Firm represents clients throughout New York City in personal injury cases including those who have suffered injuries as a result of Legionnaires’ disease, motor vehicle collisions, pedestrian knockdowns, bicycle crashes, slip/trip and falls, assaults, workplace accidents, construction accidents, professional malpractice, nursing home negligence, hospital mistreatment, police abuse, accidental death, pet attacks and cemetery and funeral negligence.  The firm aggressively represents injured victims through New York’s five boroughs, as well as the surrounding counties. For more information, call (212) 809-4293 or visit www.katterlaw.com.

NEW YORK, NY — This month, the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) released “Deadly Skyline: An Annual Report on Construction Fatalities in New York State.” In the report, it showed that the number of deaths on construction sites in the state, especially in New York City, has risen significantly. Ronald J. Katter, of The Katter Law Firm, says that understaffing at the NYC Building Department and fewer inspections of construction sites by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) may have contributed to the increase in these fatalities.

After three years of declines, the number of fatalities on construction sites in The Empire State increased by 49% in 2021 to 61 from 41 in 2020, according to data from the NYCOSH report. That is the highest number of deaths reported since 2016, when 71 workers were killed on construction sites. In New York City, 20 workers died in 2021 — a 54% increase over the previous year’s figure of 13.

 

NYCOSH also noted that the New York City Department of Buildings (NYC DOB) is understaffed, citing an article from The New York Times which stated that there is a 25% vacancy rate within the agency. In addition, the city’s proposed 2023 budget for the city will include an 8% cut in funding for NYC DOB. In addition, OSHA has conducted fewer inspections, despite receiving a bump in funding in 2022 to approximately $612 million, compared to $591.8 million in 2021. Only 2,568 inspections were performed in 2021, which is slightly higher than 2020’s figure of 2,080, but far off the more than 4,000 inspections in 2019, a year before the pandemic hit.

 

“The fact that there aren’t enough people to operate the city’s Department of Buildings, combined with OSHA’s lack of oversight of construction sites within the state and city over the past few years, may have resulted in an increase in these on-the-job fatalities,” Mr. Katter says. “Had these problems been remedied earlier, there probably would have been fewer deaths.”

 

Mr. Katter is available for interviews on this matter. For more information, call (212) 809-4293 or visit www.katterlaw.com.

 

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About The Katter Law Firm

The Katter Law Firm represents clients throughout New York City in personal injury cases including those who have suffered injuries as a result of Legionnaires’ disease, motor vehicle collisions, pedestrian knockdowns, bicycle crashes, slip/trip and falls,  assaults, workplace accidents, construction accidents, professional malpractice, nursing home negligence, hospital mistreatment, police abuse, accidental death, pet attacks and cemetery and funeral negligence.  The firm aggressively represents injured victims through New York’s five boroughs, as well as the surrounding counties. For more information, call (212) 809-4293 or visit www.katterlaw.com.