A recent outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in New York has, according to published news reports, been responsible for the death of 12 people. According to those same reports, more than 100 other people have become ill as a result of the outbreak, which has been traced to a rooftop cooling tower(s).

For better or worse, when an outbreak of a disease occurs, lawsuits may soon follow. Indeed, recent news stories report that one individual who contracted Legionnaires’ disease in New York just sued the hotel where the outbreak allegedly began. According to published reports, that person is alleging that the hotel was “negligen[t], careless[], and reckless[].”

When such third-party lawsuits – relating to Legionnaires’ disease or some other disease – are filed against an insured, insurance coverage may be available under its commercial general liability (“CGL”) insurance policy(ies). CGL policies typically provide coverage for “damages” on account of “personal injuries” or “property damage.” Relying on various policy exclusions, insurers, however, may try to deny coverage for disease-related lawsuits. So, faced with such a suit, a policyholder should carefully review its policy(ies) and make sure its interests are adequately protected.

Legionnaires’ disease in particular has been at the center of a number of insurance-coverage disputes. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Legionnaires’ disease … is caused by a type of bacterium called Legionella …. The bacterium is named after a 1976 outbreak, when many people who went to a Philadelphia convention of the American Legion suffered from this disease, a type of pneumonia (lung infection).”
Continue Reading Host of insurance-coverage questions tied to Legionnaires’ disease

Insurance companies often look to the pollution exclusions in their commercial general liability policies in attempts to exclude coverage for many types of claims. They will try to fit all sorts of things within the definition of “pollutants.” Just last Friday, though, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana made that more difficult, offering a common-sense understanding of the term “pollutant.” That court found that “under Louisiana law, Legionella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria” – the bacteria which cause Legionnaire’s disease – “do not qualify as ‘pollutants’ within the meaning of [pollution] exclusions.”
Continue Reading Court’s reasoning that “bacteria” is not a “pollutant” favorable for policyholders in other cases

The Ebola crisis has raised numerous issues worldwide. Many of the concerns sparked by the crisis – particularly in the insurance coverage context – are not unique to that disease, however. For example, coverage concerns relating to Ebola-related claims would be similar to those for many other disease-related claims. Many different types of insurance policies, including general liability policies, could be implicated by such claims.
Continue Reading General Liability Insurance and Disease-Related Claims