A discount warehouse has admitted liability in a Legionnaires compensation claim brought by the families of three men who died from the bacterial infection.
In August 2012, three men died and eighteen people needed hospital treatment after contracting Legionnaires disease at the JFT Warehouse store in Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent. The outbreak of the disease was attributed to a spa pool on display in the store in which legionella bacteria had been allowed to develop.
The bacteria was then inhaled by the victims as the water in the spa pool was aerosolized – causing them to suffer fever, chills, cough and headaches and, in the cases of the three men who died, pneumonia which deteriorated into organ failure.
The first of the victims – Richard Griffin (64) from Clayton in Staffordshire – died after inhaling the bacteria while delivering meat to the café in the JTF Warehouse store. The other two men who died have been named as William Hammersley (79) from Chesterton in Staffordshire and Harry Cadman (71) from Stoke-on-Trent.
Whereas many of the victims who recovered from the disease have settled their Legionnaire compensation claim against JFT Warehouse out-of-court, the families of the three men who died and one survivor who contracted a serious lung infection are pursuing their claims through the courts.
Mr Griffin´s daughter issued a statement in which she justified taking her Legionnaires compensation claim to court. She said: “Nothing can ever bring our dad back but we just want to make sure justice is done and that there is some accountability for his death. I truly hope no one ever has to go through what we have.”
Insurers for JFT Warehouse have admitted their client´s liability, and what needs to be resolved is how much compensation for Legionnaires disease each family and the one remaining survivor will receive. Inquests into the three deaths are due to be held later this year and the Crown Prosecution Service is also considering whether to add criminal charges to the civil action.