PSBR attorneys Pete Kaufman and Whitney Smith obtained a $3,000,000 settlement for the wife and adult children of Walter Winfield who died from Legionella Pneumonia as a result of inhaling the bacteria at a hotel hot tub.
Mr. Winfield was a guest at a Best Western Plus in Ontario, California where he visited the hotel spa, but did not go into the water. Prior to decedent’s stay, the defendants were repeatedly warned and notified of numerous California Health and Safety Code violations related to water quality and to the maintenance of the hotel spa including the lack of proper safety and water control equipment. Upon returning home, the 87-year-old man became sick and was admitted to the hospital where he later died of Legionella Pneumonia. An inspection and subsequent investigation by the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health determined that the hotel spa had tested positive for legionella bacterium, closed the hotel spa to the public and suspended the defendant’s health permit.