Four people have died and many more are still recovering from an outbreak of Legionella bacteria at Peregrine Senior Living, an Albany-based senior living facility. The bacteria causes what’s known as Legionnaires’ disease.  

At least 10 of the 20 people sickened and hospitalized tested positive for the severe pneumonia. Several others are expected to have contracted the disease.

“We expect that number to rise as the testing comes back because that takes a little bit of time,” explained Jory Lange, an Albany-based attorney who specializes in representing people affected by Legionnaires’ disease.

Some families impacted by the illness are taking legal action against the facility, claiming this was avoidable and pointing to the lack of a water management plan.

“One of the things we find in a lot of these cases is a lack of water management plan implemented by the building,” explained Scott Hartford, an attorney specializing in cases related to Legionnaires. “Are they doing water quality testing? Are they testing periodically for Legionella in the water?”   

Joshua Poupure, a spokesperson for Peregrine, said it has worked with Albany County and the state’s Department of Health in recent weeks to install a monochloramine filtration system, which treats water as it enters the facility.

But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Legionella bacteria grows inside existing water systems where water becomes stagnant, like inside a shower head or sink.

Work to replace bathroom fixtures and the installation of other filters has also been ongoing at the facility, according to Poupure. It’s unclear as to whether there were any preventative measures in place prior to the outbreak.

Hartford said there are some rules, regulations and industry standards in place that are only randomly monitored. Beyond seeking accountability, the goal in taking legal action is to help prevent other families from experiencing a similar ordeal.

“What we’re hearing over and over again is people have long hospital stays, a week or more for many people,” Lange said. “And that many people had to go to in-patient rehabilitation facilities after that before they could go home.”

Poupure said the facility and its staff stand ready to provide reliable, person-centered care.   

“We believe the pending legal action and the filings associated with it contain several factual errors, which we will address at the appropriate time,” he said in a prepared statement Monday.