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Olbluesilverado · 10-25-2008, 04:41 PM

This post is going to be long, so please forgive me. About a month and a half ago, my mother suddenly became stricken with pneumonia and was in the hospital for some time. To make issues worse, the hospital found that she had contracted Legionnaire’s disease (a potentially fatal strand of pneumonia). At one point, she was so bad the hospital specialists decided to put her on life support. My dad and I were devastated because her doctors only gave her a 50% chance to live. After a lot of prayers, some time, and some tears she beat the odds and pulled through and is currently home and well.

Now comes the interesting part. Shortly after her return home, she began receiving calls from the county board of health asking if she had shopped at any grocery stores in the area prior to her initial sickness. She said yes and named a market which she had been at. The county official told her that she is 1 of 6 people that had contracted the disease: 5 in Tinley Park, 1 from the neighboring town Orland Park. The grocery store she mentioned was one of the key suspects in the origin of the disease.

Long story short, the county is comparing the strand of illness my mom had with the strand they supposedly found at said grocery store. If a connection is made, the county official recommended we pursue with a lawsuit since there may be a large amount of settlement money involved. We are not sue-happy people nor have we ever taken place in a lawsuit. My parents and I are just looking for some direction in all this chaos. They were wondering if we should hire a lawyer now or wait for her results to come back. There is a small chance that she did not contract Legionnaires from the grocery store, therefore they are afraid to hire a lawyer and not have a case. What is the right thing to do at this point?

Madd Ramm · 10-25-2008, 06:31 PM

Wait till you have confirmed results from the CDC/county health people.

Olbluesilverado · 10-25-2008, 11:18 PM

I've heard some lawyers do free consultations in order to see if they want to take the case. Is this true?

~~Spawn_X~~ · 10-26-2008, 04:42 AM

Quote:On 2008-10-25 23:18, Olbluesilverado wrote:
I've heard some lawyers do free consultations in order to see if they want to take the case. Is this true?

yup that should be pretty standard

Ya know dude, in this country, everyone sues. Rich people sue, sick people sue, everyone sues. I say you sue too, its just how the system works. You don't get a brownie point in heaven if you decide not to sue.... ya know? so might as well.

King Nothing · 10-26-2008, 08:24 AM

Im not all about frivolous lawsuits, but i feel that if they can connect your moms sickness with this store fairly convincingly that you should pursue this. your mom could have died, not to mention that Im sure your family incurred some costs due to this incident.

Matty · 10-26-2008, 09:16 AM

First, let me say that I'm glad your mom is ok.

I would sue the crap out of them for negligence. In no way is that a frivolous lawsuit, they were negligent and your mother could have died as a result.

Olbluesilverado · 10-26-2008, 11:52 AM

First off, thank you guys for your support and concern. Those weeks my mom was in the hospital was the most terrible tragedy my family has ever had to endure. My father almost lost his business because he basically lived at the hospital. I also missed a lot of work and college classes, which I am still trying to make up. It's just been one giant rollercoaster ride of emotions.

**Alphacowboy** · 10-26-2008, 12:32 PM

Glad your mom is ok. If found that the cause was due to negligence, then yes, I dont see why sueing them is out of the norm. Sueing them for millions or some odd ball number is where i draw the line on stuff like this. Recovering costs for any medical costs, lost wages, and maybe some "pain and suffering"(with in reason) but anything beyond that, I think is frivolous, regardless of the cause. This country has let sue happy people screw our system and in a sense all of us, due to large legal costs companies have add to thier bottom line.

Olbluesilverado · 10-26-2008, 01:09 PM

I couldn't agree with you more. All we want to see out of this is enough money to cover some of the bills and maybe some pain and suffering to cover lost wages. I think my mom still being on earth with us is payment enough.

**Alphacowboy** · 10-26-2008, 01:51 PM

Quote:On 2008-10-26 13:09, Olbluesilverado wrote:
I couldn't agree with you more. All we want to see out of this is enough money to cover some of the bills and maybe some pain and suffering to cover lost wages. I think my mom still being on earth with us is payment enough.

Thank you, your family values and stance on this is refreshing. We need more people like your family in this world that realize a law suit isnt a money grab lottery.