The family of a patient who died from Legionnaires' disease contracted at Mount Carmel Grove City (Ohio) filed a lawsuit against the hospital June 27, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
The lawsuit alleges 75-year-old patient Deanna "Dee" Rezes of Grove City "suffered a wrongful and untimely death" from severe pneumonia that originated from Legionella bacteria in the hospital's water system. Ms. Rezes is the only patient to have died out of the 16 who caught Legionnaires' at the hospital since April 2019. Three patients have also filed lawsuits against the hospital.
Defendants in the lawsuit include Mount Carmel Health System, Trinity Health Corp., various construction groups and several John Doe corporations, contractors, manufacturers and employees.
"We are committed to doing what is right and fair for these families," a hospital spokesperson said in a prior emailed statement following the first three lawsuits. "We are implementing a long-term solution to ensure Legionella is effectively controlled and that this doesn't happen again."