Overview
- The estate administrator, Barbara Primiero, filed the lawsuit in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday alleging negligence and wrongful death after her husband Reno Primiero contracted Legionnaires’ disease while a patient.
- The court filing says Primiero was first treated at UPMC Mercy in early November 2024, returned with hospital-acquired pneumonia on Nov. 11, tested positive for Legionella, developed respiratory failure, and died on November 23, 2024.
- The suit accuses UPMC Mercy and two physicians of failing to keep a safe water environment and of discharging Primiero despite warning signs of infection in an immunosuppressed patient.
- UPMC Mercy has said it reports positive Legionella cases to the Allegheny County Health Department and that county testing on Nov. 20, 2024, found no Legionella pneumophila; the hospital has not yet filed a formal court response.
- Legionnaires’ disease is caused by inhaling Legionella bacteria from building water systems and can quickly become severe in older or immunosuppressed people, and the lawsuit could prompt further public-health review and legal discovery into hospital water management and care practices.