Natalie Duddridge is an award-winning journalist. She joined CBS News New York as a reporter in February 2018.
Two separate lawsuits have been filed over the deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Harlem.
Both lawsuits claim construction companies failed to protect workers from unsafe conditions that led to the spread of the disease. Both complaints say the companies were responsible for maintaining cooling towers that became filled with untreated rainwater after July storms, creating ideal conditions of Legionella bacteria to grow. Legionella bacteria grows in warm, stagnant water and spreads through mist in the air. There is no person-to-person transmission.
Symptoms of the disease can resemble the flu and include cough, fever, chills, muscle aches and shortness of breath. It can take up to two weeks for symptoms to show up. At-risk groups include people over 50 and smokers.
The first lawsuit names Rising Sun Construction LLC, based in New Jersey. Construction worker Duane Headley said he contracted Legionnaires' disease while working at the Harlem Hospital complex. Headley was hospitalized, and is still recovering.
The second lawsuit is against Skanska USA Building, Inc., headquartered in Manhattan. Worker Nunzio Quinto claims he was exposed to Legionella while employed at a site next to Harlem Hospital - the New York City Public Health Laboratory project at 40 West 137th Street. He was hospitalized, as well, and is undergoing rehabilitation.
"No energy, and unable to do anything. I am finally starting to get up and walk around a little bit now. I can do basic things. The thing is, I just want answers to what's going on. I can't have a safe place to work? This is New York City," Quinto said.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages for medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
CBS News New York has reached out to Rising Sun Construction and Skanska USA. So far, neither has had any official comment as yet.
So far, five people have died in the outbreak, according to the New York City Department of Health. There have been more than 100 cases.
Legionnaires' disease is a potentially deadly form of pneumonia. This outbreak was traced to 12 cooling towers at 10 buildings in Central Harlem, including four that are city-run. All of the towers have since been disinfected, officials said.
The outbreak prompted city officials to propose stricter rules around cooling towers in order to boost testing and reporting requirements. The new rules would also impose penalties to whoever does not comply.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running for mayor, called on the state's Department of Heath to investigate how New York City handled the outbreak.
"Confidence in government is paramount, and New Yorkers deserve to know if the City followed its own rules to prevent this deadly outbreak," Cuomo said. "The last time we confronted a Legionnaires' outbreak of this scale, we not only moved heaven and earth to stop it, we put in place tough new protocols to prevent it from happening again. With the City now serving as both the regulator and the landlord for many of the affected buildings, there is an inherent conflict of interest. Only an independent review can determine whether the right steps were taken - or whether City inaction made a bad situation worse."
Mamdani, the frontrunner in the mayoral race, also criticized the city's response, writing on social media "The City has been far too slow to release detailed information to residents."