Man hospitalized with Legionnaire’s disease in 2022 files lawsuit against Orillia and contractors
An Orillia man who was says he was hospitalized for weeks after contracting Legionnaire’s disease in the fall of 2022 has filed a $2.6-million lawsuit against the city.
Jo Brabant, now 55, first spoke to CTV News in November of that year and described his “nightmare” battle with the disease from which he says he hasn’t fully recovered.
“I still have hardness in breathing. It hasn’t gotten any better for me.”
Brabant says he struggles to breathe and get around; once-simple everyday tasks aren’t possible now.
Brabant, who is a father and husband says he is now experiencing a worsening memory loss.
“I have times where I’ll be driving and I forget where I’m going and I need to stop and like program it into my phone.”
Brabant claims he still suffers from chills and pains in his joints and muscles. He spent three weeks in hospital in October of 2022 and was on dialysis for a month and a half, battling kidney failure, fatigue and muscle loss. He says however he can’t remember much of the stay in hospital anymore.
Brabant filed the lawsuit against the City of Orillia and two of its contractors claiming they failed to keep him and about 30 others safe when they were sickened by legionella bacteria in the fall of 2022. The lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of Justice claims the city and those responsible for maintaining, cleaning and inspecting the cooling tower, where legionella was later found in September of that year, failed to take reasonable care of the facility and were negligent.
“They knew that there was cases from 2019 and they didn’t do anything about it but it took somebody dying for them to have to step up,” he says.
A 60-year-old Barrie man died of pneumonia that October according to the health unit.
Rotary Place was closed for several weeks while the city worked to find short and longer-term solutions to the cooling tower bacteria problem.
The lawsuit claims “As a result of the legionella outbreak and resulting illness Brabant continues to suffer decreased lung, heart and kidney function,” adding his “life expectancy has been significantly reduced.”
The city telling CTV News:
“As a standard practice” it “does not provide public comment regarding legal matters.”
Brabant, who lives in west Orillia but never entered the Rotary Place building prior to becoming sick, believes it happened when he was pumping gas nearby.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
“Just going about my daily life and had no clue that anything like this could happen to me and it did and I’m paying the price for it,” he says.
Brabant says he expects to have a response from the defendants by the end of the month. The allegations against them have not been tested in court.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.