The family of a WWII veteran who died due to an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at the Pittsburgh's VA Healthcare facility has sued the federal government. The victim was an 83-year-old man from North Versailles who was one of at five people to die from the two-year Legionnaires' disease outbreak that ended just over a year ago in November of 2012.

In addition of the five deaths, at least sixteen other veterans were diagnosed with the disease. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) and VA officials say that the disease came from bacteria-ridden spigot water at western Pennsylvania VA facilities in Oakland and O'Hara Township.

This particular wrongful-death complaint, filed on behalf of the man's family and estate, alleges the hospital and government were medically negligent in their overall treatment the man and that they failed to prevent the waterborne form of causing the man pneumonia. The man's adult children are forcing accountability on the VA system in general and expect there to be a similar following for others who were affected by Legionnaires' disease.

Because of the Federal Tort Claims Act the family can on file for civil damages, but expect to be successful because of the grave negligence shown by the VA. A report completed by the Inspector General of the VA found that the Pittsburgh VA locations did not follow the proper protocol for taking the preventative steps against a waterborne sickness such as Legionnaires disease. Last week, the Dept. of Veteran's Affairs said that it was "finalizing its review for the recommended administrative action tied to the outbreak" and that it could not make any comments while litigation against the federal government is pending.

Source: Trib Live: "Second lawsuit filed against VA Pittsburgh over fatal Legionnaires' outbreak" 6 December 2013