In recent months, Las Vegas has faced multiple Legionnaires’ disease investigations. In May 2025, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) confirmed cases linked to the South Point Hotel (affecting guests from August 2024 and February 2025) and The Grandview at Las Vegas (where three guests were hospitalized in early 2025). Multiple water samples at both properties tested positive for Legionella bacteria.
When guests contract this severe form of pneumonia, hotels often call it “bad luck” or an “isolated incident.” In reality, Legionnaires’ disease is almost always a symptom of hotel water system negligence.
The bacteria (Legionella) doesn’t just appear; it grows in man-made water systems that are poorly maintained. Proving a hotel is liable requires looking past the bacteria itself, which is often scrubbed away by the time you get sick, and finding the “paper trail” of negligence they left behind.
With 40+ years of experience, Jack Bernstein knows where to find the evidence hotels try to hide. This guide explains exactly how we use maintenance logs, temperature records, and flushing schedules to prove your case.
The “Invisible” Evidence Trail
By the time public health officials announce an outbreak, the hotel has usually “remediated” (super-chlorinated) their water system. This raises a critical question for your lawsuit.
Why the rush to clean?
Once SNHD confirms Legionella, hotels immediately flush their systems with high levels of chlorine. This kills the bacteria—and conveniently eliminates the physical evidence of the colony that made you sick. That is why the paper trail matters: the maintenance logs existed before the remediation and cannot be retroactively changed without leaving digital fingerprints.
We subpoena the records that existed before the cleaning. Nevada hotels have a strict legal duty to manage their water systems to prevent bacterial growth. When they fail to do so, they leave a documented trail of missing tests, ignored warning signs, and falsified logs.
The Legal Standard: ASHRAE 188 and the “Duty of Care”
To win a Legionnaires disease hotel lawsuit, we must first establish what the hotel should have done. The industry standard of care is ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188.
This standard requires every large building to have a formal Water Management Program (WMP). A compliant WMP isn’t just a suggestion; it is a complex safety system that requires:
- A Dedicated Team: Specific people responsible for water safety.
- Control Limits: Defined safe ranges for temperature and chlorine.
- Verification: Proof that the plan is actually being followed.
- OSHA Compliance: Adherence to OSHA guidelines for hazard prevention.
If a hotel cannot produce a written WMP during discovery, they have likely breached their duty of care immediately.
The 3 Critical Logs That Prove Negligence
When we investigate a claim to prove hotel negligence in Legionnaires cases, we look for three specific types of maintenance records. These logs reveal whether the hotel was actively preventing disease or just crossing their fingers.
1. Temperature Logs (The “Danger Zone”)
Legionella bacteria thrive in warm water between 77°F and 113°F (25°C–45°C), with the fastest growth occurring between 90°F and 108°F, according to the CDC.
What the Standards Require:
- Hot water storage tanks: Must be kept above 140°F (60°C).
- Hot water in circulation: Should not drop below 120°F (49°C).
- Cold water systems: Must be kept below 77°F (25°C), ideally below 68°F (20°C).
The Negligence:
We subpoena temperature logs and look for water sitting in the “growth range” for days or weeks. Common failures we uncover include:
- Boilers set to 110°F to save energy costs (creating a biological incubator).
- Broken circulation pumps allowing water to stagnate and cool in the pipes.
- Mixing valves set incorrectly, delivering lukewarm water to guest rooms.
If the logs show temperatures in the danger zone without corrective action, the hotel breached their duty of care.
2. Flushing Logs (The “Ghost Flushing” Problem)
Legionella loves stagnant water. When hotel rooms sit empty during low-occupancy periods (common in Las Vegas mid-week), the water in the pipes loses its chlorine and sits still, allowing “biofilm” (slime) to grow.
The Duty:
Maintenance staff must regularly visit empty rooms to run the showers and taps (“flushing”), bringing in fresh, chlorinated water.
The Negligence:
We often find “Ghost Flushing”—logs where a worker claims they flushed 50 rooms in one hour, which is physically impossible.
How We Prove It:
We cross-reference the maintenance logs with electronic door lock data. If the manual log says the shower in Room 1204 was flushed at 10:00 AM, but the keycard server shows nobody entered the room between 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM, the log is faked. This is powerful evidence of hotel water system negligence.
3. Biocide Logs (The Chemical Shield)
Cooling towers (the massive AC units on roofs) are common sources of outbreaks because they spray mist into the air that can drift into open windows or air intakes. They require constant “biocide” (disinfectant) treatment.
The Duty:
The WMP must specify exactly how much chlorine or bromine is added and how often, per CDC Cooling Tower guidelines.
The Negligence:
We look for gaps in the chemical delivery records. Did the automatic doser run out of chlorine on a Friday and not get refilled until Monday? That 48-hour gap is enough for a bacterial colony to bloom and spread through the HVAC system.
Causation: The “Genetic Fingerprint”
The defense will always argue: “How do you know you caught it here? You could have inhaled it at the airport.” We answer this with Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS).
Modern science allows us to map the DNA of the Legionella bacteria found in your lungs and compare it to bacteria found in the hotel’s water system.
Confirm the Test Type:
A simple urine antigen test confirms you have Legionnaires’ disease, but it is not enough for a lawsuit. You must ask your doctor for a sputum culture test. This preserves the actual bacteria so we can genetically match it to the hotel’s water system later. Get this test before starting antibiotics if possible, as treatment can eliminate the bacteria from your system.
Action Plan: If You Are Diagnosed
- Get the Right Test: Insist on a sputum culture alongside the urine test to preserve genetic evidence.
- Save Your Receipts: Proof of your stay (dates, room number) is vital to establish the incubation timeline (usually 2–14 days).
- Report to SNHD: Contact the Southern Nevada Health District at (702) 759-4636 (Monday–Friday, 8am–4:30pm) or visit www.southernnevadahealthdistrict.org. SNHD has the authority to immediately sample hotel water systems—something you cannot do on your own.
- Contact an Attorney: We need to send a preservation letter to the hotel immediately to stop them from destroying maintenance logs or “losing” the Water Management Program documents.
- Watch the Clock: Nevada requires personal injury claims be filed within two years of when you knew or should have known about your illness (NRS 11.190). For Legionnaires’ disease, this typically starts from your diagnosis date. Don’t wait—evidence disappears and memories fade.
Why You Need Experience on Your Side
Legionnaires’ cases require understanding microbiology, engineering standards, and the forensics of electronic hotel records. With 40+ years of experience in premises liability, Jack Bernstein knows how to obtain the maintenance logs, temperature records, and flushing schedules that prove negligence—before hotels can destroy them.
Contact Jack Bernstein Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to evaluate your Legionnaires’ disease claim: (702) 633-3333.
