IOWA CITY, IOWA (AP) -- The family of a Johnson County woman who died of Legionnaires' disease has filed a lawsuit against the state claiming she was exposed to the respiratory illness at University Hospitals in Iowa City.
Sandra Shank died in 2006.
The lawsuit, filed in Johnson County District Court, claims she contracted the disease from water supplied to the area where she was being treated for cancer. It alleges that the hospital failed to prevent, detect or eliminate the bacteria that causes the disease.
Legionnaires' disease is caused by a bacterium most often found in sources of standing water. People can contract the disease by breathing vapor from a contaminated water source.
Hospital spokesman Tom Moore declined to comment on the case.
(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA