It's vital, therefore, that environmental control and individual risk assessments are used by those in control of systems that harbour the legionella bacteria.

Naturally present in water, legionella thrives in warm and stagnant water.

Recent newspaper articles have warned about the risk of catching the disease from the water in windscreen washer bottles, and professional drivers are said to be five times more likely than others to be infected with the bug.

All drivers are now being urged to add screen wash to their wiper water to kill the bacteria. Employers and fleet managers need to be particularly aware of the advice, as failure to act on it could result in successful litigation if an employee or contractor is diagnosed with the disease.

Whilst exposure to the bacteria does not necessarily result in contraction of the disease (a pre-existing vulnerability is often required, making the disease more common in the elderly or those with chest and other breathing related conditions) when diagnosed, the symptoms vary from mild flu-like problems to a pneumonia-like disease that can be fatal.

The contraction of Legionnaires' disease becomes a matter for personal injury litigation when there have been failures of management/risk assessment/control of water systems.

Debra Woolfson, partner and head of Access Legal from Shoosmiths' Legionnaires team, has more than 20 years' experience dealing with Legionnaires' disease claims and has secured compensation for victims affected by different sources of the disease.

The largest outbreak in the UK was in Cumbria, and centred on a badly maintained air conditioning unit in Barrow-in-Furness. 172 people were infected by bacteria in steam blown into a town centre passageway.

Cases were fought on the value of the same, rather than who was to blame, but eventually settlements were achieved covering loss of earnings, pain and suffering compensation and bereavement damages for those that died.

Other claims have involved exposure in Jacuzzis, and legionella was found in college showers that had been used for the first time after a holiday break. Ongoing claims see the bacteria in evidence in open buffets, where the cooling system has not been up to scratch; and in a works canteen where a hot water tap was kept at a temperature that was too low.

Whilst prevention is better than litigation, we're here to advise on the complex issues that require specialist investigation if you're unlucky enough to have been affected by this disease.

Our team can assist with the engineering evidence required to identify and link the source to the disease, and with the quantification of the damages you may be entitled to.

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