A VICTIM of the worst Legionnaires' outbreak in Scotland for decades has become the first to engage a specialist illness claims lawyer, with others expected to follow.
It is understood victims of the disease that has killed one and affected 40 in Edinburgh may bid for hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation.
The first man to demand answers is Terry Holeran, 55, who lives in the shadow of one of the plants suspected as being the source of the bacteria.
The exact source has not been identified and experts have warned it may never be pinpointed, which could affect legal action.
Mr Holeran is included in the total of 41 people confirmed to have fallen victim to the disease since May 31. All of those infected have connections to the south-west of the city, where the outbreak is believed to have started in a cooling tower.
Mr Holeran, from Saughton Mains, Edinburgh, became ill on June 5 with aches and pains, tiredness and breathlessness.
He was treated at Western General Hospital but doctors sent him home with antibiotics as they feared his weakened immune system would allow other diseases in.
Mr Holeran said: "It has been one of the worst weeks of my life. I'm just so angry and want to know what went wrong to cause the outbreak.
"I've been stuck in a hospital bed and then housebound and I want to know why, as well as how it could have been avoided and what is going to be done to stop this happening again.
"Too many people have been affected by this and it is time that we all got some answers."
Mr Holeran says he has instructed lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to help him find out how the outbreak occurred and what can be done to prevent it from recurring.
Elaine Russell, a partner at the firm's Glasgow office who specialises in illness claims, said: "Our client's experience highlights the huge impact this terrible outbreak is having on so many people across Edinburgh and the need for authorities to quickly and thoroughly investigate every possible source.
"We are determined, for the sake of our clients and those affected by these problems, to discover what went wrong."
A spokesman for the firm said it was too early to say how the success of any claims might be affected if the source was not located, adding "the key focus at present is gaining as much information as possible on the outbreak so that future problems of this nature can be avoided."
In a case in 2010, one woman received £70,000 following the death of her husband when he contracted Legionnaires' disease on a cruise ship.
Robert Air, 56, from the Seafield area of Edinburgh, is the only person to have died in the Edinburgh outbreak.
Six sites in the Gorgie, Dalry and Saughton area are still being tested.
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