Earlier this week it was reported that scientists had noticed a peculiar propensity for long-haul professional drivers to develop Legionnaire's disease, a rare but lethal form of pneumonia caused by a bacterium that thrives in warm, stagnant water.
We all know that driving with an empty washer bottle is illegal and sometimes quite annoying, so when it runs dry the easiest thing is usually to fill up the kettle from the cold tap and leave it at that.
Many of us are probably less inclined to spend extra money, and time, to go to the trouble of adding a drop of screenwash as well.
A pity, as not only does this clean the windscreen more effectively, it also prevents the growth of the harmful Legionella pneumophila bacterium and other unpleasant organisms that love the tepid water normally found in the washer bottle.
For most people, this microbe does not pose a particular threat.
For professional drivers, however, the implications of not using screenwash may reach a little further.
The more miles they cover per year, the greater the chance that they will use their windscreen washer.
In addition to this, the warmer the engine bay is on a more consistent basis, the more the bacteria will prosper.
The study, published in the European Journal of Epidemiology, noted that up to 20% of cases of the disease could be caused by this type of exposure.
Drivers that have had misfortune to contract Legionnaire's disease may want to know if they could claim for personal injury compensation.
The answer is, in most cases, that it is unlikely.
Any successful personal injury claim relies on the establishment of negligence by an employer or another third party.
This could mean that a traveling sales rep, for example, who gets his car serviced by a garage that does not put screenwash into the washer bottle, and was obliged to, may have a claim.
If an employer is supposed to provide the driver with a vehicle that is in safe working order, and by not using screenwash they have not fulfilled their obligations to you as their employee, again they may be culpable.
With any claim, evidence is key.
The more concrete facts you can use to establish negligence on the part of the other party, the better.
Claiming is a complicated business, but some consumer advice centres can give potential claimants an idea, very quickly, of whether they have a solid basis for a claim or not.
Of course, the most important action for someone who is concerned that may have contracted Legionnaire's disease is to get in touch with their doctor, first and foremost.
Professional drivers, after the publication of these findings, should also always remember to insist that their washer bottle is topped up with screenwash.
As Prof Hugh Pennington says, "If you can prevent (the disease) with something this simple then it's a no-brainer really.
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