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Lead paint poisoning is dangerous, and can have permanent, long-term disabling effects on a child. There are often no immediate visible symptoms. To determine whether a child has been poisoned, they will need to be examined by a family doctor or local health department.
If a child has been the victim of lead paint poisoning, he or she may be entitled to receive money – even if he or she appears to be perfectly healthy. A child who was poisoned a long time ago may be entitled to money damages, even if they are up to 21 years of age now. If child has been poisoned by lead paint in their apartment or home, the landlord may be liable to pay you money, and can be required to remove the lead paint.
For well over a decade, the law firm of Dennis Herron & Associates has been pursuing landlords who whose negligence has caused lead paint poisoning. You have legal rights in a lead paint poisoning case. If you believe that your child has been poisoned, call your family doctor or local health department immediately. If your child is a victim of lead paint poisoning, or for a more complete explanation of your legal rights, you may call us at 585-244-6000 or go the Do I Have a Case page of this site and send us the requested information.
Protect Your Family From Lead Poisoning:
In Rochester, one out of every three children have dangerous levels of lead in their bloodstream Windowsills, Doors, Porches, Walls, and Soil (esp. near drip lines) are the main sources of lead poisoning.Signs of lead poisoning: Low attention span, reduced intelligence, behavior problems, digestive problems, muscle and joint pain, impaired hearing, and brain damage
What Is Lead?
Lead is a natural element that does not break down in the environment. Even though lead was banned from paint products in 1978 and from gasoline in the mid 1980′s it still lingers in the air, soil, and woodwork of older buildings across America. In 1995, 37.5 % of kids tested had lead levels over 10 ug/dl (micrograms per deciliter) in Rochester. Even though lead poisoning is 100% preventable, the effects of lead poisoning are permanent and untreatable.
Lead paint dust or tainted soil can be picked up on your child’s hands, toys, or even pacifier. This poison enters through the mouth and is absorbed by the intestines. Lead is then distributed to the bloodstream, brain, bones, kidneys and other organs. Children’s bodies mistake lead for calcium and iron-deficient children can absorb almost every molecule of lead they ingest.
What Can You Do?
Once you identify lead sources on your property, use someone trained and EPA Certified to remove or replace lead paint whenever possible. Insist on dust wipe clearance testing after the work is done. Always repair chipped or deteriorating paint, and keep all paint surfaces smooth and cleanable.
To control lead dust, wet mop all of your floors often. Use wet wipes on all horizontal surfaces, especially windowsills & wells. Wash your child’s hands frequently, before eating and especially if your child suck his or her thumb or fingers. Wash dropped pacifiers and hard toys in the sink or bathtub, and clean soft toys in the washing machine. If possible, use a HEPA filtered vacuum.
You can help decrease lead absorption in your children by offering them meals rich in calcium & iron. At the very least, have your child screened for lead at ages 12 & 24 months.
Landlords should be held accountable for cleaning up the hazard they created. At Dennis Herron and Associates, we believe in protecting children and their families from this entirely preventable disease. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with lead poisoning in the past 15 years, call Dennis Herron and Associates for a free, confidential evaluation. We want to help you.
Press Release – First Plaintiff Jury Verdict in WNY Lead Poisoning Case-Revised for Dennis Lead Poisoning Case Favors Plaintiff
A 23-year-old Rochester woman, left with a learning disability after being exposed to lead as a child, will receive some compensation for her injuries. A jury Wednesday awarded Ashley Hicks $221,000 for economic loss from the neurological effects that lead poisoning will have on her capacity for future earnings.
Ashley Hicks is first to win lead poisoning lawsuit in Monroe County
“What you find, at least here in Rochester, it’s not one landlord poisoning one child, one time,” Herron said, echoing others who say landlords, by and large, correct problems as they arise. “It’s professional landlords with multiple properties, multiple violations, multiple families.”
“Have we had cases that have gone in excess of seven figures? Absolutely,” Herron said. “You are talking about a brain-damaged child.
“It is not meant to be a windfall, where they never have to work another day in their lives. It is meant for them to catch up.”
“What did the 2-year-old do wrong?”
Horrors of lead ignite lawsuits; landlords cry ‘unfair’
Pressure grows on building owners
July 8, 2007 – The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle,