A residential building owner in Brooklyn will pay $150,000 to correct lead paint
violations, which pose the risk of lead poisoning. According to a report in the Brooklyn Reader, the property owner has reached a settlement with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to correct more than 100 lead-based paint violations in his Brooklyn and Queens buildings.
The majority of violations relate to failure to comply with turnover requirements in his portfolio of 688 households across 10 buildings in the two boroughs. Most of these lead paint violations were issued based on HPD’s audit of the buildings, which found that the building owner failed to maintain compliance or turnover records.
Violations May Affect Children
Specifically, 89 of the violations were issued in apartments where the building owner failed to keep records about lead-based paint inspections and repair on turnover. Additional building-wide violations were issued for failure to maintain records on annual inspections and investigations, the Brooklyn Reader reported. The building owner is now required to correct the violations including the class “C” lead paint violations within 90 days of signing a consent order issued by the court under the city’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act.
The law exists to protect young children who are especially vulnerable to lead exposure, which may have lasting neurological and even behavioral impacts throughout their lives. Eight buildings in the Bath Beach and Gravesend areas have been included in this settlement. HPD officials have also said that they will continue to monitor progress and will have the option to seek additional penalties in court if the landlord (building owner) fails to correct the problems in time.
New CDC Lead Standards
U.S. health officials have recently changed the definition of lead poisoning in young children based on their blood lead levels — a move that is expected to more than double the number of victims. The more stringent standards were announced on Nov. 4 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This new standard means the number of children ages 1 to 5 who have high blood lead levels may increase from about 200,000 to about 500,000.
Children can be exposed to lead not just through old paint, but also contaminated dust and drinking water that passes through lead pipes. The toxic metal then accumulates in the body and may, at high levels, cause organ damage and even seizures. In young children, however, even low levels of lead can have devastating health effects. Children can absorb four to five times as much lead as adults exposed to the same source. This may harm their brain development and lead to reduced IQ, learning disabilities and even behavioral problems. Experts say there is just no safe level or a level of lead that is acceptable in children.
NYC Lead Poisoning Lawyer
Whether you have been living as a tenant at a private apartment complex or in a public housing unit (the Projects), please remember that you have legal rights. If your child has been diagnosed with high blood lead levels, regardless of whether you live in public or private housing, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) (The Projects) or private landlords (building owners) and building managers for damages. Those who have been affected can seek compensation for damages including medical expenses, cost of diagnostic tests, permanent injuries, lost income and benefits, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.
If your child has been affected by lead poisoning, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Our firm recovered $1,162,500 for a child who suffered lead poisoning from paint in her apartment. The child’s injuries were subtle and difficult to recognize. We recovered $162,500 above the $1 million dollar total insurance policy in this case. Despite the judge’s efforts to settle the case for $950,000, we fought hard and recovered $162,500 more than the insurance policy of one million dollars. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and/or medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
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Source: https://bkreader.com/2021/11/04/brooklyn-building-owner-to-pay-150k-to-correct-lead-based-paint-violations/