Lead is a toxic metal, which when ingested has the potential to cause serious health problems, especially for young children. In August New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law that requires lead exposure screening during routine medical visits for children who are 6 months old to 6 years old. Lead poisoning may occur even when exposure levels are very low.
What is the Main Source of Lead?
Lead is a metal that occurs naturally and is used to make a variety of products
from pipes and paints to plumbing materials, gasoline, batteries and ceramics. Lead can be toxic to people as well as animals. Federal and state laws passed over the last few decades have helped reduce the amount of lead in water, the air, food products and homes.
However, many homes and apartment complexes in New York City that were built before 1978, when lead was banned in the United States for residential use, still contain toxic lead paint. New York State banned lead-based paint in 1970. Dust from lead-based paint that chips and peels is the biggest source of lead exposure for children in New York City and the rest of the country.
How Lead Poisoning Affects Children
Lead poisoning occurs when lead is ingested into the system by eating, drinking, touching or breathing in the metal or particles. Research has consistently shown that no amount of lead contamination is safe for children. Lead may accumulate in the bloodstream more easily in children’s bodies. When compared with adults, children tend to absorb a higher percentage of lead.
Once lead gets in children’s bloodstream, it puts them at higher risk of brain damage. Even lower exposure to lead may cause negative health effects such as lower IQ, lack of focus, behavioral problems and learning issues. Higher levels of lead exposure may result in permanent and irreversible brain damage.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines elevated lead level as anything greater than 3.5 micrograms of lead per deciliter (mcg/dL) of blood. Lead poisoning is a condition that requires immediate medical intervention. Lead also causes anemia because it diminishes the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen through the body.
What You Need to Know About Dakota’s Law
Under Dakota’s Law, which Governor Hochul signed into law in August, children between 6 months and 6 years of age must be screened for their lead risk each year. If the risk if high, a blood test is used to measure blood lead levels. The purpose of this law is to identify children with high lead levels so their lead exposure can be reduced and their risk of cognitive and behavioral issues can be reduced. Children with lead levels above 3.5 mcg/dL are monitored every three months and a thorough investigation of potential sources of exposure is conducted.
Protecting Your Rights
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 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 suffered 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, lead poisoning and 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:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com