The New York City Coalition to end Lead Poisoning, which is a collaboration of advocates, lawyers, doctors and others, recently released their “2022 Lead Agenda.” According to a report on Earthjustice.org, the group calls it “a roadmap to eliminating lead poisoning in New York City.” The report states that nearly 70% of children who suffer lead poisoning come from underserved neighborhoods. Black, Latino and Asian children account for more than 80% of newly identified cases of lead poisoning in children the age of 6 or under.
What the Report States
The report finds that in spite of progress made through recent legislation, New
York City cannot achieve its goal of eliminating child lead poisoning without strengthening the city’s policies and programs. Some of the recommended actions in the 2022 Lead Agenda include:
• Pass local laws to enhance early identification, prevention and enforcement.
• Invest in programs and interventions that protect children from lead poisoning through budget allocations.
• Reduce water as a source of lead exposure by identifying and eliminating lead service lines
• Strengthen city and state enforcement of existing lead poisoning prevention laws.
Advocates have also talked about the importance of eliminating lead paint from public housing (the Projects) as well as privately-owned dwellings. Lead paint and lead dust can do significant harm because when residents breathe in lead dust, they are at an increased risk for lead poisoning. Lead poisoning affects young children the most. An average of 2,233 children test positive for elevated blood lead levels each year in New York City with a majority being children of color.
Landlords’ (Building Owners) Responsibilities in NYC
Under New York City Local Law 1 of 2004, building owners and managers are required to identify and fix lead paint hazards in apartments where young children (the age of 6 or under) live. This law applies to your apartment if it was built before 1960 or between 1960 and 1978 and the building has lead paint. Lead paint repairs must also be done if the building has three or more apartments or if a child the age of 6 or under lives in the apartment.
In buildings covered by Local Law 1, building owners and managers must find out if any children the age of 6 or under live in the building and inspect those apartments for lead paint hazards every year. Landlords must use safe work practices and hire trained workers when fixing lead paint hazards and also when doing general repair work that disturbs lead paint. Building owners and managers are also required to repair lead paint hazards before a new tenant moves into an apartment and keep records of all notices, inspections, repairs of lead paint hazards, and other matters related to the law. The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) can ask the building owners/managers for copies of this paperwork.
New York 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 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.
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Source: https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2022/advocacy-groups-unveil-a-roadmap-to-eliminating-lead-poisoning-in-new-york-city