The coronavirus pandemic has endangered the hard-earned gains made by U.S.
public health officials in protecting children from lead poisoning and the irreversible neurological damage it can cause. According to a report in The New York Times, when COVID-19 cases began to spike last spring, lockdowns and closures of childcare centers confined young children to their homes where lead exposure can be significant.
The growing national emergency also delayed lead paint removal efforts and disrupted routine childhood lead screenings, leaving health officials unable to identify and treat many children living in lead-affected homes. Last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that in the early months of the pandemic, about 10,000 children with elevated lead levels in their blood may have gone undetected.
Drops in Lead Testing
CDC officials are also concerned about hundreds of thousands of children who have missed their essential tests for lead, which may affect them for rest of their lives. CDC has said that there is no “safe level” of exposure to lead. The agency estimates that more than 20 million housing units in the United States contain lead paint. When the paint flakes, chips, cracks or peels, the lead mixed with dust may then be ingested or inhaled. Young children whose brains are still developing are particularly at risk.
In New York City, which was hit by an early wave of COVID-19 cases, childhood lead screenings declined by 88% last April. Also, in New York City, preliminary data submitted to the CDC suggests that the number of young children with elevated blood lead levels was essentially flat over the first three-quarters of 2020, after years of steady declines.
Officials have also been lagging behind when it comes to inspections at housing units operated by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) or “The Projects”. A number of young children have been at risk of lead exposure not only in NYCHA units, but also a number of other private housing complexes around New York City.
How Lead Paint Affects Children
According to the World Health Organization, lead exposure can have serious consequences for children’s health. At high levels of exposure, lead attacks the brain and the central nervous system to cause coma, convulsions and even death. Children who suffer severe lead poisoning may be left with irreversible brain damage and behavioral issues.
Even at lower levels of exposure that cause no obvious symptoms, lead is now known to produce a spectrum of injury across multiple body systems. In particular, lead can affect children’s brain development resulting in reduced intelligence quotient or IQ, behavioral changes such as reduced attention span and increased antisocial behavior. Lead exposure may also cause anemia, hypertension and kidney failure.
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 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:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/11/health/virus-lead-poisoning-children.html