Lead poisoning is commonly defined as the presence of excessive levels of lead in the body. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that at least 4 million households in the United States have children living in them that are being exposed to high levels of lead. There are approximately half a million U.S. children ages 1 to 5 with blood lead levels above 5 micrograms per deciliter, the reference level at which CDC recommends public health actions be initiated.
Swallowing or breathing in lead typically causes lead poisoning. Lead is toxic when it enters the body. It may stay in your body for a long time. Young children tend to absorb lead more easily than adults. Lead in the body can also be harmful to the nervous system and the kidneys, slow down growth and development, give rise to learning disabilities, damage speech and hearing and cause behavioral problems.
With lead poisoning issues plaguing properties owned and managed by the New York City Housing Authority (NYHCA) and the city of New York, it is important for New Yorkers to better understand what constitutes lead poisoning and what they need to watch out for when it comes to safeguarding the health and well being of their children. Here are five common myths about lead poisoning.
Myth 1. Children must actually chew on lead-tainted objects or eat lead paint chips to get lead poisoning.
Inhaling or ingesting dust from lead paint covered surfaces is one of the most common ways of getting lead poisoning. Lead dust covers surfaces and objects that children may come in contact with, and may even cling to kids’ hands and toys. Children swallow lead dust when they put their hands or toys in their mouths, which is common behavior for young children. Eating chips or chewing on painted surfaces may also cause lead poisoning, but it’s not the only way children can be poisoned.
Myth 2. Only children with very high levels of lead suffer adverse health effects.
This is certainly not true. Even lower levels of lead in a child’s body may lead to long-term health effects that may affect children’s learning and behavior.
Myth 3. Poor parental supervision is to blame for lead poisoning.
This is a myth perpetrated by negligent property owners and/or property managers to pass the blame. It is common even for children who are constantly supervised to get lead poisoning. And that’s because lead dust can be inhaled. Lead poisoning frequently occurs when children put their hands, toys and other objects in their mouths – something that’s extremely hard to prevent even with close parental supervision.
Myth 4. A child who appears healthy, active, and lacks symptoms is not lead poisoned.
Kids who seem quite normal and healthy may still be suffering from lead poisoning. The damage caused by excessive lead levels to the brain and the nervous system can be subtle and challenging to detect without a medical exam. The effect of lead poisoning may not even be noticeable until the child starts attending school.
Myth 5. Lead poisoning is not a “real problem.” Many people are perfectly healthy in spite of the fact that they grew up in homes with lead paint.
Many individuals who may have grown up in homes with lead paint may have suffered very subtle brain and nervous system damage. They may have simply not been diagnosed with having lead poisoning. Problems relating to learning, behavior, memory and attention are still linked to excessive lead levels. It is also important to remember that lead paint becomes more dangerous as it gets older and becomes more prone to chipping, peeling and creating lead dust.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
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 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 full policy of one million dollars.
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 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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