These safety regulations are in place to reduce the risk of toxic lead paint dust during residential building renovations, particularly for young children, tenants and workers. Exposure to this type of contamination can result in lead poisoning, which typically has long-term adverse health effects for young children.
The lawsuit filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office alleges that the contractor violated a number of provisions of the RRP rule including inadequate containment of construction dust containing lead, failure to assign a certified renovator, lack of on-the-job safety training for workers and failure to provide proper warnings and lead hazard information to building occupants. According to the report, the violations persisted in spite of repeated warnings, and continued at least through 2021. These violations happened primarily in low-income residential properties making living conditions worse for tenants.
Lead paint violations by landlords (building owners) in New York state, including the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) have been a problem. In July New York Attorney Letitia James sued a Syracuse building owner for repeated violations of lead safety laws at several properties. At least 11 children suffered from lead poisoning while living in these properties, the lawsuit stated. That legal action seeks thousands of dollars for affected families. In New York City, Local Law 1 requires building owners to use firms certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency when disturbing more than 100 square feet of lead paint, replacing windows, or fixing violations issued by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).
Lead exposure can cause severe problems in young children. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this exposure may seriously harm a child’s health as well as damage the brain and nervous system leading to slowed growth and development, learning and behavior problems and hearing and speech issues.
This may also cause lower IQ, decreased ability to focus and pay attention, and underperformance in school. The health effects of exposure are more harmful to children under the age of 6 because their bodies are still developing and rapidly growing. Young children tend to put their hands or other objects, which may be contaminated with lead dust, into their mouths. So, they are more likely to be exposed to lead compared with older children.
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 law 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 including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy 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://therealdeal.com/new-york/2023/09/10/new-york-city-contractor-fined-for-lead-paint-violations/