New York City has settled thousands of lead paint violations tied to four landlords (building owners) who each own and manage between 800 to 2,500 apartments in the city. According to a report in The Real Deal, the four landlords (building owners) paid a combined $500,000 in the settlement, which the city targeted as an action to protect young residents from health and safety threats. Even though lead-based paint was banned in New York City as early as 1960 in a bid to prevent childhood lead poisoning, older buildings with peeling paint continue to pose a threat to the city’s children, officials said.
City officials said nearly 3,500 health and safety violations in over 5,000 apartments had been rectified as part of an agreement with the four major property owners and their companies. After discovering hundreds of significant health and safety violations in these dwellings, including hundreds relating to lead paint, the city said it entered into settlements with the landlords (building owners) that led to civil penalties over three months last year.
What the Agreement Means
The city then forced the property owners to resolve all outstanding violations and to comply with Local Law 1, also known as the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, which was passed in 2004. This law essentially requires residential building owners to address and prevent lead-based paint exposure. Landlords (building owners) must test for lead paint and remove the paint, if present, each time the unit is turned over.
Issues relating to lead paint contamination must also be resolved in units/buildings where children under the age of 6 years live or if children under the age of 6 years spend at least 10 hours each week at that location. Under the agreement between the city and these landlords (building owners), for the next three years, each property owner must comply with the law’s requirements for annual and lease notices, annual investigations, remediation and repair, x-ray fluorescence analyzer testing, apartment turnovers and turnover remediation.
If the landlords (building owners) fail to comply with their agreements, they will face legal action seeking court-ordered repairs and tens of millions of dollars in additional penalties. The Adams administration has invested nearly $1.4 billion in capital funds for lead paint removal and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is testing more than 70,000 apartments.
Lead is a toxin and is particularly dangerous for young children. It has the potential to cause irreversible brain damage and lifelong learning problems. Dust from the deteriorating lead paint can collect on floors and windowsills where it can be easily ingested by children. Since 2004, thanks to more stringent lead paint laws, the number of New York City children with elevated lead levels has dropped by 90%.
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 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/2023/08/02/city-settles-with-four-landlords-over-child-lead-exposure/