Advocates are calling for New York City to take a more proactive approach to lead paint inspections and enforcement pointing out several loopholes in the current system that allows property owners and property managers to circumvent the rules. According to a report on Citylimits.org, this push comes as the New York City Health Department is looking into lowering the childhood lead-level threshold that would automatically trigger an investigation.
Curbing Lead Poisoning
The city banned the use of lead paint in 1960 in residential buildings in an effort to
prevent lead poisoning, which can lead to major cognitive and behavioral health problems in children. But nearly six decades later, thousands of children in New York City still test positive for lead exposure each year. In 2020, the most recent year for which data is available, 2,603 children the age of 6 or under tested for elevated blood lead levels in the city. And experts say even that number is an undercount because of reduced testing during the coronavirus pandemic.
Manhattan City Councilmember Gale Brewer is one of many public officials and environmental advocates calling on the city to take a more proactive approach to lead paint inspections and enforcement saying the current system allows landlords (building owners) to bypass the rules. The city’s Health Department is considering lowering the childhood lead-level threshold that would automatically trigger an investigation by the city from 5 micrograms per deciliter to 3.5 mcg/dL.
This proposed new level, which will match the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines, will allow health officials to pinpoint potential lead poisoning cases earlier. This will also mean that more children will test positive for lead exposure and need treatment making it even more important for the city to strengthen its testing, inspection and enforcement procedures now.
Need for Better Enforcement
Current city rules dictate that landlords (building owners) with properties built before 1960 must perform annual inspections in any apartment where children the age of 6 or under live or where any young children spend at least 10 hours a week. They must then correct lead hazards that are identified through such testing such as peeled or damaged lead paint, lead paint/dust on window sills or other surfaces that children can reach.
However, advocates say those requirements are often left to landlords (building owners) to comply with voluntarily. While city agencies conduct inspections at at-risk buildings, it is simply not enough. Legislation that is in the works will strengthen the city’s oversight rules including one bill that would require property owners/managers with a lead violation to produce their self-inspection records and proof of abatement measures to the city.
Additional bills would prohibit peeling lead paint in common areas of buildings where children live and not just in individual dwellings, and also requires the city to report any objections it receives to lead abatement orders from property owners and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) (the Projects).
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, lead poisoning 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.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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Source: https://citylimits.org/2022/08/16/as-city-health-dept-weighs-new-lead-paint-standard-a-push-for-stricter-enforcement/