There has been very little decline in the number of children with high blood lead levels living in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) units or The Projects, according to a report in the New York Times. For more than 10 years, the city has made progress in reducing the number of children in public housing who have tested positive for lead. However, that trend ended about the same time that the city’s housing authority stopped inspecting its apartments for lead paint dangers.
The news report showed that the percentage of young children in public housing who tested positive for lead remained steady over the last few years, even as that number had continued to decline citywide. About 130 children in public housing under the age of 6 tested positive for lead each year from 2015 to 2017. This was around the same time that the NYCHA stopped inspecting apartments for lead paint, which is mandated under state and federal regulations.
Number of Affected Children Increases
This report is the latest effort to tackle a lead-paint controversy after it came to light that NYCHA had failed to inspect for lead-paint hazards in its 176,000 apartments for at least five years. The city reached a legal settlement with federal prosecutors to appoint a federal monitor who will oversee repairs in the public housing units. Initially, city officials had said only 19 children tested positive for elevated lead levels in their blood. That number then grew to 820. Now, the city is saying that since 2012, a total of 1,160 children under 18 living in The Projects have been found to have elevated lead levels.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has said the city will expand its efforts and inspect every apartment in the projects where lead paint might have been used. That adds up to about 130,000 units. The testing is expected to cost $80 million and will be carried out by private contractors starting early next year. Given NYCHA’s and the Health Department’s track record of reportedly not being accurate on this issue, city officials are questioning the credibility of the agencies’ numbers when it comes to lead exposure and affected children in the Projects.
Children in The Projects Disproportionately Affected
According to the most recent report, 362,119 children were tested for lead poisoning citywide in 2017 and 1.5 percent were found to have lead levels at or above 5 micrograms per deciliter, the minimum amount for which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that localities intervene. The overwhelming majority, about 97 percent, lived in private housing.
Children in public housing are tested for lead poisoning at higher rates compared to those residing in private housing. About 88 percent of children living in the Projects are tested by the time they are 3, compared to 74 percent of children residing in public housing. Mayor De Blasio and NYCHA now face a lawsuit from victims’ families. Childhood lead poisoning can lead to neurological and nervous system damage, delayed development and stunted growth, behavioral and cognitive problems, and difficulties with hearing and speech.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
The parents of a child with lead poisoning whether due to their landlord being in violation of lead paint standards or as a result of drinking water from uninspected or unrepaired old fixtures may be able to recover compensation by filing a premises liability claim. You have legal rights and may be able to seek compensation for damages including medical expenses, cost of diagnostic tests, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, loss of earnings capacity, 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 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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Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/30/nyregion/nyc-public-housing-lead.html
http://gothamist.com/2018/08/31/nycha_lead_poisoning_numbers.php