Dr. John F. Rosen, a pediatrician who led the effort to prevent lead poisoning among children, died in Connecticut of complications from colon cancer, according to a report in The New York Times. He was 77. Dr. Rosen was responsible for setting up one of the country’s leading clinics for lead poisoning treatment at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. Initially, Dr. Rosen was interested in studying how children’s bodies absorbed calcium.
But, he soon saw how a number of children he treated at Montefiore had unacceptable levels of lead in their bodies and how many of them suffered irreversible brain damage as a result. Dr. Rosen personally treated more than 30,000 children. He also developed X-ray techniques for measuring the level of lead in children’s bodies. Dr. Rosen was responsible for spearheading a committee in 1991 at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He pushed to lower the threshold at which children are considered to be poisoned by lead to 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood from 60 micrograms.
A Strong Advocate for Children
Rosen then lobbied to reduce that threshold further and finally the CDC brought it down to 5 micrograms. This was the first time the government issued a statement to make the public more aware of the danger of lead toxicity. Even small quantities of lead can have long-term health consequences, especially for young children.
I knew Dr. Rosen to be a particularly strong advocate for children who are injured by the actions of reckless, careless landlords. Property owners and managers have a legal and moral obligation to ensure that their buildings don’t poison the children who are living in them. Lead poisoning victims face a number of health risks including learning disabilities, muscular dysfunction, memory loss and brain damage. Dr. Rosen will always be remembered as one of the good guys who worked tirelessly for the welfare children in New York City and nationwide.
Compensation for Victims
If your child has been affected by lead poisoning, the experienced New York personal injury lawyers with the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options. 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 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496) for a free and comprehensive consultation. We can also help with personal injury cases in 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 phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: The New York Times