Brooklyn Lead Poisoning Attorney
Lead poisoning is a serious medical concern. Each year thousands of individuals—most often children—fall ill from exposure to lead. Often apartment owners and managers and other individuals are responsible, and may be held liable. The Brooklyn lead poisoning attorneys from our office in one case recovered $1,162,500 for a child who suffered poisoning from paint in the apartment where she lived.
How Poisoning Occurs
Lead is absorbed into the body through several means: by being inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through the skin. Until the 1970s lead was added to gasoline; as a result, millions of cubic tons of the toxin were pumped into the atmosphere.
The 1970s was a pivotal time for lead poisoning legislation, for at that time other products, such as house paints, were also required to be manufactured free of lead. Unfortunately, this does not mean that our homes and workplaces are safe today. The National Safety Council suggests that lead can still be found in as many as 38 million homes. Apartments or homes built before 1978 may have toxic paint. Even if lead paint was carefully removed and the home repainted, the attic or basement may have been ignored.
Children and Lead Poisoning
Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of lead poisoning is that a large percentage of victims are children. A Brooklyn lead poisoning attorney will work with clients whose children suffer cognitive difficulties, damage to the nervous system, brain damage, and learning and behavioral challenges. In extreme cases, the child may become comatose or die. Adults who suffer lead poisoning may experience damage to the nervous system, brain damage, and in some instances sterility. Even if the lead level comes down due to medical treatments, often the damage that has been already done is permanent for life.
Filing a Claim for Damages
A Brooklyn lead poisoning attorney with our firm will fully investigate your case to determine who is at fault. Occasionally a product manufacturer is liable; more often the negligent party is a landlord or managing agent of a building. Among the damages for which a victim may gain compensation are:
- Cost of medical treatment
- Cost of physical therapy
- Loss of income
- Pain and suffering
- Punitive damages in some cases
- Permanent lifelong injuries
Call Us for Help
If you or a loved one has been injured due to 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. Please contact us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800 WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). 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 Work4YouLaw.com
