I am not doctor and this blog is not meant to provide medical or formal legal advice because before I can render a formal legal opinion I have to thoroughly examine the facts and have a long discussion and or conduct legal research. But the reality is that many buildings in New York have apartments that contain lead paint. Common sense dictates that even freshly painted surfaces peel over time. And underlying a fresh coat of Latex paint may have a whole wall covered with the toxics of lead paint used years ago in the process of paint manufacturing.
Ask yourself…how many times have you banged the walls cleaning with a vacuum cleaner or simply doing some simple renovations, by drilling in the walls or banging nails, and then dust… dust… dust… is all over the place on the window sills on the walls and particularly on the floors.
Infants crawl and often on their stomachs. And children are often putting their hands into their mouths and taking up all sorts of dust, dirt, and germs. This lead laden dust is toxic to a child. Even very small amounts of lead based dust can have serious deleterious effects on the brain of an infant that is exquisitely vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead paint.
If you are in an old apartment with deleterious paint conditions, and have an infant, ask the doctor if it is advisable to have our child screened for lead paint or just simply as a precaution in general. If your child tests high then the New York City Department of Health has inspectors who will come in and inspect and test the apartment for lead paint. They can also violate your landlord and order that the lead paint condition in the apartment be abated, moreover, then your landlord will have to show evidence that the condition in the apartment has been cured.
The important point is to discover if you child has been effected by lead paint and not simply to see if you have a law suit against your landlord for the personal injury that may have been caused to your son or daughter through their eating lead paint chips of ingesting dust, while it is important to understand and seek out the rights of the child who has been injured by lead paint, and as their parent understand the your legal rights to provide for the child’s needs over time for such an injury. The important thing is obvious I am sure to all loving parents who may read this and are concerned about their children’s health. In one word: prevention.
These are words of caution and worth repeating. Why? Because the levels of lead that can affect a child are so small they are measured in micrograms as a portion of a unit of blood. And moreover the toxic effects of lead paint can cause injury even before it is detected in the blood. There is no safe level of lead in a child’s blood. Lead is a toxic poison that effects brain development.
I recently had a conversation with another lawyer about the problems associated with lead paint in homes. I awaked him to the potential dangers to children. His parting comments were well….it is now time to do some painting…and he meant it. Good for him. Better yet for his children…
Today when people rent or purchase an apartment there is a lead paint disclosure form. And landlords have to be put on notice when a young child occupies the apartment. It shows notice that a young vulnerable child was in the apartment, when conditions in the apartment are left in disrepair and such that this can cause a hazardous environment from lead paint, because the landlord had notice and an opportunity to cure the problem. That can be powerful evidence at the time of trial.
Also a parent cannot be held to blame for any allegations that it was their fault. A personal injury action is to benefit the child. A child has no blame, no culpability. Any such argument by Defense counsel to a jury would rightfully be subject to a curative instruction by the Judge.
Children do all sorts of things that may injure them when they explore an apartment. They may stick their hand in a radiator that lacked a proper cover and severely burn their arm. It is not the fault of the child. The fact of the matter is that the steam radiator lacked a cover. No one blames the child.
Let me end this portion of my blog by saying all parents should take the right action before injury occurs, not merely seek who may be civilly liable after the injuries have occurred, because those injuries are life-long and lasting.
This blog is not intended to be formal legal advice seek the advice of a licensed New York attorney to answer your legal questions.
Manuel Moses, Esq.
236 West 26th Street Suite 303
New York, New York 10001
(212) 736-2624 x11
The Dangers of Lead Paint in an Apartment That Can Effect Children was originally published on Manuel Moses Law Office – New York, NY | Personal Injury Attorney | Free Consultation (212) 736-2624 Ext. 11