New York Lead Poisoning Lawyer Obtains $4.8 Million Damages Award for Lead Poisoned Child

July 11, 2011 – Lead poisoning lawyer from Levy Konigsberg LLP obtained a $4.8 Million damages award in a lead paint poisoning case on behalf of a twelve year old girl who was brain damaged as a result of exposure to lead-based paint from peeling and chipping paint in her Brooklyn apartment.

NEW YORK, New York, July 11, 2011 – New York lead poisoning lawyer from the New York City-based personal injury law firm of Levy Konigsberg LLP obtained a damages award totaling $4.8 Million on behalf of a 12 year old girl, who was lead poisoned.

Over a 16-month period, when the child was 2 and 3 years old, she was exposed to peeling and chipping lead-based paint and lead paint dust hazards in the apartment where she lived with her family.

The New York City Department of Health inspected the apartment in 2002 in response to a notification from the child’s pediatrician that she had a blood lead level of 17 micrograms per deciliter (mg/dcl) of blood. This value was well above the threshold definition of lead poisoning in the NYC Health Code of 10 mg/dcl. The Health Department found numerous locations of deteriorated, peeling and chipping lead based paint and issued a mandatory Order to Abate the hazardous conditions to the owners and managers of the building. The owners were given 5 days to comply with the Order and remove the lead based paint hazards.

Nonetheless, the landlord/owners and managers of the building, failed to respond to the violations issued and remove and repair the lead based paint violations for almost 5 months. During this time the child continued to be exposed to the hazardous lead based paint conditions and continued to be lead poisoned.

As a result of the lead poisoning, which caused her brain damage, the child has performed poorly academically and has exhibited behavioral problems causing sustained, significant impairments in her ability to pay attention, to focus and learn both in and out of school.

Her lead poisoning has caused major learning disabilities and negatively impacted her ability to retrieve previously learned material. She also has significant deficits in her academic knowledge.

If not for these learning disabilities, the child would have scored 1 to 4 grades higher on standardized tests of academic knowledge administered to her by plaintiff’s expert clinical psychologist.

The child’s lead poisoning has caused her to exhibit severe behavioral problems adversely affecting her school performance. As a result, she was required to go to summer school and Saturday school.

At the time of the verdict, the child was in 6th grade, performing below grade level. Her teachers consistently noted her potential, but, at the same time, that she was often distracted and had difficulty paying attention, which led to her falling behind her classmates. The child scored 2 years and 4 months below grade level in a test of academic knowledge encompassing science, social studies and humanities.

As result of her lead poisoning, plaintiff’s medical experts concluded that the child will not be able to advance beyond the 12th grade. However, in the absence of her learning disabilities, caused by her lead poisoning, she would have been able to complete a 4 year college education and obtained commensurate employment.

In the light of this evidence, the court awarded the infant plaintiff the sums of: $750,000 for past pain and suffering; an additional $750,000 for her lifetime of future pain and suffering, and finally, awarded the sum of $3,300,000 for her lifetime loss of future earning capacity. The total award by the court to was $ 4.8 million.

All of these delays, deficits and learning disabilities sustained by the child are, unfortunately, common occurrences when young children who are exposed to and poisoned by hazardous lead based paint.

For more information about this or other lead poisoning lawsuits, please contact Levy Konigsberg LLP at 800-315-3806 or 1-800-988-8005, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

IMPORTANT: If you believe that you or your child has been lead-poisoned, you should speak with an experienced lead poisoning attorney regarding your legal rights. Contact the lead poisoning lawyers at Levy Konigsberg LLP for a free consultation by calling our 24/7 toll-free hotline at 1-800-988-8005 or by submitting an email inquiry (see form above).

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