NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, DECEMBER 7, 2015 – BETWEEN OCTOBER 14, 2015 AND NOVEMBER 10, 2015, LEAD POISONING LAWYERS COREY STERN AND DANIEL WEISS FROM THE NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY-BASED PERSONAL INJURY LAW FIRM OF LEVY KONIGSBERG, LLP OBTAINED TWO SEPARATE AWARDS FOR LEAD-POISONED CHILDREN IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ESSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY, TOTALING $3,309,643.00.
The first award was for a twelve-year-old boy who was lead poisoned between the ages of four and five at an apartment in Irvington, New Jersey. The child was awarded $1,509,643.00. The second award was for a ten-year-old girl who was lead poisoned at two separate apartments between the ages of one and two at apartments in Newark, New Jersey. The child was awarded $1,800,000.00.
Both lead paint lawsuit awards were based on each apartment owners’ negligence in the ownership, operation, maintenance, repair, and control of each of the locations where the child lived.
Lead-based paint becomes dangerous to young children when it chips, flakes, or is contained on friction surfaces, like window sills, where dust can be created. Children, particularly very young children, are most susceptible to ingesting lead paint because of how their mobility evolves – from rolling around on the ground to learning to crawl, to learning to prop oneself up, to being able to stand, to walking. Children are, naturally, prone to placing things in their mouths. So the dust that might accumulate on a friction surface can easily find its way to a child’s hand and mouth sooner than it would an adult. To compound matters, lead-based paint chips have a sweet taste, so if a child puts one in his mouth, he will likely enjoy the taste and be prone to do it repeatedly.
There is no vaccine for lead poisoning. There is also no cure. Once a child ingests a certain amount of lead he will be lead poisoned. And even if the lead is flushed from his body, the poisoning that occurs is irreversible.
The young plaintiffs here ingested lead through paint chips that were flaking from peeling and chipping paint in each of the apartments, as well as from dust that occurred due to opening and closing windows and doors that had been previously painted with lead-based paint. Paint chips taste sweet, so a young child that tastes one will likely like the way it tastes and seeks more out.
The lead poisoning attorneys at Levy Konigsberg LLP litigate lead-caused brain damage cases against negligent landlords and their agents throughout New Jersey and New York. This lead paint lawsuit award marks the largest in Essex County, New Jersey for a lead-poisoned child in a decade.
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).
