LAWYERS AT LEVY, PHILLIPS & KONIGSBERG OBTAIN 8.5 MILLION DOLLAR VERDICT IN NYC LEAD POISONING CASE

On June 20, 2008, attorneys from the law firm of Levy, Phillips & Konigsberg obtained a verdict in Supreme Court, Bronx County totaling $8,500,000 in a case involving a child who was 15 years old at the time of trial and 7 years old when he was first lead poisoned. 

For a period of approximately two years, while residing and spending substantial amounts of time in two separate Bronx County apartment buildings, the child was exposed to peeling lead based paint and lead based paint dust. The child lived in one apartment with his mother and baby sister. The other apartment, which was in the building across the street, was his aunt’s apartment. Both apartments were found to have lead paint hazards by the New York City Department of Health. The jury concluded that the corporate owners were negligent in failing to maintain the apartments in accordance with the Laws of the State and City of New York.  The owners of the buildings had been aware of a lead paint hazard in the buildings and they knew that the child and his younger sister had been living and spending substantial amounts of time in both apartments. The owners and their employees had been in the apartments on numerous occasions during the two year period the child was exposed to the poisonous lead paint dust and had observed the child and his baby sister in both apartments. During this same time period the child’s mother and his aunt had complained about the hazardous conditions and the owners had observed the peeling paint in the apartments.

The jury found that the child’s lead poisoning caused his cognitive, attention, learning, memory and behavioral deficits. As a result of the lead poisoning which caused his brain damage, the child failed the third grade, was evaluated and classified as learning disabled by his school, and has received special education services since the third grade. Despite receiving those services, the child has had failing grades in all of his major academic subjects through the 8th grade.  Prior to the poisoning the child’s grades in kindergarten and first grade were more than satisfactory.

For a child, even a small amount of lead-based paint is potentially hazardous if it begins to peel, chip, or otherwise generate dust. Because no amount of lead is safe in the body, a brief exposure to lead can yield significant adverse effects. Aside from learning difficulties, elevated levels of lead in the bloodstream are also associated with behavioral problems such as aggressiveness, destructiveness, and hyperactivity. Other symptoms include central nervous system damage, lack of appetite, sleeplessness, delayed reaction times, anemia, and impaired metabolism of Vitamin D. The Center for Disease Control and the State and City of New York consider a child lead poisoned if they have 10 mg/dl of lead in the bloodstream.

For further information about lead poisoning liability, please visit lpklaw.com or contact Alan J. Konigsberg, the leading lead poisoning attorney in New York, at (212) 605-6200 or akonigsberg@lpklaw.com.