On behalf of Riley | Ersoff LLP posted on Saturday, October 14, 2017.
Being a parent is hard work, and sometimes it can seem as if the deck is stacked against you and your kids. If your child is exposed to lead in the home environment, he or she will definitely experience life-long difficulties.
Living in a toxic home
Lead is highly toxic metal is found in many rental houses and apartments in southern California. Keep in mind that up until 1978, it was legal to paint homes and apartments with lead-based paint.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States has roughly 24 million housing units contaminated by deteriorated lead paint. The paint becomes mixed with ordinary house dust and clings to surfaces and floors throughout the dwelling. It’s estimated that there are over 4 million infants and toddlers are living in these contaminated homes.
Lead poisoning in kids is a barrier to success
When young children are exposed to lead — and there are no known safe exposures — they are susceptible to multiple conditions and developmental abnormalities that are irreversible. The damage can be to the nervous and circulatory systems, brain and kidneys.
Children with lead exposures often experience seizures, behavioral problems and learning disabilities. Some die as a result of the damage they suffer. While some kids display no discernible symptoms, others experience some or all of the following:
- Nausea
- Upset stomach
- Irritability
- Headaches
- Tiredness
Lead can be found outside in the soil surrounding the house or apartment. Kids and adults track it inside on their shoes and contaminate the floors where babies learn to crawl. Then, they put dusty fingers into mouths or nibble on a paint chip, and their fate is sealed.
How to protect your child from lead?
In a perfect world, not living in a home with elevated lead levels is the best way to protect them. But we live in reality, and it’s a sad fact that some parents are forced to rear their children in less-than-optimal environments.
If you know or suspect that there is lead contamination in your rental house or apartment, your landlord has the obligation to provide a safe living space for all tenants. He or she should be notified so that the proper decontamination steps can be taken. Tenants can also notify the county or state health departments so that they can test for lead levels.
Below are some tips for parents to take to protect their child from lead exposure as much as possible:
- Don’t let kids play in the dirt. Fill a covered sandbox with sand and let them dig to their heart’s consent.
- Keep surfaces free of dust. Treat all accumulations of dust as potential lead exposures.
- Reduce amount of household dust. This is especially vital during routine maintenance tasks, remodeling and renovations.
- Take shoes off outside. Slip on a pair of slippers only worn inside.
- Damp mop floors weekly. This is an important part of controlling household dust.
- Vacuum regularly using a HEPA filter. It’s important to use it on upholstery, too.
- Pick up paint chips. Use a paper towel to pick up, then wipe with a damp one.
If you suspect that lead exposures have occurred with your children, seek medical testing for them. While there is no way to ameliorate the damage, getting your children supportive services they may now require can be beneficial to them as they grow up.
Protect your child from lead exposure through legal action
One way to protect your child from being exposed to lead is to pursue legal action if you believe you are at risk of lead exposure due to another’s negligence. Contact the lead-poisoning lawyers at Riley | Ersoff LLP to pursue legal action against the person(s) or companies who are responsible for your children’s exposures to this environmental toxin.
Grant Riley
Grant Riley is a sophisticated, proactive, and aggressive attorney with 35 years of in-the-trenches experience litigating complex, big-money disputes. Grant is every landlord’s worst nightmare. He has prosecuted hundreds of slum housing, lead poisoning, carbon monoxide poisoning cases and other complex personal injury cases against greedy slumlords and their insurers. Grant, his partner Victoria Ersoff, and his team of lawyers at Riley | Ersoff LLP are responsible for collecting more than $100,000,000 on behalf of hundreds of low income, immigrant, inner-city tenants and others who had no other options and nowhere else to go. If you’ve been harmed, injured, abused or ignored by a landlord, a greedy corporation, or their insurance company, call us. We’ve got the smarts, the experience, and the drive to help you get exactly what you deserve – justice.
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