Lead & Our Environment
The presence of lead in the environment can contaminate water sources, making them unsafe for consumption and posing risks to aquatic ecosystems. Lead can bioaccumulate in organisms, gradually moving up the food chain and potentially affecting higher-level predators.
Lead contamination in soils can impact the health of plants, inhibiting their growth and reducing agricultural productivity. This can have far-reaching consequences on food security and the overall balance of ecosystems.
To mitigate the environmental impact of lead, efforts are underway to reduce lead emissions, improve waste management practices, remediate contaminated sites, and promote lead-safe practices in industries and households. By raising awareness about the dangers of lead and implementing effective measures to prevent its release into the environment, we can protect both the ecosystem and human health from the adverse effects of lead contamination.
Lead can pose significant risks to human health when it enters the environment. Exposure to lead can occur through various pathways, such as inhaling lead-contaminated dust or fumes, consuming lead-contaminated food or water, or coming into direct contact with lead-containing materials. With exposure coming through a variety of common channels, it’s imperative to watch for signs of poisoning and reach out to a medical professional if you experience symptoms.
Lead Poisoning in Children
Children face an increased risk of harm from exposure to lead-based paint. If you are a parent, you know that young children put all manner of things in their mouths. Children also spend a lot of time on the ground and wash their hands less frequently than adults.
Unfortunately, this puts them at a higher risk of ingesting harmful substances, such as lead and other contaminants. However, children at any age can develop lead poisoning. For example, if they consume food contaminated with lead dust, this can cause them to experience lead poisoning. Further, in some cases, breathing in sufficient amounts of lead dust in the air can cause lead poisoning.
What Should I Do If I Believe My Child Ingested Lead?
Parents who suspect their child has ingested lead should immediately have a doctor or urgent care provider examine their child. As a parent, you should be specific about your concerns when visiting the doctor so that the medical team can perform the necessary tests. In many cases, the doctor will order blood tests to check for traces of lead in your child’s system. A California lead poisoning attorney can also review the case and advise whether you have a claim against your landlord or another party for your child ingesting lead.
Sources of a Child’s Exposure to Lead-Based Paint
Despite the numerous regulations in place to prevent children and others from the harm of lead-based paint, landlords and property owners continue to ignore the risks and skirt the law. Their negligence often puts vulnerable populations, such as children, at risk by not being honest with the children’s caregivers about the presence of lead in the building.
Some common sources of a child’s exposure to lead-based paint in the home include:
- Paint chips that fall from the walls, ceiling, doors, or window frames
- Lead-contaminated dust generated by deteriorating lead-based paint
- Bare soil in the yard contaminated by paint chips falling from exterior walls and windowsills
Early symptoms of lead poisoning can be difficult to detect, and even children who appear healthy may have unsafe levels of lead in their blood. If you believe your child may have been exposed to lead, visit your doctor immediately. You should request a blood test to determine your child’s level of exposure.
Common Symptoms of Lead Poisoning in a Child
Children exposed to lead may exhibit any number of symptoms, including:
Consequences of Ignoring Signs of Lead Poisoning in Children
Since lead is a toxin that can affect different parts of a child’s body, including the brain and nervous system, kidneys, and blood cells, ignoring lead poisoning in children can have severe consequences for their health and development.
Some of the consequences of neglecting lead poisoning in children include but are not limited to the following:
- Developmental delays: Lead can interfere with the brain and nervous system’s normal development, leading to delays in speech and language development, motor skills, and other developmental milestones.
- Cognitive and behavioral problems: Lead exposure can cause cognitive and behavioral issues, including decreased IQ, learning disabilities, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
- Delayed growth: Lead exposure can interfere with the production of hormones that regulate growth, leading to delayed growth and slight build or height.
- Delayed puberty: Lead exposure can interfere with hormone production and affect the hormones that regulate puberty, leading to delayed or disrupted sexual development.
- Poor academic performance: Children with lead poisoning may struggle academically, which can have long-term consequences on their educational and career opportunities.
- Organ damage: Lead can damage the kidneys, liver, and other organs, leading to long-term health problems.
- Behavioral issues: Children with lead poisoning may exhibit behavioral problems such as irritability, aggression, and hyperactivity.
- Anemia: Since lead can interfere with the production of red blood cells, anemia may result.
- Seizures. In severe cases, lead poisoning can cause seizures, coma, and even death.
- Hearing loss. Lead exposure has been linked to hearing loss, which can significantly impact a child’s language and communication development;
- Dental problems: Lead exposure can cause dental problems, such as enamel flaws and tooth decay;
- Neurological problems: In rare cases, lead poisoning can cause severe neurological crises, such as seizures and encephalopathy.
- Cardiovascular disease: An increased risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood has been linked to lead exposure.
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 raise 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. They 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 the amount of household dust: This is especially vital during routine maintenance tasks, remodeling, and renovations.
- Take your 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 them up, then wipe them 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 the supportive services they may now require can be beneficial.
Lead Poisoning in the Home
Your house, apartment, or living space should be a safe place for you and your family without risks such as lead poisoning. Unfortunately, if you live in a low-income neighborhood or a house built before 1978, you or your children may be exposed to lead without realizing it. Lead can contaminate the air you breathe, the food you eat, or the water you drink, causing you or your loved ones to be poisoned.
If lead poisoning occurs in your home, you may have several different legal claims depending on the specific facts and circumstances of your case.
The calculation of damages usually depends on the extent of the harm suffered and factors such as medical costs, lost wages, and the costs of rehabilitation. In children, this cost may be particularly high. Lead poisoning can lead to mental disabilities that could significantly limit the child’s success in school and the workplace.
In some cases, if a court determines that the defendant acted willfully to expose you or your loved one to toxic lead, significant punitive damages may also be awarded.
How Do I Get Compensated for Lead Poisoning?
Our lead poisoning lawyers in Los Angeles have more than 100 years of combined experience litigating complex legal issues. Riley Ersoff has the resources and experience necessary to deliver legal representation on which you can rely.
Landlords who knowingly fail to provide required lead disclosures and lead warnings to their tenants may be required to pay substantial penalties for the resulting harm. Under EPA regulations, your landlord may be required to pay significant damages to compensate you for injuries from lead poisoning caused by the failure to provide the required lead warnings and disclosures.
How Do I File a Claim for Lead Poisoning in California?
Because of the wide range of impacts lead can have on a child’s developing body and mind, the treatments for the symptoms of lead poisoning can be expansive. Further, the best way to limit the impacts of lead and lead poisoning is to stop the exposure by removing the lead from your home. However, this can be difficult for parents to do if they rent and their landlord is unwilling to help. A Los Angeles lead poisoning attorney fights for justice for families and children harmed by lead exposure, holding responsible parties accountable and fighting for the compensation they need to protect their health.
Lead poisoning cases can be extremely complex and difficult to win on your own. It is important to choose a well-qualified lead poisoning attorney in L.A. who is familiar with the law and the level of preparation necessary to win your case.
But before considering taking any legal action, you should always seek medical attention first. Your doctor will diagnose and treat any pressing health concerns and determine the extent of the harm you have suffered. Documentation from a doctor’s visit is also important evidence for your case.
How a Los Angeles Lead Poisoning Lawyer Can Help Your Case
Filing a legal claim can be long and often difficult. We can provide the support and guidance you and your family need, holding your hand and fighting for you during the process.
Our experienced lead poisoning attorneys in California can help you through this process and provide the necessary resources along the way. Our LA lead paint lawyers will discuss with you the legal merits of your claim and determine if pursuing a case is worthwhile.
Although California laws provide strong protection for victims of lead poisoning, successfully proving a defendant’s liability can be difficult. In order to build a strong claim, your attorney will need to perform a thorough investigation of the facts of your case.
This process will involve:
- A review of relevant medical information
- Inspection of the exposure site
- Interviews with clients
- Other fact-gathering
To help facilitate this process, be prepared to share the following with your lawyer:
- Provide your lawyer with proof of a medical diagnosis of lead poisoning
- Your or your child’s medical history
- A copy of your lease if you or your loved one were harmed in the home
- Photos of deteriorated paint around your home
Will I Have to Pay to Review My Case?
No! In fact, with Riley Ersoff, you won’t have to pay our fee until after your case is resolved and we have earned you a lead poisoning settlement or judgment. You don’t need to worry about paying anything out of pocket, and we’ll make sure you’re fairly compensated.
