Can You Sue for Lead Poisoning
Families whose children suffer lead poisoning may be able to sue a product manufacturer or a landlord. You and your product liability lawyers must show that the defendant knew about the presence and danger of lead exposure for children. You must also show that they failed to fix the issue or provide a warning.
Key takeaways about suing for lead poisoning
- If your child suffered lead poisoning from paint, lead pipes, or other sources, you may have the right to file a product liability lawsuit.
- Children can suffer life-altering health effects from lead poisoning, including brain damage, stunted growth and anemia.
- Defendants you may sue for lead poisoning may include landlords and manufacturers of products containing lead.
What is lead poisoning?
Lead poisoning is a buildup of lead in the body during a prolonged exposure. Lead is a toxic metal that appears naturally in the environment. Most children who suffer lead poisoning consume it without knowing it is there. This accidental consumption happens because in the past, common household items or products contained lead. Unfortunately, some of these lead-containing products are still in the home several decades later.
A child who is suffering from lead poisoning might show several health effects and symptoms, including:
- Anemia
- Behavioral disorders
- Brain damage
- Coma
- Hearing loss
- Hyperactivity or attention deficit disorder
- Kidney damage
- Learning disabilities
- Seizures
- Speech delay
- Stunted growth
Children younger than 6 years often suffer the most significant issues with physical and mental development after a lead exposure. Some lead poisonings may be fatal.
What are the symptoms of childhood lead poisoning?
Symptoms of childhood lead poisoning are often difficult to pin down because they resemble symptoms of other childhood illnesses. Vomiting and loss of appetite are early signs of lead poisoning in children. But these signs also could look like stomach flu or food poisoning.
A comprehensive list of symptoms that could indicate lead poisoning in children include:
- Abdominal pain: Stomach aches and discomfort
- Constipation: An inability to have normal bowel movements
- Cramps: Cramps in muscles or the digestive system
- Eating non-food items: Chewing on wood or painted surfaces
- Fatigue: A lack of energy or listlessness
- Hyperactivity: An inability to pay attention or a reduced attention span
- Irritability or changes in behavior: Unusual or sudden mood changes
- Loss of appetite: No desire to eat or a greatly reduced appetite
- Seizures: A loss of consciousness or an inability to control body movements
- Sleeplessness: Insomnia or an inability to remain asleep
- Vomiting: If the child doesn’t have an appetite and isn’t eating, vomiting could be a quite serious symptom
- Weight loss: Unexplained weight loss over a few weeks or months
Seek medical care as soon as possible if your child has any of these symptoms. Ask for a blood test if you suspect lead exposure or ingestion. This test may help identify the poisoning and point to additional treatment that could help your child.
What are the health effects of childhood lead poisoning?
Health effects children may experience after suffering lead poisoning can be quite severe or even fatal. With high levels of lead exposure, children may suffer significant damage to the nervous system and the kidneys. They may also have reduced brain development.
Some of the specific health effects found in children who have lead poisoning include:
- Anemia: A disorder where the blood doesn’t have enough hemoglobin
- Brain damage: The child’s brain fails to develop fully
- Delays in physical or mental development: The child may not hit growth or learning milestones like peers
- Hearing damage: A loss of hearing in the child
- Impaired speech: An inability to speak or understand language at the same rate as peers
- Kidney damage: A reduced ability of the kidneys to filter blood and remove waste
- Liver damage: A reduced ability of the liver to filter blood and break down poisonous substances
- Nervous system damage: Serious damage to this key bodily system that can lead to seizures or a coma
The health effects children may suffer because of lead poisoning can be permanent and life-altering. Doctors may use a treatment called chelation in an effort to stop the worsening of the health effects. Chelation also aims to reduce the concentration of lead in the blood. However, chelation doesn’t work to reverse the health effects of lead poisoning. Lead poisoning health effects in children are almost always permanent.
Chelation medications often have severe side effects, too. Some children may not be able to tolerate the treatment.
The health effects of lead poisoning are often not reversible. Children who were exposed to lead may have lifelong health issues and a reduction in quality of life. If your child’s lead poisoning occurred because of someone’s negligence, your family may have the right to file a legal claim.
How do children get lead poisoning?
There are some common ways for children to develop lead poisoning. Two of the most common methods are eating old lead paint or drinking water that passes through old lead pipes. Less common means of exposure include coming into contact with lead that is naturally in the soil or lead-containing products made in foreign countries.
Lead exposure in paint
Most lead poisonings happen when children are exposed to the dust, chips or other fragments of deteriorating lead-based paint.
The federal government banned the use of lead-based paint in consumer environments in 1978. Some homes and buildings constructed before the ban may still have lead paint. It may even be under layers of new paint because previous owners painted over the lead paint instead of removing it first.
These instances of lead paint in older buildings are mostly on windowsills or door frames. Some older furniture and wood toys may also contain lead paint. Children who are teething may chew on these painted wood surfaces. If the paint contains lead, the children could suffer lead poisoning.
Lead exposure through water pipes
Another source of lead poisoning may be from old lead water pipes. A home might still have lead pipes in its plumbing system. The pipe bringing the water from the main along the street to your home might be lead. If you use tap water going through lead pipes to make baby formula, this could expose your baby to lead.
Certain water filters installed on your home’s water tap can remove lead.
Lead exposure through other sources
Other less common sources of lead poisoning include:
- Bullets
- Candy from foreign countries
- Eye makeup
- Fishing sinkers
- Herbal remedies from non-U.S. countries
- Lead dust from old flaking paint
- Older painted metal and wood toys
- Older painted playground equipment
- Pottery with glazes
- Rubber crumbs from old artificial turf installations
- Soil in areas where lead naturally appears in the ground
- Solder for stained glass
- Toys, especially metal toy jewelry
Manufacturers issued recalls for older toys that contain lead. Check the recall status of any older toys before letting children play with them.
Contact a lead poisoning attorney today
You may be eligible to file a lawsuit if you or your child suffered the effects of lead poisoning. Contact Motley Rice today for more information about a lead poisoning lawsuit.
Call Attorney Fidelma Fitzpatrick at 401.457.7728 or complete this form to explore your options.
Who can sue for lead poisoning?
Parents or guardians of a child who experienced severe health effects due to lead exposure can sue for lead poisoning. If the child has a known exposure to lead and ends up with symptoms and health effects related to lead poisoning, the parents could sue on behalf of the child.
When suing for lead poisoning, some of the damages that the parents may be able to seek include:
- emotional distress for the child
- In-home medical equipment costs
- Medical expenses, including an estimation of future medical costs
- Pain and suffering
- Property damage
- Reduced future income potential for the child
- Reduced income potential for the child’s caregiver
Who is liable for lead poisoning?
Multiple entities may be liable for your child’s lead poisoning health effects and hardships. You might be able to have more than one defendant for this type of personal injury lawsuit. Defendants will be determined by the facts in your case and the location of the child’s lead exposure.
Some of the specific entities that could be liable for lead poisoning in a child include:
- Distributor of any product containing lead
- Factory owner in your neighborhood who used lead
- Landlord of a rental home or building who did not disclose the possibility of lead in the paint or water pipes
- Manufacturer of paint or products containing lead
- Retailer who sold you a product containing lead
Because the U.S. government banned lead-based paint for consumers in 1978, the dangers of exposure to lead have been known for several decades. Retailers and manufacturers should not sell lead-based products without acknowledging the danger. If they do, they could be found negligent.
A landlord should either remove sources of lead or warn renters of the possibility of lead in the building. Otherwise, they could be found negligent in a lead poisoning situation. A lead poisoning attorney can help you determine how to sue a landlord for lead poisoning.
Frequently asked questions about suing for lead poisoning
Can I sue my landlord for lead poisoning?
Yes, as a tenant, you may be able to sue your landlord for lead paint exposure affecting your child. You could potentially seek damages and reimbursement for medical costs. If the landlord knew lead paint was present in the home or building you were renting and didn’t disclose or fix it, this failure is a sign of negligence.
How long does a lead poisoning lawsuit take to settle?
A lead poisoning lawsuit often takes more than a year to settle. The actual amount of time varies based on the facts in your case. Some clear-cut cases could settle within a month. If the facts are unclear and your child’s health problems are severe, a settlement may need a few years.
Our experience in lead poisoning cases
Motley Rice has significant experience helping victims in lead poisoning cases. We represent victims of lead poisoning who suffered health problems and file lawsuits for personal injury claims. We can answer your questions when you are wondering if you can sue for lead poisoning.
We work with organizations that focus on reducing and preventing the possibility of lead poisoning for children in homes and other buildings. We have long-standing relationships with scientists and doctors who research the effects of lead paint. Our collaborations are all in an effort to help young children who suffer from lead poisoning.
Our lead poisoning injury attorneys have experience litigating cases on behalf of governmental entities against the lead pigment industry. These cases occurred in California and Rhode Island.
We have advocated on behalf of victims of childhood lead poisoning in the State of Wisconsin. Most notably, we helped achieve the landmark Thomas v. Mallett Wisconsin Supreme Court decision, which allowed childhood lead poisoning victims to sue manufacturers of white lead carbonate. We continue to represent Wisconsin residents against paint manufacturers in state and federal court.
Read more about our experience with lead poisoning litigation.
- Sources
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- Boston Children’s Hospital. Lead Poisoning.
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Teething Pain: Risky Remedies to Avoid.
- Cleveland Clinic. Lead Poisoning.
- HealthLinkBC. Teething.
- Healthy Children.org. Lead in Tap Water & Household Plumbing.
- FindLaw. Lead Poisoning.
- Mayo Clinic. Lead Poisoning.
- Nationwide Children’s. Lead Poisoning: Chelation Therapy.
- Nemours KidsHealth. Vomiting.
- Nolo. Can I Sue My Landlord for Lead-Based Paint Hazards?
- Oregon Health Authority. Lead Poisoning and Exposure to Lead.
- Pathways.org. Does Your Child Chew on Everything?.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Basic Information About Lead in Drinking Water.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Protect Your Family From Sources of Lead.