$2 Million Recovery Against Manhattan Landlord After Botched Lead Abatement
A young child in a pre-war Manhattan apartment was found to have a blood lead level the CDC considers a medical emergency after years of botched abatement work in his apartment. The Orlow Firm pursued the landlord. The landlord came to the case with a paper trail: abatement records, a hired painting contractor, and multiple "lead-free" reports from a testing company. The Orlow Firm went through the records line by line and showed each report was contradicted by the next round of city inspections, by the family's testimony, or by the law's own requirements, and recovered $2 million for the child.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What Happened
Our client was born in August 2008 and lived with his mother in a pre-war Manhattan apartment building. The day after he was born, the landlord sent workers into the apartment to repair sheetrock damaged by a water leak. That was the first of many disturbances of the walls and ceilings of an apartment that contained lead paint. By his second birthday, the boy's blood lead level had climbed to 8. His mother had been calling the city about water leaks and crumbling paint. His grandmother contacted the landlord directly, asking that the apartment be tested because the toddler sometimes put his mouth on the windowsills. Nothing happened.
How We Won
The landlord's defense rested on documents that suggested the right things had been done. Adam Moses Orlow, our Managing Partner, made the documents tell the actual story.
The abatement company entered the apartment three separate times. After each, city inspectors found lead again. The testing company declared the apartment lead-free four times. Each time, government testing found lead still present. In one instance, the city's own dust-wipe test came back positive for lead, and the testing company went in days later and declared the apartment clean without further cleanup. Two weeks after that, the boy's blood lead level rose back to 40.
The work itself was non-compliant in ways the records concealed. The landlord ran abatement and uncertified painting at the same time, sending an outside worker into the apartment to paint and plaster while the abatement company was still working. New York City lead-safety law required certified workers, plastic sheeting, sealed work areas, and posted warnings. None of it happened. The mother and child were never offered temporary housing during the work, even though the law required it. The landlord also failed to perform the annual inspections required for an apartment with a young child living in it.
The Injuries
By July 2011, the boy's blood lead level had reached 55, a level the CDC considers a medical emergency. An X-ray revealed paint chips in his abdomen. He was admitted for chelation therapy. He had a pre-existing diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, and our experts addressed only the harm above and beyond his pre-existing condition. The firm's pediatric neurology expert determined the lead exposure cost the child up to 30 IQ points, and a neuropsychology expert concluded the resulting brain damage worsened his ability to acquire the adaptive skills he would have needed to live more independently as an adult.
The Result
The Orlow Firm recovered $2 million for the child's lifetime care needs.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
If your child has been exposed to lead paint in a New York apartment, contact The Orlow Firm at (646) 647-3398 for a free consultation.
