It’s the number-one position nobody wants: despite efforts to reduce the problem, Buffalo, New York City, and other major New York metropolitan areas continue to lead the nation in the number and severity of lead poisoning cases each year.
A recent analysis by Investigative Post found that nearly five hundred Buffalo children require treatment for lead poisoning each year, according to a recent news report by WGRZ. The areas included in the study had the highest rate of new cases of lead poisoning nationwide in the past three years, indicating that sources of lead are still present and still causing serious harm to New York children.
As experienced New York attorneys who handle lead injury cases know, finding the source of lead in a child’s world can be difficult. Lead was officially banned for use in paint in 1978, but many older houses still have layers of lead paint on some or all of their walls, floor, or trim. Although the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has strict regulations regarding lead in children’s toys, each year toys are found to violate these standards.
Lead poisoning can harm a person at any age. But its effects are particularly devastating for children, whose bodies and brains are growing rapidly. Learning disabilities, intellectual deficits, organ damage, delayed growth, and other problems can have serious or deadly impacts on a child’s life. And, in many cases, the effects of lead poisoning are irreversible.
Having children tested for lead can help parents and caregivers identify a problem, seek treatment early, and find ways to combat it – including by seeking compensation from any company or person whose negligence caused the poisoning to occur.