Practice Areas
California Lead Poisoning Lawyer
California Lead Poisoning Lawyer Philip Shakhnis has successfully litigated lead poisoning cases that have resulted in substantial settlements. Mr. Shakhnis puts together a team of qualified experts to clearly, fully and directly explain the significant impacts of lead poisoning.
Children are Especially at Risk
Lead Poisoning can cause significant injury, especially to young children and pregnant women. Children typically get exposed to lead as toddlers while crawling on floors and standing near old windowsills. The chipping, peeling and/or cracked paint is then ingested by the child through normal hand-to-mouth activity. A child can also be exposed to lead while placing his/her mouth on toys painted with lead-based paint. Other sources of childhood lead poisoning are lead-based candy, lead-based pottery, spoons, forks, plates and other utensils.
Impacts on Brain Development
Lead poisoning can cause significant neurological injuries to the developing brain of a child or fetus. Children with blood lead levels (BLL) below 10 micrograms per deciliter have been found to lose IQ points. Increasing BLL’s cause brain-related injuries such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and hearing impairment. At very high levels, lead poisoning can cause encephalopathy, convulsions, stupor, coma and/or death.
Health Risks to Adults
Adults are typically exposed to lead either through working in industries where lead occurs in the work place or while living through repairs and/or renovations at their home or apartment. Adults (and children) can be exposed to substantial amounts of lead through breathing in lead-contaminated dust that can occur in the work place and/or the renovated home. Home repairs of older dwellings (built before 1978) must be undertaken in a way that contains the lead-based paint that is present.
Adults can also suffer from lead poisoning. Brain-related injuries in adults include dizziness, fatigue, irritability, problems with concentrating, weakness, malaise, decreased libido and impotence. At higher levels lead poisoning in adults can result in significant impacts on the kidneys, heart, reproductive and endocrine system.
Verdicts & Settlements
$630,000 – Lead Poisoning/Uninhabitable Apartment
Family resided in a run-down apartment with mice, cockroaches, no heat and peeling lead-based paint. One of the children was lead-poisoned from eating the lead-based paint and suffered neurological injuries that impact his ability to learn and control his emotions. Family members also suffered from asthma, colds, flus, and emotional distress due to the unlivable conditions.
$125,000 – Lead Poisoning/Uninhabitable Apartment
Mother and two children lived in an uninhabitable apartment with peeling and chipping lead-based paint, cockroaches, water leaks, broken windows and a backyard filled with debris. One of the children was lead poisoned. This child was already diagnosed as autistic and the lead poisoning further exacerbated her learning disabilities.
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