The attorneys at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford dedicate much of their time to representing children who have been injured by lead poisoning. We have sued dozens of negligent landlords. Some of our recent successful outcomes for children are listed below:
- A Buffalo landlord’s insurance company agreed to pay $300,000 to the guardian of a 12-year-old boy who suffered lead poisoning in a May Street house when he was a toddler. Most of the settlement funds have been placed into a supplemental needs account that will provide him with future lump sum payments, and additional monies were made available for this young man’s current educational, extra-curricular and counseling needs as he struggles with academic and functional disabilities due to his lead poisoning.
- The insurance companies for two Monroe County landlords agreed to pay a total of $440,000 to the guardian of a 15-year-old girl and her 12-year-old brother, both of whom were lead-poisoned as toddlers in rented apartments. The levels of the 15-year-old reached as high as 74 ug/dl (micrograms per deciliter of blood) when she was two years old, requiring emergency hospitalization. Most of these settlement funds will be used to provide the children with future lump sum payments for vocational training and/or education. Some monies were made immediately available for this young girl’s current special academic and extra-curricular needs.
- A landlord’s insurance carrier agreed to pay $625,000 in the case of an 11-year-old girl who suffered lead poisoning at a secondary address (aunt’s apartment) in the mid- to late-1990s. The funds have been placed into a structured settlement account that will provide the young lead-poisoned plaintiff with future lump sum payments beginning at age 18. The settlement was reached approximately one year after initiating the lawsuit against the defendant landlord. When our client was two years old, she had extremely high lead levels, resulting in a number of emergency hospitalizations.
- Mediation of a lead paint poisoning case held shortly before a scheduled trial date has resulted in a settlement amount of $237,500 for a 16-year-old boy. The insurance company for the landlord agreed to pay the settlement for injuries after the young boy was lead poisoned at the family’s rental property. The funds have been placed into a structured settlement account that will not begin paying the young man until he reaches age 18, thereby allowing him to continue to receive his Social Security Disability payments.
- The insurance company for a City of Rochester landlord has agreed to pay the maximum insurance policy amount of $300,000 to a 14-year-old girl and her 17-year-old relative, both of whom were lead poisoned as infants in a rented apartment where they lived. The case was settled after about 1½ years of litigation and one month prior to the scheduled trial. The funds will be placed into a structured settlement account to provide the children with future lump-sum payments for vocational training or education.