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How a child gets lead from paint

Lead poisoning is most common, and most damaging, in very young children. Exposure to lead-based paint is the primary source: young children touch window sills, door frames, and floors, then put their hands in their mouths, so peeling, chipping, or chalking paint — and the dust from those surfaces — is the usual path. That dust can also be breathed in, and courts have long treated lead-laden dust as a primary pathway of childhood lead poisoning.

Paint is not the only source of lead. We focus on housing and paint cases; ask the doctor about other possible sources. No amount of lead is safe in a child’s body.

Signs parents are told to watch for

Symptoms can look like an ordinary childhood illness — loss of appetite, irritability, stomach pain, vomiting, fatigue or sluggishness, and weight loss — yet many children have none of these signs at all. That is why regular blood tests matter. New York law requires lead screening at ages one and two, Medicaid also requires screening, and how often to test a particular child is a question for the pediatrician.

A venous blood test is a snapshot of that day. Lead leaves the bloodstream over time, so a later lower number does not prove the level was never higher.

What the harm can be

Lead exposure can cause irreversible brain damage. Parents are also told to watch for learning and attention problems, speech delay, slowed growth, hearing loss, and behavioral problems, and later medical monitoring may be needed. Those lines are general public-health guidance; they are not a diagnosis of your child. Do not put a child’s name or blood lead number in a message to the website.

What to do with the lab slip

Keep the lab slip, call the doctor, and call the firm. Do not scrape the paint while you wait for advice about the apartment. The practical steps for the days after a positive result are on What to do now.

The CDC has identified no safe blood lead level in children. The CDC blood-lead reference value used in our materials is 3.5 µg/dL; that figure is a reference value, not a toxicity threshold. The same CDC materials note that if blood lead levels are 45 µg/dL or greater, healthcare providers may recommend medication to help remove lead from the body. That is public-health guidance, not medical advice from this firm.

There is no fee to speak to us or for us to evaluate your potential case. Michael Stewart Frankel and Reuven S. Frankel welcome your call.

Call (212) 888-5100

Lead poisoning information

• Lead poisoning lawyer
• What to do now
• Landlord responsibility
• Local Law 1