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Steps you can take today

Parents often ask what to do in the hours after a positive blood lead result. The list below is practical guidance for that moment; it is not medical advice, and a telephone call alone does not make you a client of this firm.

1. Call The Â鶹´«Ã½¹ÙÍø for a free consultation. There is no fee to speak to us or for us to evaluate your potential case, and a call does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship.
2. Talk with the child’s doctor about the result and ask when the next blood test should be. This firm does not treat lead poisoning; if you do not have a doctor, New York City tells parents to call 311 for help finding care.
3. Do not dry-sand, scrape, or vacuum loose paint with an ordinary vacuum, because disturbed paint creates dust that children can breathe or swallow. Keep the child away from peeling or damaged paint, wet-wipe chips and dust on floors, windowsills, hands, toys, and pacifiers, and do not stay in a room while someone is disturbing paint.
4. Tell the landlord, in writing, that a child under six lives in the apartment or routinely spends 10 or more hours a week there, and keep a copy of that notice.
5. If paint is peeling, or a repair is making dust, call 311 or file the complaint on the City’s 311 site and keep the complaint number. Immigration status does not affect a housing complaint to 311. Outside the five boroughs, start with the child’s doctor and local health contacts.
6. If the Health Department or a doctor says the family should leave during repair work, ask them about a safe place to stay while the work is completed.
7. If the landlord is NYCHA, report peeling paint to the Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771 or through MyNYCHA, and still call this firm the same day — say that the building is NYCHA. If the child is in a New York City school or day care, call the firm the same day as well, because those cases can involve extra steps.
8. Keep the lab slip, the lease, and clear photographs of windows and door frames, because those records often matter later.

What to avoid while you wait

Do not wait for the landlord to come by before you call the doctor or 311, and do not paint over chips yourself if that means scraping old paint. Keep the lab slip, the lease, and any photos of the windows and door frames rather than throwing them away. Do not put a child’s name, date of birth, or blood lead number on a public form or in an unsolicited website message.

What New York City Health tells parents

Most people with lead poisoning do not look or feel sick, which is why a blood lead test is the only way to know. New York State requires a blood lead test at age 1 and again at age 2. Report peeling, cracked, or loose paint to the building owner, and call 311 if the owner does not fix it or the work is not safe. Wash floors, windowsills, hands, toys, and pacifiers often, and call 311 for help finding a doctor when you need one.

While you wait for a call back

While you wait to hear from the doctor or from us, wash hands, toys, floors, and window sills with wet methods, and ask the pediatrician about foods with iron and calcium. Those are parent steps New York City and the CDC describe for families; they are not a treatment plan from this firm. We cannot order a blood test or a repair — that is the Health Department’s role.

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.

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
• Children and lead
• Landlord responsibility
• Local Law 1