Personal Injury Law

Aurora Man Files Illinois Personal Injury Lawsuit Against Landlord After Kids Eat Lead-Based Paint Chips in Their Apartment

In Kane County, Aurora resident Tyre Davis is suing landlord Ismael Quintana II for personal injury. Davis, a father of three young children, ages 1, 3, and 4, says that his children got sick because they ate paint chips that had high levels of lead while in their apartment. The apartment is located in the 500 block of East Downer Place.

According to the Davis?s Illinois personal injury lawsuit, his client has had to pay for medical and surgical treatments to try and cure his children since they were exposed to lead from the paint chips. Davis alleges that Quintana painted the halls, window frames, and walls with lead-based paint prior to June 9. He is accusing Quintana of negligence because the landlord painted the apartment using the lead-based paint and failed to warn residents that this hazard now existed on the premise.

Illinois?s Lead Poisoning Prevention Act of 1973 bars anyone from applying lead-based paints to exposed surfaces of any structure that children frequent, including the exposed surfaces of any building. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, some 310,000 children, 6 and younger, get sick from lead poisoning each year. The IDPH treated 7,600 children with lead poisoning.

Researchers say there are a number of ways children are exposed to lead at home including, from lead-based paint that has deteriorated or chipped away, dust from the deteriorating paint, and soil with lead-contaminated dust or paint chips that have fallen from the exterior walls of a building.

Children are more susceptible than adults to serious injuries from lead in paint, including learning disabilities, mental problems, stunted growth, and behavioral difficulties. Exposure to lead can also lead to permanent brain damage. One of the more common ways that children ingest lead is to use their hands to put paint chips or lead-contaminated soil or dust in their mouths.

If you or your loved one got sick or sustained an injury because of a hazard that existed on someone's premise, you may be able to file an Illinois premises liability claim for compensation.

Aurora Man Sues Landlord Over Lead, Suburban Chicago News, October 30, 2008

It's banned but not gone: Lead paint is still a danger, USA Today, August 29, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children, CDC

Lead Poisoning, KeepKidsHealthy.com

Full post as published by Chicago Injury Attorney Blog on November 04, 2008 (boomark / email).