F&F# A05008 / B05008
Lead Poisoning, Impairments of Visuospatial Constructional Ability, Visuospatial Processing, Facial Affect Recognition, Planning and Impulse Control
Settlement: $600,000
Injuries: Lead Poisoning, Impairments of Visuospatial Constructional Ability, Visuospatial Processing, Facial Affect Recognition, Planning and Impulse Control
Facts and Claim of Liability:
Infant plaintiff was born on April 5, 2002 at Defendant Hospital Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center. From birth, infant plaintiff received all primary pediatric care at Brookdale Family Care Center.
The following year, in 2003, infant plaintiff began to stay at the subject premises with her mother’s sister on the weekends (from Thursday through Saturday).
From 2002 to 2004, plaintiff mother took infant plaintiff to a number of routine checkups at Brookdale Family Care Center. On February 2, 2004, the New York State Department of Health contacted plaintiff mother and told her that they’d been in contact with the Brookdale Family Care Center, and that infant plaintiff had an elevated blood-lead level (“PbB”) of 36 ug/dL. Subsequent PbBs were recorded as 33.9 ug/dL on February 10, 2004, 21.1 ug/dL on March 23, 2004, 16.6 ug/dL on May 20, 2004, and 15.5 ug/dL on August 24, 2004.
Currently, infant plaintiff suffers from a number of impairments, including impairments of visuospatial constructional ability, visuospatial processing, facial affect recognition, planning and impulse control.
Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald filed suit in Kings County Supreme Court, arguing that defendant hospital failed to do a Lead Risk Assessment and educate plaintiff mother regarding pre-1960s buildings, cracking and peeling paint, and lead-based paint hazards, as well as timely test infant plaintiff for elevated blood-lead levels. Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald also argued that defendant realty corporation and defendant landlord were careless, negligent, and reckless in the ownership, operation, management, maintenance, repair, care, and control of subject premises in allowing and permitting a dangerous and hazardous condition to be, remain, and exist; and in failing to make a timely repair and abatement of the lead-based paint hazard in the subject premises upon learning that children under the age of six were living in the subject premises; and that these failures resulted in serious and permanent injuries to infant plaintiff. Ultimately, Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald settled with defendant hospital for a total of $600,000.00. Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald continues to pursue the claim against defendant realty corporation and defendant landlord.