Baltimore Lead Paint Claims

You have come to this page because you want information on lead paint personal injury cases in Baltimore. This page talks about

1. The tragic history of lead paint cases in Maryland;
2. The awful suffering that has been caused by slum landlords that just don't care about their tenants;
3. An rough idea of how much money these lawsuits can be worth;
4. What you can do to bring a claim

If you want to talk to us about your case, call 800-553-8082 or tell us about your case online.

Lead is a soft, malleable metal found naturally in small amounts in the Earth's crust. It has long been known that lead in sufficient amounts can be harmful to all people but specifically children. Lead poisoning in children can cause permanent brain injuries, IQ loss, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems. In severe cases, exposure to lead can cause death.

We have know full well of the risks of lead based paint for over 100 years now. Many European countries banned lead-based paints for the inside of homes by 1909. As early as the 1920s in this country, paint manufacturers were looking at the safety of lead- based paint. But the world moved slowly in spite of the amassing evidence that lead pain causes brain injuries. In 1981, Baltimore City passed an ordinance banning the use of lead paint in the interiors of Baltimore buildings.

Homes built before the late 70s/early 80s may have lead-based paint - an estimated 74% of homes built before 1980. If the house was built before 1950, you can pretty much bet on it. In the 80s and 90s, Baltimore landlords were fully aware of the hazards of chipping and peeling lead-based paint. The key is to abate the premises by sanding the painted surfaces on the property and repainting or, at a minimum, covering them with non lead-based paint so that lead will not escape as dust or flakes unless the surfaces are damaged. But the easier path for Baltimore landlords is to do nothing, leaving children exposed to lead-based paint which can lead to permanent life altering injuries. Regrettably, this is exactly what many of these Baltimore landlords did. Why? Well, there is lots of reasons. But you better believe reason #1 is that the most profitable way to be a slum landlord is to put no money back into your rental properties. This is exactly what happened.

• 2012: Jury award $1,291,696 - Woodland v. Housing Authority of Baltimore City (child had lead level of 13 - expert testified infant child lost 5-7 IQ points
• 2011: Jury award $5,100,000 - Hazelwood v. City Homes (huge verdict that was reduced to $1.25 million)
• 2011: Jury award $1,042,300 - Flowers v. Imernich (blood levels as high as 73 - defendant was uninsured and represented pro se so you have to question whether there was a recovery)
• 2010: Jury award $4,643,000 - Fulgham v. McCutcheon (award was to brother and sister; reduced to $2.4 million and overturned on LGTCA on appeal
• 2010: Jury award $20,825,000 - Carter v. Baltimore City Housing Authority (verdict substantially reduced by cap on non-economic damages)

If your child has been exposed to lead-based paint from a rental property or if you are a lawyer with a client who has suffered a lead paint injury and are looking for lead counsel (in Maryland or elsewhere), call our Baltimore lead paint lawyers at 410-779-4600 or 800-553-8082 or click here for a free Internet consultation.

• Baltimore City Lead Violations Page (is your child's house on this list?)
• Getting Rid of Lead Paint (abating lead is not rocket science - mostly, you just have to care)
• Maryland's Consumer Protection Act (one legal path to stop these landlords from taking advantage of people)
• Tell Me More About the Value of Our Case
• Tell Me More About How a Claim in Baltimore City Will Proceed and What I Can Expect There