Last reviewed: October 13, 2026 by Jacob Oresky, Esq.
A young child poisoned by lead paint obtained a $1.4 million settlement after prolonged exposure to peeling and deteriorating lead paint inside the Bronx apartment where the child lived from infancy. Blood testing confirmed a lead level of 24, and the claim was built on the building owner’s failure to abate a lead hazard in a pre-1960 building that housed a child under the age of seven. The $1.4 million lead paint poisoning case resolved by pre-trial settlement in 2025 in Bronx County Supreme Court.
Case Facts
| Outcome | $1,400,000 Settlement |
|---|---|
| Resolution | Pre-Trial Settlement |
| Mechanism | Childhood Lead Paint Exposure |
| Statute | Multiple Dwelling Law § 78; New York City Administrative Code § 27-2056.1 et seq. (Local Law 1) |
| Court | Bronx County Supreme Court |
| Year | 2025 Settlement |
| Attorneys | Oresky & Associates, PLLC |
Childhood Lead Paint Exposure — How the Poisoning Happened
The $1.4 million lead paint poisoning case arose from the condition of the painted surfaces inside the Bronx apartment where the child lived. The building was constructed before 1960, the era in which lead-based paint was still in common residential use, and a child under the age of seven lived in the apartment throughout the period of exposure.
The painted surfaces in the apartment were allowed to deteriorate. Paint peeled and flaked, leaving lead-bearing chips and dust within reach of a child who was still crawling and beginning to walk. The exposure began when the child was brought home as a newborn and continued throughout the family’s occupancy of the apartment.
The child ingested lead paint chips and peeling paint. Rather than remove the hazard, the owner painted over the peeling lead paint, a practice that conceals a deteriorating surface without eliminating the lead beneath it. The apartment was never inspected for lead hazards and the lead paint was never abated.
Blood testing confirmed what the conditions in the apartment made likely. The child was found to have a blood lead level of 24 and required approximately six days of hospital treatment.
Why the Building Owner Was Liable — Lead Paint Hazards and Notice
New York City’s Lead Paint Laws and the Presumption of Notice
New York City imposes affirmative obligations on owners of older multiple dwellings where young children live. The Administrative Code provisions pleaded in this case, including New York City Administrative Code § 27-2056.1 et seq. and § 27-2013(h), commonly known as Local Law 1, require owners to identify and remediate lead-based paint hazards in apartments occupied by children under a specified age rather than waiting for a tenant to complain. The claim asserted both actual and constructive notice: the owner knew the building predated 1960, knew a child under seven lived in the apartment, and had sufficient time before and during the exposure to inspect, abate, and remove the hazard, but did not.
Multiple Dwelling Law § 78 and the Obligation to Keep the Premises in Repair
Multiple Dwelling Law § 78 obligates the owner of a multiple dwelling to keep the building and its apartments in good repair, and Real Property Law § 235-b carries an implied warranty that leased residential premises are fit for human habitation and free of conditions dangerous to health and safety. Peeling, deteriorating lead paint in a unit occupied by an infant is the condition those provisions were written to reach, and their violation supported the liability theory in the $1.4 million lead paint poisoning case alongside the common-law negligence claim.
The $1.4 Million Settlement — How the Recovery Was Reached
The case was filed in Bronx County Supreme Court and litigated through discovery, with the child’s medical records, the history of the apartment’s condition, and the applicable notice obligations developed as the proof of liability. Expert narrative reports were obtained to address the long-term consequences of the exposure, including the effect of childhood lead poisoning on future educational and vocational prospects.
The matter was submitted to mediation, and the parties reached a negotiated resolution before trial. Oresky & Associates, PLLC, secured a $1.4 million settlement that was finalized in March 2025, with the recovery arranged for the benefit of the child. The child’s parent also brought a derivative claim arising from the loss of the child’s services and companionship, which was resolved as part of the same settlement.
Injuries Sustained by the Child
The child sustained lead poisoning, confirmed at a blood lead level of 24, with developmental and learning effects, and was treated in the hospital for approximately six days. The claim sought compensation for the long-term remedial educational support the child is expected to require.
About the Attorneys Who Handled This Case
This case was handled by Jacob Oresky, Esq., and Joshua E. Goldblatt, Esq.
Jacob Oresky is the founder of Oresky & Associates, PLLC, which has represented injured New Yorkers for more than 30 years. His practice covers the full range of personal injury litigation, including premises liability claims brought against residential building owners.
Joshua E. Goldblatt is a personal injury attorney at Oresky & Associates, PLLC, where he represents clients through trials and specializes in lead poisoning claims. He handled all phases of this case, from pleadings through trial preparation and ultimately mediation and settlement.
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Common Questions About the $1.4 Million Lead Paint Poisoning Settlement
Was the $1.4 million recovery a verdict or a settlement?
It was a settlement. The $1.4 million lead paint poisoning case was resolved before trial in 2025, in Bronx County Supreme Court, after the case was mediated.
What caused the lead poisoning in the $1.4 million case?
Peeling and deteriorating lead paint inside the apartment where the child lived. The child ingested paint chips and peeling paint, inhaled lead dust, and absorbed lead through skin contact, beginning in infancy and continuing throughout the family’s occupancy of the unit.
Why was the building owner responsible for the child’s lead exposure?
Because a residential owner must inspect for and abate lead paint hazards in an older building where a young child lives. The building predated 1960, a child under seven lived in the apartment, and the owner painted over peeling lead paint instead of removing it, which supported both actual and constructive notice of the hazard.
Does a similar lead paint exposure guarantee a similar recovery?
No. Every lead poisoning case is different. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome, and the value of any claim depends on the specific facts, injuries, and legal circumstances involved.
Get Answers About Your New York Lead Poisoning Case
Oresky & Associates, New York Lead Poisoning Attorneys
Families rarely learn that a child has been exposed to lead until a blood test comes back elevated, and by then the exposure has usually been going on for months or years. The consequences surface slowly, in the classroom and in day-to-day development, and the cost of the educational and medical support a child needs can continue long after the family has left the apartment.
Oresky & Associates, PLLC, has spent more than 30 years representing injured people throughout New York, including children harmed by hazardous conditions in the buildings where they live. The firm handles premises liability claims against New York property owners who fail to correct dangerous conditions they are obligated to find and fix.
If your child was exposed to lead paint in a rental apartment, or you were injured by another hazardous condition on someone else’s property, contact Oresky & Associates, PLLC, for a free, confidential consultation to discuss your legal options.