{"id":1059,"date":"2016-02-18T16:13:08","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T16:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/blog\/?p=1059"},"modified":"2016-02-22T18:08:48","modified_gmt":"2016-02-22T18:08:48","slug":"first-lawsuit-filed-in-flint-michigan-over-lead-contaminated-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/blog\/first-lawsuit-filed-in-flint-michigan-over-lead-contaminated-water\/","title":{"rendered":"First Lawsuit Filed in Flint, Michigan Over Lead-Contaminated Water."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/boston-massachusetts-lead-poisoning-lawyers-attorneys.php\">Lead poisoning<\/a> is a medical condition that occurs when there is a high level of heavy metal lead in a person\u2019s body.\u00a0The presence of a high level of lead in the body can harm various organs and body processes, such as the heart, intestines, kidneys and reproductive system.\u00a0In addition, lead can retard the development of the nervous system, which can be especially harmful to children.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bostonmassachusettsleadpoisoningpersonalinjurylawyer.com\/\">Symptoms of lead poisoning<\/a> can include abdominal pain, headaches, seizures, coma and even death. <strong>According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,\u00a0about 250,000 children in the United States, ranging from 1-5 years old, have a level of lead in their blood &#8212; high enough to constitute <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XtEwrn3-I-c\">lead poisoning<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H81cGFjrG2w\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Sadly, that already too high number may drastically increase this year due to the current crisis in Flint, Michigan.\u00a0 In April of 2014, Michigan officials changed the city\u2019s water source from the treated Detroit Water and Sewage Department Water from Lake Huron and the Detroit River, to the water from the Flint River. Officials chose not to chemically treat the water in the Flint River, which was reportedly highly corrosive.\u00a0 <strong>As time went on, the water began eroding the city\u2019s pipes, thereby contaminating the water with lead and other foreign substances.\u00a0<\/strong> In January of 2015, city officials declared a state of emergency due to how toxic the water was, but as many as 12,000 children may already have been reportedly exposed to toxic levels of lead.<\/p>\n<p>Luke Waid is one of the first Flint residents to file a lawsuit against the city after his daughter showed symptoms of lead poisoning.\u00a0 <strong>Waid explains that his two-year-old daughter Sophia was bubbly and energetic in the past, but that over the last few months, she has become increasingly anxious and irritable.<\/strong>\u00a0 Upon hearing of the contaminated water, Waid had his daughter inspected by their family doctor. Blood-lead levels of 5\u00a0or greater are considered to be toxic: Sophia&#8217;s blood lead levels tested at 14.<\/p>\n<p>Lead exposure in children younger than\u00a06 can damage organs, cause slow development, lead to learning and behavioral problems, and more.\u00a0 According to freep.com, a Detroit-based law firm, McKeen &amp; Associates, and\u00a0two\u00a0New York law firms,\u00a0Napoli Shknolnik and Slater Slater Schulman, will represent the family in the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court.\u00a0 While Waid may be among the first to sue the city, he is certainly not expected to be the last, as the impacts of the lead poisoning are just now being uncovered and felt.\u00a0<strong> As Waid\u2019s attorney McKeen stated: &#8220;the long-term fallout in\u00a0terms of the neurological cognitive impairment of the\u00a0children in this community is one of\u00a0the greatest potential damages, and that&#8217;s going to take years and years for this to fully evolve.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you or a family member have experienced lead poisoning, you may be able to bring a civil lawsuit against those responsible to recover money damages for medical expenses, as well as past and future pain and suffering. Please call our <a href=\"http:\/\/bostonmassachusettsleadpoisoningpersonalinjurylawyer.com\/\">Massachusetts lead poisoning experts<\/a> at<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/boston-massachusetts-contact-gilbert-hoy-lawyers-attorneys.php\">info@gilhoylaw.com<\/a> or call (617) 787-3700 to learn all about your legal options in a free and private consultation.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lead poisoning is a medical condition that occurs when there is a high level of heavy metal lead in a person\u2019s body.\u00a0The presence of a high level of lead in the body can harm various organs and body processes, such &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/blog\/first-lawsuit-filed-in-flint-michigan-over-lead-contaminated-water\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,5],"tags":[43],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1059"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1062,"href":"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions\/1062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gilhoylaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}