Can I Sue My Landlord for Lead Paint?

 

In Connecticut, lead paint and poisoning are among the most common environmental hazards. According to the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH), around 140,000 children aged six years and under have elevated blood lead levels since 2012. 

Exposure to lead can cause various health problems, including brain damage, behavioral problems, and learning disabilities. If you believe that your child has been exposed to lead paint, you may be considering filing a lawsuit against your landlord. But is this a viable option? And what are your chances of winning?

In this blog post, we'll take a closer look at lead paint and landlords. We'll discuss the risks involved with owning a property with lead paint, as well as the steps you can take to protect yourself. So, whether you're a landlord or just curious about the topic, keep reading for more information.

Were You Given Any Disclosure About It?

When it comes to lead paint, there is a duty of disclosure upon the landlord. In other words, if you as a tenant have requested information from your landlord regarding whether or not the property has been tested for lead paint and/or does contain any, they are required to disclose that information to you before you move in.

However, this doesn't necessarily mean there isn't lead paint somewhere in your rental unit. If you either see peeling or chipping paint or find out through some other means that there is indeed lead paint present on the property, then again, your landlord does have a duty to disclose this known fact.

Do I Need an Attorney?

To sue for damages against a landlord in a lead paint lawsuit, you must have been either unduly exposed to the lead or knowingly moved into a property with lead paint. Furthermore, you must prove that your exposure was what has caused an injury of some form.

This can include damage to your lungs from prolonged exposure and continued breathing in general, brain damage from ingestion of lead chips, heart problems from ingesting chipping/peeling paint particles by three small children who live at the rental unit, etc.

In short, there are many different grounds upon which a lawsuit could potentially be filed.

What Do I Need To Prove?

To prove liability against your landlord for not disclosing facts about lead paint in the rental property, you need only show that you asked the landlord about lead paint before moving in; they knew it was there but did not disclose this information. 

Furthermore, if you can prove that there were other properties available at the time of your rental (for example) which did not contain lead paint or had already been tested for contaminants and found to be safe, then that will work against their favor as well.

Once you have proven that your landlord knew about the lead paint on the property and did not disclose this fact to you before you moved in, moreover before signing any kind of rental agreement, etc., then all that is left is to show how much medical treatment has cost thus far for injuries associated with lead poisoning or how much treatment costs are expected to go up in the future.

If you can prove that the cost of these doctor visits, treatments, etc., are directly related to your landlord not disclosing the presence of lead paint in the rental unit before signing a lease agreement, then he or she will be liable for all expenses involved.

What Can My Landlord Be Held Liable For?

Typically when someone sues their landlord over lead paint poisoning, they are suing them under theories of Negligence, Breach of Warranty, and Fraudulence. Under negligence basically means that you had a valid reason to believe that the property had been tested for lead at one point or another before you moved in, and it had not been disclosed to you by your landlord.

As mentioned above, under warranty theory means something very similar; however, there was no written contract between you and your landlord when you moved in, but there were terms and conditions set out by the landlord when signing a rental agreement.

Under fraudulence means that your landlord DID disclose to you that the unit did have lead-painted on it at one point or another. However, it did NOT have a written report from a certified inspector verifying this fact.

Conclusion

Lead paint and poisoning in Connecticut is a serious issue that can have long-term health effects for both children and adults. If you think you may have been exposed to lead, it is important to get tested as soon as possible. The sooner you identify and address the problem, the better off you will be in the long run.