First Lead Paint Case Goes to Trial

In a scene that will be repeated around the country in the coming months, parents of children whose brain development was stunted by exposure to lead are taking the manufacturers of lead paint to court in Wisconsin, according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The personal injury case is part of a wave of litigation -- one of at least 50 nationwide -- that comes three decades after lead paint was banned. The insidious lead, however, remains on the cracked and pealing walls of older buildings.

Parents are seeking money, though there's no compensation for the loss of intelligence that can come with exposure to lead. Parents who currently live in older buildings can take steps to protect their children by having their pediatricians test their children's blood for lead, taking care to maintain (or, often better, paint over) old paint, and to ensure their children receive proper nutrition, with plenty of iron-rich and calcium-rich foods that can help inhibit the absorption of lead.

Whether or not the cases will be successful is an open question. An earlier wave of litigation by states and cities produced mixed results, with Rhode Island winning a landmark case, but Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, New York and Milwaukee losing similar cases.

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