Lead-Poisoned Child Prevails--Lead Pigment Manufacturers Can Now Be Held Responsible; Motley Rice LLC Announces Groundbreaking Wisconsin Supreme Court Ruling.MT. PLEASANT, S.C. -- Motley Rice LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , one of the nation's largest all-plaintiffs' litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. firms, today announced a groundbreaking ruling in favor of its client, Steven Thomas, a 15 year-old boy who suffered severe brain damage from lead paint ingestion ingestion /in·ges·tion/ (-chun) the taking of food, drugs, etc., into the body by mouth. in·ges·tion n. 1. The act of taking food and drink into the body by the mouth. 2. . According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the ruling, Thomas and other lead-poisoning victims in Wisconsin now have the right to seek to hold the lead pigment industry responsible for their personal injuries under a modified market share liability theory. In the ruling, the court extended the "risk contribution theory" to lead pigment manufacturers. "Today's ruling is a major step toward holding this industry responsible for the injuries they caused when they sold a product that they knew would harm kids," said Fidelma Fitzpatrick, an attorney with Motley Rice who led the prosecution of this case. "For too long, this industry has shirked its responsibility for the injuries it caused. This ruling makes clear that no industry can escape responsibility for their bad conduct." The Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the state of Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. ruling supports this sentiment, holding: ". . . the record is replete with evidence that shows the Pigment Manufacturers actually magnified the risk through their aggressive promotion of white lead carbonate lead carbonate n. A poisonous white amorphous powder, PbCO3, used as a paint pigment. Noun 1. lead carbonate - a poisonous white pigment that contains lead ceruse, white lead , even despite the awareness of the toxicity of lead." (Paragraph 160) "The problem of lead poisoning lead poisoning or plumbism (plŭm`bĭz'əm), intoxication of the system by organic compounds containing lead. is a significant public health catastrophe. The lead pigment manufacturing industry can no longer defer all blame on landlords," said co-counsel Milwaukee attorney Peter Earle. As the Wisconsin Supreme Court stated: "While we agree with the Pigment Manufacturers that landlords are in the best position to contain the dangers of lead pigment in paint once the paint has been applied, landlords are not to blame for the fact that the lead pigment in the paint is poisonous in the first instance." (Paragraph 124) This is the first time in the United States Time in the United States, by law, is divided into nine standard time zones covering the states and its possessions, with most of the United States observing daylight saving time for part of the year. that lead-poisoned children have been allowed to sue the lead pigment industry for their personal injuries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center. lead poisoning statistics show an estimated 890,000 U.S. children ages one to five have elevated blood lead levels. The primary source of lead exposure among children is from lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust and soil that are found in and around old buildings. Motley Rice member Robert J. McConnell, who argued the case with Earle before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, stated, "We are pleased with the legal progress made today. We are also proud of the courage, strength and perseverance shown by our client, Steven Thomas and his mother Carol. Steven and other victims of lead-poisoning will now be allowed their day in court to seek justice against corporations that produced and marketed harmful lead-based products." Defendants in this case include the American Cyanamid American Cyanamid was a large, diversified, American chemical manufacturer. Lederle Laboratories, maker of Centrum and Stresstabs vitamins, was Cyanamid's pharmaceutical division. Davis & Geck was the company's medical device division. Co., Atlantic Richfield Co., ConAgra Grocery Products Co., E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Co., NL Industries Inc., SCM (1) (Software Configuration Management, Source Code Management) See configuration management. (2) See supply chain management. Chemicals, Inc. and Sherwin-Williams Co. For more information on Motley Rice's lead-poisoning litigation, please contact attorneys Bob McConnell or Fidelma Fitzpatrick at 401-457-7700 or visit http://www.aboutlead.com. About Motley Rice LLC Motley Rice LLC is one of the nation's largest plaintiffs' litigation firms. Motley Rice attorneys gained global recognition for their pioneering work on behalf of asbestos victims, the State Attorneys General in their landmark litigation against Big Tobacco, and the 9/11 families in their groundbreaking lawsuit against terrorist financiers. Motley Rice attorneys continue to seek justice in areas including catastrophic injury; complex case resolution; consumer and commercial fraud; environmental hazards and contamination; medical negligence and medical device defects; occupational disease and toxic torts; and transportation defects. For more information on Motley Rice call 1-800-768-4026 or visit http://www.motleyrice.com. |
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