In a world where we walk with computers in pocket, communicate with a single click and have access to infinite streams of information at our fingertips, finding an alternative to lead-based paint should have happened years ago. Unfortunately, much of Buffalo’s housing is stuck in a time-warp. The Nickel City’s unique architecture serves both as a spectacle and a burden. The New York State Department of Health estimates that 85% of Buffalo homes built prior to 1978 contain lead-based paint: the primary lead source in cases of lead poisoning. From 2006-2008, Erie County had the third highest percentage of new lead poisoning cases, 80% of which were children.

Children are more susceptible to lead poisoning due to an underdeveloped digestive system and ease of ingestion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry suggest that a child’s digestive system absorbs up to 10 times more lead than that of an adult, and will excrete only 32% of the absorbed lead, as opposed to 99% excreted by an adult. Children ingest lead through everyday behaviors like sucking their thumb, eating with their hands or even playing with certain toys, making lead poisoning difficult to prevent.

Once a child ingests lead, diagnosis of lead poisoning can be costly and mistimed. There are few, if any, external signals alerting parents that a child has ingested lead. A doctor administered blood test is the only conclusive way to tell if a child’s lead levels are elevated. Through early detection of lead ingestion from lead-based paint or from another lead source, parents alleviate I.Q. decline, physical and intellectual debility, attention deficit disorder, delayed reaction time,  and kidney damage that may occur to the child later in life.

Don’t let your child fall victim to lead poisoning at the hands of lead based paint in your home. If your child has tested positively for lead poisoning due to exposed lead paint, call a Buffalo personal injury lawyer today. Contact James Morris Law at 716-855-1118.

Buffalo, New York has long been famous for its harsh winters. Buffalo is the seventh snowiest city in America, receiving an average of 93 inches of snow per year. The snowiest major city (population over 50,000 people) in America is Syracuse, with 115 inches of snow on average each year.

This winter, Buffalo has already received more than 86 inches of snow. And while some cities throughout the Northeast have received most of their snow from three major blizzards, Buffalo’s snow has been produced by 51 different storms this winter, according to the National Weather Service.

All those storms mean lots of shoveling to keep Buffalo’s sidewalks clean. Buffalo takes a tough stance against property owners who fail to shovel their sidewalks. Buffalo’s snow removal law requires property owners to clear sidewalks of snow within 24 hours of the end of a storm. Property owners who fail to do so must reimburse the city for any shoveling work done by the city on public sidewalks.

Buffalo sidewalk accidents can easily happen on slippery, snow-covered walkways. Each year, slip and fall accidents cause more than one million injuries and kill more than 17,000 people nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Buffalo slip and fall accidents demand serious attention. Have you been injured on a dangerous sidewalk? Don’t be a victim. Fight back. Contact a law firm that works hard to get results. Contact the Law Offices of James Morris. When you choose James Morris, you get a Buffalo law firm that thoroughly understands New York’s complicated legal system. Our experienced attorneys know what it takes to win dangerous sidewalk cases throughout New York. We fight tirelessly to get our clients the justice they rightfully deserve.

Choose a law firm that get results. Contact James Morris. We mean business!

The information contained in this communication is provided for informational purposes only and should not be constituted as legal advice on any subject matter.

Dangerous toys are more common than you might realize. Every three minutes, a child must be treated in an emergency room for an injury caused by a dangerous toy. In 2009, an estimated 186,000 children under 15 years old were treated in emergency rooms for toy-related injuries, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. In contrast, 152,000 children sustained toy-related injuries in 2005. Dangerous toys were linked to 12 deaths in 2009, down from 24 toy-related fatalities in 2007 and 2008, the CPSC reports.

The CPSC recalled 44 toys in fiscal year 2010, which ended Sept. 30. More have been recalled since then. Click here to find a complete list of recalled toys.

What makes a toy dangerous? Here are some common dangerous toy hazards:

• Choking hazard. Some toys designed for young children have small, detachable parts which children can put in their mouths. That’s why Fisher Price recalled several toys designed for young children.

• Lead paint. Toys that contain unsafe amounts of lead immediately prompt recalls by the federal government. Toys with dangerous amounts of lead paint recently recalled include Double Egg Shakers and Tiny Tink and Friends Children’s Toy Jewelry Sets, specifically the key chains that come with the Disney character toys.

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