Make no mistake: lead poisoning cases are time consuming and expensive to handle. This is true, most importantly, in the proof of lead poisoning injury. If you do not have the right data, the right expert, and the right presentation, it is likely that your efforts will be for naught.
Early investigation regarding your client and his or her family should help you screen out cases that cannot be won, regardless of how well they are worked up. Do this preliminary investigative work before you spend the $15,000 to work the case up medically.
Careful review of ALL of the medical records for your child can also avoid a costly mistake. Has there been some severe medical problem which also impacted the child’s development? Ask your expert about these BEFORE your exhaustive and expensive neuropsychological testing. But do not run from issues like pre-maturity and fetal distress. Although these are risk factors for developmental problems, it is often possible to demonstrate that they had no effect on the child in his or her early development. That is, UNTIL they were poisoned by the defendant’s negligence.
One key injury that is now a lot easier to prove is ADHD. Cutting edge research has shown that children (especially boys) with lead poisoning are FOUR times more likely to develop ADHD.