It's a Boy! ! !

[zolar1]

My wife gave birth to a brand new (not recycled mind you) bouncing baby boy at 8:00 am eastern time (USA).

Weighing in at 6 pounds, 5.6 ounces, my new son immediately wanted to EAT???

Sheesh....is this a hint of things to come?

In any case, I am VERY happy!

Zolar

[Andy]

Hi, Zolar:)
congratulations are in order. My wife is due to have a little one in January.
I wish you all your wife and the baby all the best
Regards. Andy:D

[Brian_UK]

Congrats Zolar :)

[Dan]

I feel your joy. Congratulations. Let's touch base in year 2018, LOL.

[WebRam]

A Hearty Concratulations Zolar :D

[Abe]

congrats zolar on the new arrival
he wants to eat???
he heee........see I told you to change your avatar!!
lol

[zolar1]

I'll post a few pic's here when I get them scanned...if it's ok.

Also, I got tired of waiting for him to arrive and put a note on the birthing room door (pic to follow soon)

Note read:

We should have used FEDEX. signed: one tired dad.

Zolar

[zolar1]

PS thank you all for your warm congrats!

Zolar

[Prof Sporlan]

We should have used FEDEX. signed: one tired dad.

Or STORKEX perhaps.... :) :D ;) Congratulations! The timing's not bad either. Take that $2900 federal tax deduction for 2002, and you might just be able to break even. :confused:

[Tracy_wi]

How are Mom, Dad, and Baby?
Hoping health and happiness to your family!!

[zolar1]

Mom is fine, baby is hungry (he he), and dad is exhausted.....yawn...

Thank you all!

Let's see if I can post a pic here............


Zolar

[zolar1]

Here's another pic.......

[WebRam]

http://www.refrigeration-engineer.com/1.jpg

http://www.refrigeration-engineer.com/2.jpg

[Tracy_wi]

He is very handsome!! He looks so alert for a new born. Congrats again.

[Arkma]

Congrats !!!!! I have three...boy 14..girl12...girl..10
It is agreat feeling having children !! However, they will grow up.:D

[zolar1]

He's about 3 months, 3weeks old right now. He's starting to take over...LOL! Always HUNGRY, and beginning to make sounds trying to say something (gee....maybe he's saying FEED ME???)

Zolar

[zolar1]

Well, it's been nearly 9 long years now. 17,520 McDonald's Chicken Nuggets later and he's STILL an eating machine! Not exaggerating here either. He won't eat much else.

Unfortunately, what started out as a healthy little boy has turned a bit bad. He has been diagnosed with ADHD, ADD, XYZ, a learning disability, and Autism.

It seems that my landlord has been doing illegal lead abatement and rehab work without any notification, protection, or licenses of any kind. He also has severe peeling lead paint throughout the premises that still needs to be removed (properly).
And this is the tip of the iceberg. We have loose asbestos too. And other problems.

All those things wrong with my kid are 'exactly' the results of previous lead exposure.

So, because of my slumlord's greed and cheapness, my son is now permanently damaged. :mad:

Our building was built in 1880 and is presumed to have toxic levels of lead paint throughout unless proven otherwise.

Getting any governmental agency to come and test for lead levels on the premises then issue an abatement order is still a monumental task. The claim that since no one under 6 has documented lead poisoning that they don't have to do anything.
I found many laws that say otherwise. We are still trying to get an official to come and properly document and address this problem.

Until then, my heart bleeds for my little boy. He is going to have a very hard time in life, especially after I am dead.

It now costs $20,000/year to educate our son due to the damage done to him.

We cannot afford to move either.

I myself have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and take insulin. I may also have rheumatoid arthritis (an autoimmune disease), but have yet to make the appointment to get it checked.

My son is a good kid. He is a bit difficult to handle sometimes, but essentially a good kid. Oh, and he LOVES chocolate cake without icing...

I thought everyone would like a little update.

Thanks,
Zolar

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[chillerman2006]

Hi Zolar

thats terrible mate .... my heart goes out you & your family & pray these effects can be reversed in time

Best Regards Chillerman

[Brian_UK]

Zolar, thank you for the update.

We all feel for you and your family. Good fortune with your researches and claims against your landlord.

Brian

[zolar1]

Thanks.

After we establish the facts of the case, we plan on going to court over a great many things.

Our landlord's behavior is considered toxic tort and a constructive eviction.

He makes ALL of his properties as UN-family friendly as possible.

Our son may grow out of some of the ADHD, but you can never grow out of Autism.

Only 2 times he sits still - when he's sleeping and when he's eating chocolate cake...

I went to several pharmacies here. I asked the pharmacist for a set of 'medical grade' jumper cables.
They gave me a very puzzled look and asked what those were for.
I told them I needed a jump start. Connect them to my kid then to me. He has too much energy and I don't have any...

[Magoo]

Hi Zolar.
You need support and assistance, expose your situation and landlord via a TV channnel, ring all of them. They will beat a track to your front door.

[zolar1]

As tempting as it may be, I have to wait yet. I do not want to complicate matters when I go to court.

Discretion is the better part of valor.

I also need more proof yet. Once the various agencies begin their investigations, then I may be able to contact the media. I have to get legal advice first.

Also, according to the laws where I live, my landlord must guarantee my family with an unlimited warranty of habitability. I only need one or two pictures for that. I have well over 30 pictures - more than enough to prove most of my case.

If I play my cards right, my landlord can be held accountable for all the problems, which is my goal. Then I can negotiate compensation for my son and family.

I do not want to reveal my 'hand' just yet. If my landlord knew too early, he could possibly hide or cover up some of the facts.

I will be bringing the proverbial battle ship to court soon enough. And then comes the proverbial atomic bomb (or two or three). I just hope none of them are duds.

Another suspicion I have is that my landlord may be well connected downtown, as evidenced by the extreme resistance I am having in getting the local government to do their jobs. No matter. They can't cover up everything. All I need is one charge to stick. The rest of the charges will follow in rapid succession.

Much depends on if the local government & judges try to be too corrupt. I have enough to even catch them if they do. I have several backup plans just in case anyone tries to cover up anything. For each thing they say is not a problem, I have chapter and verse from local laws and state laws and federal laws, one or more of which will apply.

I am going to try to make this as clear cut as possible, and as easy as possible for an attorney.

While this litigation could take MANY years, eventually, I will win. And each passing day we are exposed to known and obvious hazards, the worse it will be for my landlord.

I am using common sense here too. I keep my son as safe as I can, but he still has to live here. I try to keep him out of the yard and away from the premises as much as I can to protect him.

Of course all this will go against my landlord when the time comes. We do not have full use of the property. Our rent has always been paid in full and on time.

I will state the facts, provide as much evidence to support those facts as I can get, and corroborate all that with specific laws. I will not embellish anything. The facts speak for themselves. Any reasonable judge & jury cannot find my landlord not guilty.

The saddest thing is that my son is now permanently handicapped because of a slumlord.

We have a mediator hearing this month. Nothing will be resolved there. I WANT to go to court, in front of a real judge. I will ask for orders of abatement and the cessation of any rent until all the problems have been corrected. Or something similar, depending on what an attorney advises.

One of the clerks at the courthouse told me that I will be given a choice - take the rent I have in escrow and move or let the landlord have the rent and put up with the problems. 3-4 months of rent is not enough to be able to move on even if I wanted to.
I have lived there 19 years, my wife 11 years, my son his whole life. This is our home.

Well, they are not allowed to give any legal advice, but they tried. I shouldn't have to choose between either of those two options since we are the injured party and the law says otherwise.

Perhaps people could answer this question:

If you were in my place, what would you do?

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I just noticed something - I have been coming here off and on for almost 10 years now. My how time flies. :D

Sigh... and I am still just a lucky guesser...
(uses fingers as my thermometer and guesstimates for the figures - he he):eek:


My son just lost a tooth yesterday. He asked how much it was worth (meaning how much the tooth fairy will give him). I first said a quarter. He said "That's ALL?!?!?"
I said maybe 50 cents. He said "but it was one of the big ones from the back".
I said OK, that one is worth $5.00

He's sleeping right now, presumably waiting for morning. And that $5.00 ! ;)


Note: for some reason I can't find the setting for posting pictures in my posts. They only will be posted as attachments for some reason. :confused:

[zolar1]

Oh, in case you are wondering.
Just for failing to do the paperwork alone that the US EPA says the landlord must do, he faces an $11,000.00 fine per day for every violation.

So far, it tallies up to $275,000,000.00 in maximum fines alone. Not to mention local fines nor the 300+ years of jail time he could get.

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/policies/civil/tsca/1018erpp-1207.pdf

[desA]

Such an incredibly sad thread. The OP must feel gutted, to say the very least.

I really hope & pray that you all resolve the matter in the end.

[zolar1]

Many thanks for everyone's support in this matter.

Yes, it is very sad. What started out as a joyous occasion developed into something far less than preferred.

One thing that can screw us badly is for a lawyer to not take the case pro bono (take a % when we win).

It is highly unlikely that we can win without a court battle regardless of how right we are or how much evidence we have.

Has anyone looked at the pictures I attached yet? Those are just a few of them.

Do you see why I needed more evidence? Once I have enough and the government takes any kind of action against him, what lawyer would ever tell me that they didn't want to take the case?

I look at a great little boy. He is a lot of fun too. It saddens me that he has all those mental issues and may never be close to normal. He may never be able to get a decent job, especially during the time when good jobs will be ever increasingly harder to get.

Another parental problem we have is discipline. Since he is mentally handicapped, we have to figure out new ways to punish him for wrong doings. It was very easy when he was 2. A light swat on his diaper and he got the message. Now, if I did that, I could be charged with abusing a disabled kid!

He hates yams. So, I threaten to get the can of yams out. Sometimes I do get the can out. He generally settles down when I do that. But how long will that be effective? Yelling at him works too. But that isn't the best way to correct a child either. So now the parents (us) have to re educate ourselves in how to raise our now disabled child.

I hear that sometimes kids can grow out of the ADHD/ADD problem when they reach adulthood.
However, with the autism, that never goes away, and in fact usually worsens as the child gets older.

Sometimes I feel really sad. Other times I feel really angry. Then depressed. I do feel happy when I can make him happy once in a while.

Right now he plays like he is around 5 or 6 years old. But he will be 9 here in a couple of weeks.

I wonder why slumlords have to to this to kids. Extract as much money out of people and not provide a clean, safe, and sanitary place for families to raise their children. I guess they have no conscience.

Hmm. I just thought of something. Anyone know if I could put a lien on all his properties without winning in court? That could prevent him from disposing of any property until after court hearings.

Anyone got any useful suggestions as what to do, what lawyer would be the best for this situation or anything else?

[zolar1]

I found another law too. When a landlord is notified about a problem and he does not correct or abate the problem, it is considered a 'constructive eviction' and the courts do NOT like that at all.

I have plenty of ammo, I just need the right timing and an attorney that can't be bought off, including having a lot of tenacity to win attitude.

[chillerman2006]

I hope you take this f**ker for every penny he has

this reads to me (as non lawyer just joe public) as nothing less than avoidable poisoning, whats the difference between this & just spiking your milk in the morning ... it still amounts to the same thing

I am sure all the forum is behind you here mate, its just a difficult subject to post on

This is just so wrong anywhere let alone a 1st world country like the states

I normally have lots to say about anything & everything, but am lost to find the words to show how much I feel for you's....& I am sure thats the same for many others here that want to show they care but dont know how

R's chillerman

[zolar1]

I appreciate all the support everyone is giving me.
It will still be a very long and difficult journey through the court system.

Even if I win, my landlord still has the opportunity to appeal any decision made, thus stalling things for years.

In the meantime, we will have to struggle to make due.

I do worry though about the 'constructive eviction' issue and the real possibility that the government may make us move with only 24 hours notice.

My landlord doesn't appear to be rich. He only has 3-4 properties, but is a retired supervisor from General Motors with a decent pension.

If there is any documented toxic lead levels in any of his buildings, he cannot sell them or rent them out until the issue has been abated.

At last check, it costs $20,000.00 (US) for lead abatement in a single 1 bedroom apartment.
I think that equated to about 10,000 pounds in over the pond money.

I love where I live, even though it is a bad neighborhood. It is very convenient for our needs - close to medical treatment facilities, a 15 minute walk to my son's school, 12 minute walk to the grocery store, 2 bus lines if I ever need them, etc.

To find something even close to what I have, without the hazards, would cost 3 to 4 times what I am paying for rent.

We will have to move though. It is inevitable. While the convenience is terrific, I have to consider the needs of my son first. Too bad I can't get the problems abated, compensated very very highly, and still get to stay here.

I only have a few lawyers in mind for the problems. It may take 2 or 3 different lawyers to handle the complex issues we have. 1 for lead, 1 for the habitability & safety issues, and one for discrimination issues.

With the economy being as bad as it is, things can get quite challenging in a relatively short amount of time.

The pictures you may have looked at are only a few of them. We have around 30 pictures of areas we have access to. There are other places in the property we do not have access to that are about just as bad.

Fighting this is like playing the lottery. The odds of our winning the jackpot are remote.
But we should win something.

I can still file a suit against my landlord for child endangerment too if I desire.
I can't do much until the different government agencies begin their investigation, I still may not be able to do much until we obtain the summation of the investigations and talk to several lawyers.

I still have other 'aces' up my sleeve, cards to play if I have to.

Right now, I assume my landlord doesn't have a clue yet about his impending problems.
I am bringing a battleship with me, and will be firing all my guns. Surely one of those shells (AKA Lawsuits) will stick. And soon, the atomic bombs will hit him. Those will surely make him squirm. And maybe he will have many frightening sleepless nights like I have been and am still going through.

I have absolutely ZERO faith in our legal system. I can show them all the proof needed to win without question and still lose.

However, the US EPA cannot be bought off, thank goodness. And neither can HUD.
At least that I will have going for me.

The judges, city, and lawyers here in Cincinnati Ohio are so corrupt, rotten fruit smells like flowers compared to them. If they weren't corrupt, then I wouldn't have a worry in the world. This is from personal experience and the experience of others who have been in the system trying to obtain justice.

What might be interesting is the possibility, however obscure, these problems might make national news.
I don't think they will, but they could. If a bunch of kids got killed because of his greed, then I wouldn't doubt it one bit that it would make the news.

Just so everyone knows, there are MANY slumlords out there, in every city. I call them 'Teflon landlords' because it is nearly impossible to make significant problems stick to them.

Another problem is getting either a governmental agency or a doctor to make the statement that they think our son's problems may have been caused by lead exposure.

Not very likely that a doctor would go out on a limb and make such a statement without multiple blood level tests throughout his early childhood.

He has all the symptoms, word for word, of the results from prior lead exposure.

Chillerman, why do you feel this is such a hard topic to post on?
Have you experienced anything like this or know someone who has?

Suing him for every penny he has doesn't amount to much. I do not think he is rich and I feel that his insurance, if he even has any, won't pay.
If they did pay, I would want them to pay the maximum for each and every violation and problem.

This will also be in competition with any fines any of the governmental and judicial agencies decide to levy against him.

A structured settlement is a bad thing too. The value of money today will steadily decrease over the life of the settlement. So, a million today is worth 1/10th that much 50 years from now.

I find it a little interesting that there aren't others posting their thoughts on this thread.
Perhaps they may be landlords too?

Best advice for everyone is to ensure you have a clean, SAFE, and sanitary place to live. If not for yourselves, then for your children & grandchildren.

Did you know that even your pets can get lead poisoning?

Can you imagine that your dog got killed because of lead poisoning and the landlord could not be sued because there is no law to protect your pet? Or only sued for the replacement value of your dog? Of course that would be pro-rated according to the dog's age.

Right now, I can manage discipline with my son, but each day it gets a little harder. Eventually discipline will fail unless I can find some method or treatment to control his impulses. Drugs aren't always the answer. And I cannot afford to pay all this on what I have every month.

There is far more to the cost of treating my son's medical problems that most people think.
It costs doctor bills, testing fees, transportation costs (a lot more than mere fuel costs for that one), and the time it takes to do it all.

Each day of stress I experience, the higher my blood sugars go. Not good for a diabetic. I ate supper tonight. My premeal blood sugar was a very good 81 (metric = 5.0). My 3 hour post meal was 226 Metric = 13)! And that was WITH taking 20 units of insulin.

You see, I have to factor in my own health issues as well as my son's. Not easy to stay healthy.

Some people might say 'Why not just hire a sitter?' so free up my time.
Well, 2 problems with that.
1) The high cost of a sitter including the time to drop off and pick up.
2) My son is TOO friendly. He could be abducted and abused or worse. I have to guard him from the predators out there.

I am just so tired. It wears me out.

If we lose this battle or not be compensated enough to afford to live in a real house in a decent neighborhood, we will be relegated to a life of poverty, living in slum tenements.

[Magoo]

Hi Zolar,
what to do and what can we say, but you need help. We are all concerned with your predicement. As I said before get a TV channel envolved they have Lawyers coming out there ears. 60 minutes , Oprah, Dr Phil anyone and everyone, or similar programs will expose' the corruptness etc.,

[chillerman2006]

Chillerman, why do you feel this is such a hard topic to post on?
Have you experienced anything like this or know someone who has?


Hi Zolar

It's just the fact there is a little kiddy involved here mate & the fact he has been poisoned

This is hard to read let alone post on, It will be pulling on each & every members heart strings that have read this, especially those with kids

R's chillerman

[zolar1]

Thank you.

I do still have to PROVE he was poisoned. It's all circumstantial evidence at the moment. This is why I am waiting for an official governmental agency to come and verify the problem.

I don't know what to say if they actually DIDN'T find anything. But he has to be getting lead in him from somewhere since his levels are not zero.

My presumption that my son was poisoned is based on 2 facts -

1) he has every single classical symptom of 'prior' lead exposure while young (ADHD, ADD, XYZ, Autism, learning disability, etc)

2) the US EPA presumes that since my building was built before 1940, it is presumed to have toxic levels of lead in it, unless proven otherwise. Back then, the lead in the paint was as much as 50%, and some paints even included arsenic.

Indeed it is sad that my son is damaged. It is sad that my landlord let the place get this bad.
It is deplorable that governmental agencies claim to promote lead poisoning 'prevention' when in fact they only address the problem AFTER a child under 6 gets hurt. Where is the 'prevention' in that??

This is a complicated problem. Many people just blow the lead issue off. But their kids apparently having to live in this type of housing (all we can afford). No no wants to make landlords abate the hazards. It messes with the tax base and devalues properties until abated. And most of the time, it costs more than the property is worth to abate the lead. So, tearing down properties reduces the tax revenue. Since banks won't lend money to do that AND rebuild a better, safer place to live, nothing will get done unless compelled to do so. Even if landlord DID manage to abate the problem, the price of rent would triple to help pay the costs. And there goes the low income housing.

Another issue is that the 'immigrants' coming into the States having children and living with the hazards do not know anything about the risks involved. Nor would they readily run to have their children checked for fear of exportation. But later on in life as the kids become more and more damaged, they will eventually swell the public welfare roles with adults that cannot function.

It almost seems that the there is a 2 class system developing. The dumb ones (caused by toxic environmental issues and lack of proper education) and the smart ones (those raised in a clean, safe, and sanitary place free of toxins) who will have control over the dumb ones because of income considerations alone. This reminds me of an old Star Trek TV show. One class of smart people lived in the cloud city while the other class of dumb ones worked the mines digging out toxic materials, being exposed to some sort of toxic gas that reduced their intelligence significantly. Interesting parallel there.

Yes, I am saddened by my son's ill fate. I am saddened by the landlord's greed. I am ANGRY that the government resists addressing the problem to prevent others from the deleterious effects of toxic lead.

While the issue is hard for me, it is easy for me to share this with others. Perhaps the loss of my son's health can safe someone else's children by learning from our experiences. It would take nearly 1,000 'saved' children as adults just to pay the taxes needed to treat and support my son. Unless I win a super mega multi millions lotto, I cannot afford to do it on my own.

Realistically, I can easily lose this battle because it takes a LOT of money to protect our rights. So, I have to search for a lawyer who will take the case on a percentage.

How many of you can afford to raise and take care of a handicapped child? We estimate it is costing $20,000 for the education and another $5,000 for other things (medical, etc) per year. $25,000 is approximately 13,000 pounds. Sorry, I can't seem to find the monetary symbols to put them here correctly.

We have other safety issues as well.
Some of the other tenants are feeding/maintaining wild animals. This is against the law here where I live. The risk of being bitten is quite high. And so would the resultant rabies shots. Not to mention the flea infestation in the yard or mosquitoes or rats or other associated problems. They just toss food out, close the door, and avoid everything. They even tossed a whole RAW chicken on the front porch right where we enter and exit the building!

One of the chimneys is leaning. And guess where it will land when it falls? Right on my bed!
We have loose asbestos in one basement right next to the laundry room.

I can come up with a long list of building code violations.

The place is not habitable. I do worry though. It it is deemed uninhabitable and unsafe, they can order us to move out within 24 hours. I have no place to go. Not enough to move on. And with the pending legal problems, most landlords will avoid renting to us.

The system is fixed to force people to keep their mouth shut or face being homeless or live in a drug & crime infested area renting from a different slumlord.

Yes, people have rights. But be prepared to spend a lot of time and money protecting those rights. And if you don't, you are screwed, horribly screwed.

Many landlord go to 'landlord summits'. There they learn how to screw the tenants and make as much money as possible. They ignore problems. If a tenant does anything to protect themselves then the rest of the landlords who went to the summits won't rent to you. Landlord solidarity prevails.

The government can fix these problems easily but they won't.

Just require all landlords to have a license and proof of insurance both to be renewed annually.
The engineer a rental/lease contract that landlords must use. Make leases start on the 1st of a given month and end on the last day of a given month. Then charge the landlord a fee to pay for a problem 'clearing house'.

Another way to fix the problems is for a law to be passed that anonymizes the tenant's name when there is a legal problem.

I could write all the laws needed to fix most if not all the problems with the landlord tenant issues. But they would never ever get passed in their entirety.

Some cities have an apartment license meaning that every year or two, the whole building has to be inspected for code and safety compliance. Landlords HATE this.
Stiffer fines, stiffer laws are needed to make places liveable.

Technology is to the point where the government can easily determine the number of rental units a building has based on utility meters or even actual water usage.

It is far too easy to become a landlord here in the States. Anyone can do it. But rarely does a landlord know enough on how to do it the right way.
There is far more to it than collecting rent and unclogging a toilet.

[Quality]

I do personaly feel much sympathy for your family whilst you are dealing with the problems you have as I have in my life had to deal with a similar situation.
There may be a desire to blame some thing or somebody but nature takes it course and it is more powerfull than any human being.

best of luck to you for the future

[zolar1]

Thanks for the sympathy. I already know who is to blame.
I just need to prove it.

Things should progress rapidly once the ball gets started rolling. Maybe too fast. Dunno.

[zolar1]

Here is something interesting.

The EPA classifies a child staying at a place if they are there at least 3 hours a day, 2 times in the same calendar week, 10 weeks (60 hours) per year.

[zolar1]

A lawyer friend told me recently that when I go to court, I will lose. Strange that the law abiding citizen gets screwed while the criminals go free. We will have to wait and see though.

Also, I found a conflict between Ohio Law and Federal Law. It seems that for Ohio to have authorization to handle any lead issues they must conform to federal law. I found an anomaly whereby Ohio Law does not conform to Federal Law. I sent my findings to Ohio, the EPA, and HUD.

I still haven't heard anything back yet. Hmmm...

If I am right, all of Ohio's laws dealing with Lead are illegal since 2007.

I wonder how that will affect things. I know that anyone fined for lead abatement violations between 2007 and today can file lawsuit against Ohio.

Maybe I should contact CNN or another national news program.

Any thoughts?

Oh, I did quote chapter and verse for each of the law books.

I think Ohio might have a hairy legal situation on their hands if I am correct.

And since the city where I live derives it's authority from Ohio, and assuming Ohio does NOT have authority, then all my local lead laws are illegal as well.

Makes me wonder how come they aren't replying to my emails...

[zolar1]

Ahh, a found it.

See Article VI of the US Constitution. Federal Law reigns Supreme.

Seems Ohio has a problem on their hands. Or so it seems.

[zolar1]

Maybe someone could offer some advice.

I have my rent in escrow with the courts over other serious safety issues. We are to go to a mediator hearing next month to see if this can be ironed out. Many of my friends say I should sue the pants off my landlord.
None of this is related to the lead issue nor any housing discrimination issues.

What should I do? Sue now over the safety issues and sue again over the lead issues and sue again over possible housing discrimination issues or try to wait and do them all together if I can?

Note: I have 100% proof regarding the safety issues (many pictures over months) and according to the law, my landlord can go to jail for 6 months for EACH day those issues weren't properly taken care of. Plus a $1,000/day fine too. And that's what the government can do. (1st degree misdemeanor).
But what should I do? What should I ask for in exchange for my not turning over the evidence to the prosecutor's office. Or am I obligated to do that anyway?

The safety issues still haven't been corrected and my landlord knows it.

If I let it go, my landlord will retaliate against me and I will get screwed. If I go through with it I can get something, but will it be enough to make it worth the hassles?

My landlord is maintaining and harboring dangerous wild animals unlawfully. We cannot safely use the premises and when we try, we are in fear of being seriously and possibly fatally injured.

My landlord is a slumlord. He takes rent and does not do what he is required to do under the law.

I just don't know what to do.

And then there is the lead issue. It will be rather hard to prove my case other than the resultant symptoms my son has, the unlawful rehabbing and lead abatement, and the failure to provide us with any lead notifications as required by federal law.

[Tayters]

Hi Zolar,

My heart goes out to you mate and to be honest it did bring a bit of a lump to my throat reading the first posts when he was born to the update with all the problems.
Our son is 2 now. He was born with a genetic disorder (Aarskog-Scott syndrome). Nothing really too bad in the scheme of things but at times just feel so sorry for the little fella. You know, they come out all helpless and you do your best but sometimes life just goes against you and there is nothing you can do to turn the clock back and give them a better chance. Maybe my position isn't as bad as yours but I can see you've handled things pretty well considering what's on your plate.

Back to your last post there and bear in mind I'm no legal eagle.
It seems that whatever the courts outcome, the landlord will never be able to fully compensate for the damage done. He should be bought to account for the lead and other health issues but I worry about the timescale for it to be fully resolved. Like you say, this issue could drag on for years and before you know it, your son is a grown man and you've reached retirement age and it's still going on.

Is it worth cutting your losses and get some sort of outcome while your son is still young then get on with life or going the whole hog through the proper channels?
Answers that are best sought from a lawyer I think. For me, my head says sort something out now and then forget the issue and move on. My heart says, everything must be addressed no matter how long it takes.
I think I would follow my heart but check with a lawyer first regarding timescales.

Cheers,
Andy.

[zolar1]

Right now we are stuck while going through the process/
If for some reason we are made to move by the courts due to the premises being not habitable, then they should make everyone move and shut down the building.

It is going to be hard to prove that lead was the cause of my son's medical conditions.
And even if we did and sued for millions, our landlord would simply file for bankruptcy and we wouldn't get squat.

No matter the outcome, our 'Teflon' landlord will emerge nearly unscathed.
The EPA has already begun their investigation into Title X, Section 1018 violations.

Even if they find him 100% guilty, which they must because he does not have our signature on anything, they can still let him off with a slap on the wrist.

There is little or no justice in the world any more. For blatant and willful violations he should receive the maximum fines and jail time.
For exposing our family to toxic lead and other serious safety hazards, they should HANG HIM as an example to all the other slumlords out there doing the same thing to other people and kids.

He is old, around 70. He is retired from GM years ago and has 3-4 paid in full properties.
He has some money, but by the time he gets done with fines and such, there won't be anything left for our son. He is the real victim here in all this.

Poor kid is faced with a life of suffering and misery because of health issues that could have been prevented.

With my health problems, I may not live to 2018 and my poor wife will be a single mom raising a handicapped child all by herself and try to work to make ends meet as well.

A rather bleak outlook. We win - we lose. He wins - we lose.

[Magoo]

Hi Zolar 1.
I think you are between a rock and a hard spot proving the lead poisoning factor with your sons statis. I heard on BBC recently that 10% of the US population suffer from attention what ever syndrom, that will be the out clause for the landlords legal beagles. Mostly a genes related problem. The down side of program was that a large proportion of prison population in the USA had the dis-order undetected
A recent neighbours son had the same problem, the hypo mode /problem. He was definitly hard work for parents, they also had two other very normal children that were very good with the problem boy. But the kid was cool and did get better with age and drugs over a period of tens years that they lived next door.

[zolar1]

I agree. It will be a difficult battle. However, the EPA presumes that if there is lead on the premises, that is the primary cause of my son's problems. Much of it is under Title X, Section 1018.

There are no genetic problems on either side except for thyroid on her side and a disk problem in my neck.

You refer to Attention Deficit Disorder. My son has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism, and a learning disability amongst other issues.

And those are 'exactly' the results verbatim of what lead intoxication does to a child.
Somewhere between age 2 and 6 he developed ADHD and other problems. It was this past January that he was diagnosed with Autism. Right on par with the problems related to lead.

As long as Ohio has the voucher program for autistic children, we can keep him in school. If there are cost cutting issues then I may have to home school him. He usually minds me pretty well due to the way I disciplined him growing up. He doesn't like daddy yelling at him.

But teachers use the psychobabble junk thinking that they can get children to do things. Most of the time that doesn't work when you have a child with issues. It just doesn't register with them.

The EPA has started their investigation. Once they determine my landlord didn't do the required paperwork regarding lead notification, they should investigate my son's medical history. After that, they may come and test for lead on the premises.

The 1st one helps my case. The second reinforces the case even more. And if the last one shows toxic lead levels, then there is no 'out' for my landlord. But all 3 have to be in our favor.

We are just going to have to hire a lawyer I suppose. I was hoping everything would be completed before we went that route. Saves time and money that way.

You can treat and sometimes recover from ADHD, but you can't treat a learning disability and Autism is forever. It can even worsen over time.