Baltimore Housing Authority Hit with $1.3M Lead-Paint Judgment

A Baltimore jury on Wednesday awarded $1.3 million in damages to a 17-year-old girl, finding that negligence by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City was a substantial factor in lead-paint poisoning she suffered as a young girl.

The girl lived in a now-demolished house in a housing project in East Baltimore until she was nearly 3. Baltimore's housing authority has been hit with millions of dollars in civil judgments in lead-paint cases, many dating to the early 1990s. It has resisted paying most of the judgments. Officials say the agency would need federal approval and could not afford to pay all existing and future judgments.

A housing authority spokeswoman said the agency was disappointed and considering all legal options, including appeal. Authority lawyers denied that the girl was poisoned by lead paint in public housing.