Chicago Residents at Risk for Lead Poisoning, Class Action Says

A new class action lawsuit has been filed against the City of Chicago saying it should remove thousands of lead pipes that connect homes to the city’s water supply.

The City of Chicago water contamination class action lawsuit was filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court by three plaintiffs and on behalf of others similarly situated, accusing the city of not adequately warning residents about how lead can enter tap water lines.

Plaintiffs Tatjana Blotkevic, Ilya Peysin, and Yakov Yarmove claim that the City of Chicago has known for years that the work being done to replace the city’s water mains and meters is causing elevated and unsafe lead levels in the water which travels through lead service pipes directly into residents’ homes.

Blotkevic further claims that her husband was hospitalized for heart attack symptoms during the time of the water main construction.

As a result of the city’s negligent and reckless conduct, the plaintiffs allege they are at a significant increased risk of exposure to lead poisoning and that Chicago has failed to issue water contamination precautions on how to reduce the risk of lead in the water from their taps. In fact, the plaintiffs claim that the only advisement the city issued to residents during the water main replacements was a handout stating that their water may be shut off “a couple of times.”

The lawsuit states that Chicago has conducted more than 1,600 water main and sewer replacement projects since January 2009 in an attempt to upgrade its aging system.

Although the installation of lead pipes was banned nationally in 1986, the water contamination lawsuit claims that Chicago has one of the highest concentration of lead pipes in the U.S. with nearly 80 percent of Chicago’s homes receiving water via lead pipes.

The plaintiffs point to studies that have shown lead pipes carrying water into homes can be shaken or damaged by nearby construction work. This disturbance can cause the lead lining of the pipes to fracture and seep into the water causing dangerous contamination, the lawsuit states.

According to the Chicago water class action lawsuit, an Environmental Protection Agency report from 2013 identified the water contamination problem in Chicago, warning that the city’s attempts to upgrade its water system could pose health risks from toxic metal poisoning.

However, city officials have questioned the EPA’s findings, claiming that Chicago’s water is completely safe from lead contamination.

A spokesperson for the city Department of Water Management issued a statement, “The Department of Water Management provides the cleanest, best tasting water possible; aggressive programs that protect our water supply from lead and thorough testing methods allow us to continually achieve this goal” and that “Chicago’s water is safe and exceeds federal, state and industry standards.”

However, the water contamination lawsuit asserts that the city must have been aware of these risks. Since 2008, the EPA, the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Water Works Association have all expressed concerns against partial replacement.

According to the City of Chicago Water Contamination class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs are seeking to represent themselves and all other similarly situated for the costs of diagnostic testing to detect lead poisoning. They are also asking that the city replace service lines in full since the damage due to lead contamination cannot be reversed.

The plaintiffs are represented by Elizabeth Fegan, Mark T. Vazquez and Steve W. Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.

The City of Chicago Water Contamination Class Action Lawsuit is Tatjana Blotkevic, Ilya Peysin and Yakov Yarmove et al. v. City of Chicago, Case No. 2016-CH-02292, in the Cook County Circuit Court.