St. Louis Post-Dispatch Publishes Front-Page Story on Lead-Poisoning Case Handled by Schlichter Bogard on Behalf of Peruvian Children

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has published a front-page story about Schlichter Bogard & Denton’s decade-long fight for justice on behalf of more than 1,400 seriously injured Peruvian children.

In 2007, Schlichter Bogard & Denton filed suit against Doe Run, its New York-based parent company Renco, and billionaire owner Ira Rennert on behalf of more than 1,400 children in La Oroya, Peru. The children – many of whom are now adults – suffered significant injuries caused by toxic pollution. A St. Louis University study has concluded that over 90% of residents under the age of 6 in La Oroya had lead in their blood.^[1]  Because they “absorb four to five times as much ingested lead as adults from a given source,” children are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, which can cause profound and permanent damage to developing brains.^[2] In 2007, the Blacksmith Institute counted the town of 35,000 among the most polluted places in the world.^[3]

On June 4, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit denied the defendants’ request to immediately appeal an order requiring them to stand trial in the United States. The case is currently proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Schlichter Bogard & Denton has a decades-long legacy of representing individuals harmed by corporate wrongdoing.  To learn more about our toxic tort practice or our other practices, please contact Schlichter Bogard & Denton at 800-873-5297 or sbd@uselaws.com, or visit our website.

[1] Suntrup, Jack. “Missouri Governor Tried to Get St. Louis Company’s Lead-Poisoning Lawsuits Shipped to Peru.” Stltoday.com, 16 Dec. 2019, https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-governor-tried-to-get-st-louis-company-s-lead/article_134acc06-12e2-5cc2-82eb-238d225b8313.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1.

[2] “Lead Poisoning and Health.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health.

[3] Suntrup, Jack. “Missouri Governor Tried to Get St. Louis Company’s Lead-Poisoning Lawsuits Shipped to Peru.” Stltoday.com, 16 Dec. 2019, https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-governor-tried-to-get-st-louis-company-s-lead/article_134acc06-12e2-5cc2-82eb-238d225b8313.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1.